U.S. property and casualty insurer
W.R. Berkley Corp.
(
WRB
) has formed a division to write inland marine and related
property insurance and hired an industry veteran to head the new
operations. The new unit is named Berkley Fire & Marine
Underwriters and is headquartered in Chicago.
Inland marine insurance is an insurance policy that provides
insurance coverage for losses to moving and movable property that
might occur during transport across the continent.
The new unit of Berkley Fire & Marine Underwriters will
provide inland marine and related property risks throughout the
U.S. It will act as an underwriting entity for all of W. R.
Berkley subsidiaries which carry a rating of A+ assigned by A.M.
Best.
John Geary erstwhile Vice President of another major U.S.
insurance group, will take over the responsibility of the newly
created unit.
Berkley has started a number of new business units since 2006
(when the soft market cycle started) to strengthen its position
and take advantage of the eventual positive market turn. These
newer units of WRB not only concentrate on important sections and
aspects of the U.S economy, including healthcare, energy and
agriculture, but also focus on the growing international markets
such as Australia, Southeast Asia and South America.
W. R. Berkley's new ventures are now bearing fruit and
mitigating losses from the old businesses. It is especially
testified by the steady growth in net premium written over the
past years. These new businesses are eventually expected to
benefit from a turn in the insurance cycle. Besides, share
buybacks and dividend payments would add value to shareholders'
wealth. Moreover, strong financial strength ratings also
contribute to the positives.
Berkley currently retains a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
Other players providing inland marine insurance coverage are
RLI Corp.
(
RLI
),
The Travelers Companies Inc.
(
TRV
), and
XL Group plc
(
XL
).
RLI CORP (RLI): Free Stock Analysis Report
TRAVELERS COS (TRV): Free Stock Analysis
Report
BERKLEY (WR) CP (WRB): Free Stock Analysis
Report
XL GROUP PLC (XL): Free Stock Analysis Report
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