Forbes Profiles W.R. Berkley

Forbes takes a look at W.R. Berkley (BER), one of my new additions to the Buy List:

From its founding in 1967 commercial property casualty insurer W.R. Berkley (nyse: BER – news – people ) has thrived in a notoriously competitive business by going after underserved niche markets. “We didn’t have the resources to compete head-on with the big players,” says Chairman William R. Berkley. “This evolved into a corporate strategy.”
The Greenwich, Conn. company is now the ninth-largest commercial property casualty insurer in the U.S., operating in all 50 states. It has a five-year average annual earnings-per-share growth of 39% and a 24% return on equity for the past 12 months. Of the company’s 31 operating units, 25 were built from scratch internally; 6 were made through acquisitions.
Last year Berkley opened five new businesses, including one that specializes in aviation liability insurance for small regional airlines. That came after hiring a group of experienced aviation insurance experts. “Business opportunities lie in finding good people,” says Berkley.
Each operating unit runs autonomously and is based as close as possible to its customers. A Maine subsidiary, for example, sells liability insurance to fishing fleets and lumber companies. An Iowa unit insures grain elevators and farm supply stores.
Berkley, 61, says he has no plans to retire, but is grooming his son, W. Robert Berkley Jr., 34, to take over eventually. Meantime, the boss disdains complacency: “It’s a constant process of being dissatisfied with the status quo,” he says.

Posted by on December 24th, 2006 at 7:09 pm


The information in this blog post represents my own opinions and does not contain a recommendation for any particular security or investment. I or my affiliates may hold positions or other interests in securities mentioned in the Blog, please see my Disclaimer page for my full disclaimer.