Insurance holding company W. R. Berkley Corporation has appointed Daniel R. Westcott as Executive Vice President (EVP), as Robert R. Coyne Jr. succeeds him as President of Berkley Re America, while Robert C. Hewitt has been named Chairman of Berkley Re. All appointments are effective immediately.
Berkley Re is a global reinsurer comprising Berkley Re America, Berkley Re UK, Berkley Re Solutions, Berkley Re Australia, and Berkley Re Asia.
Westcott joined Berkley Re America as president in 2019, and has nearly three decades of experience in the property casualty reinsurance market.
Coyne joined Berkley in 2006 and became Senior Vice President of Berkley Re America in 2010. He also has over three decades of experience in the property casualty reinsurance business.
Hewitt joined Berkley in 2002 as Senior Vice President for risk management and was named EVP of the firm in 2016.
W. Robert Berkley, Jr., Chairman, Chief Executive Officer, and President of W. R. Berkley Corporation, commented on the appointments, “Rob, Dan, and Rob have all provided outstanding leadership within Berkley for many years. Dan’s skills and broad experience in the reinsurance market, as well as his extensive knowledge of our organisation, will serve us well as he takes on oversight of our assumed reinsurance businesses.
“With deep expertise in developing reinsurance solutions for customers, Rob Coyne is very well-positioned to lead Berkley Re America forward to build upon its success. Rob Hewitt has made extraordinary contributions to Berkley during his tenure, and we are deeply appreciative of his leadership, judgment, and unwavering commitment to the Company.”
He continued, “He has been a trusted colleague and valued leader, and we are especially pleased, both personally and professionally, that we will continue to benefit from his extensive experience and expertise.”
Last week, for its second quarter 2026 results, W. R. Berkley reported a new record for gross written premiums (GWP) of $4.1 billion.
