AM Best has announced that it has upgraded the Long-Term Issuer Ratings (Long-Term ICR) to “a” (Excellent) from “a-” (Excellent), along with all associated Long-Term Issue Ratings (Long-Term IR) and indicative Long-Term IRs for securities issued by W. R. Berkley Corporation (W. R. Berkley).
AM Best has also upgraded the Long-Term ICR to “aa” (Superior) from “aa-” (Superior) and affirmed the Financial Strength Rating (FSR) of A+ (Superior) of Berkley Insurance Company (Wilmington, DE) and its reinsured subsidiaries and affiliates, collectively referred to as W. R. Berkley Insurance Group (Berkley Group).
In addition, AM Best upgraded Berkley Life and Health Insurance Company’s Long-Term ICR to “aa” (Superior) from “aa-” (Superior) and affirmed its FSR of A+ (Superior).
The outlook on the Long-Term ICRs has been revised to stable from positive, with a stable outlook for the FSRs.
AM Best noted that the ratings of the Berkley Group reflect its balance sheet strength, which it assesses as strongest, alongside strong operating performance, a favourable business profile, and appropriate enterprise risk management (ERM).
The Long-Term ICR upgrades reflect improved balance sheet strength fundamentals, driven by strong underwriting results and a robust investment portfolio supporting consistently strong returns, sustained organic surplus growth over the past 10 years, and its strong debt leverage.
The Berkley Group’s balance sheet strength assessment is anchored by its strongest risk-adjusted capitalisation, as measured by Best’s Capital Adequacy Ratio (BCAR).
The group maintains a well-diversified investment portfolio to support its liabilities and is focused on achieving favourable returns while remaining within its risk tolerance levels.
The ratings agency noted that the Berkley Group maintains a favourable market share in its core lines of business, while growing organically through new businesses and opportunities. The group’s strong operating results and profitability metrics point to agile underwriting and pricing discipline, as well as effective risk management expertise.
AM Best expects the group to maintain its balance sheet assessment in the strongest range over the intermediate term with strong operating results contributing to surplus growth.
Berkley Life and Health’s ratings reflect its balance sheet strength, assessed as strongest by AM Best, alongside strong operating performance, a neutral business profile, and appropriate ERM. They also reflect financial and operational support from its parent company.
Berkley Life and Health’s Long-Term ICR upgrade reflects improved operating performance over the past five years, driven by steady organic premium revenue growth, consistent underwriting income, and strong return on equity and return on revenue.
Berkley Life and Health’s balance sheet strength assessment is supported by its strongest level of risk-adjusted capitalisation as measured by BCAR. The company maintained a BCAR in the strongest category, alongside favourable liquidity ratios and positive cash flow at year-end 2025. It continues to hold a conservative, high-quality investment portfolio consisting of fixed-income securities and cash and short-term investments.
Berkley Life and Health benefits from explicit and implicit support from W. R. Berkley and is fully integrated into the parent organisation’s operations, strategic plans, and ERM framework.
