W. R. Berkley (WRB) 8-K W. R. Berkley Corporation Reports First Quarter Results

Business Segment Operating Results

(Amounts in thousands, except ratios)

	2012
	Q1			Q2				Q3			Q4			Full Year
Insurance-Domestic:
Gross premiums written	$	1,038,434		$	1,051,138			$	1,127,578		$	1,044,015		$	4,261,165
Net premiums written	882,943			869,319				952,332			865,289			3,569,883
Premiums earned	810,069			846,734				873,835			886,384			3,417,022
Pre-tax income	147,735			144,640				132,498			153,627			578,500
Loss ratio	62.9		%	65.1		%		62.9		%	63.1		%	63.5		%
Expense ratio	33.2		%	32.7		%		31.8		%	32.5		%	32.5		%
GAAP combined ratio	96.1		%	97.8		%		94.7		%	95.6		%	96.0		%
Insurance-International:
Gross premiums written	$	200,504		$	217,062			$	170,037		$	214,454		$	802,057
Net premiums written	167,994			174,976				140,444			181,045			664,459
Premiums earned	143,885			154,501				157,773			175,682			631,841
Pre-tax income	15,699			13,782				13,806			8,352			51,639
Loss ratio	57.3		%	58.3		%		57.8		%	64.7		%	59.7		%
Expense ratio	40.3		%	40.5		%		41.3		%	38.7		%	40.2		%
GAAP combined ratio	97.6		%	98.8		%		99.1		%	103.4		%	99.9		%
Reinsurance-Global:
Gross premiums written	$	162,588		$	162,720			$	197,109		$	194,240		$	716,657
Net premiums written	152,589			146,696				183,111			181,801			664,197
Premiums earned	145,697			146,122				154,925			177,909			624,653
Pre-tax income	31,638			27,454				23,048			21,550			103,690
Loss ratio	60.2		%	61.6		%		61.9		%	72.1		%	64.3		%
Expense ratio	37.6		%	38.6		%		36.4		%	33.2		%	36.3		%
GAAP combined ratio	97.8		%	100.2		%		98.3		%	105.3		%	100.6		%
Consolidated:							��
Gross premiums written	$	1,401,526		$	1,430,920			$	1,494,724		$	1,452,709		$	5,779,879
Net premiums written	1,203,526			1,190,991				1,275,887			1,228,135			4,898,539
Premiums earned	1,099,651			1,147,357				1,186,533			1,239,975			4,673,516
Loss ratio	61.8		%	63.7		%		62.1		%	64.6		%	63.1		%
Expense ratio	34.7		%	34.5		%		33.7		%	33.5		%	34.1		%
GAAP combined ratio	96.5		%	98.2		%		95.8		%	98.1		%	97.2		%
Losses from catastrophes:
Insurance-Domestic	$	4,378		$	25,713			$	5,909		$	7,217		$	43,217
Insurance-International	—			54				735			13,163			13,952
Reinsurance-Global	28			458				2,109			20,434			23,029
Total	$	4,406		$	26,225			$	8,753		$	40,814		$	80,198

Loss ratio is losses and loss expenses incurred expressed as a percentage of premiums earned. Expense ratio is underwriting expenses expressed as a percentage of premiums earned. GAAP combined ratio is the sum of the loss ratio and the expense ratio.

Business Segment Operating Results

(Amounts in thousands, except ratios)

	2011			2010			2009
Insurance-Domestic:
Gross premiums written	$	3,794,862		$	3,388,709		$	3,358,740
Net premiums written	3,238,120			2,938,223			2,931,188
Premiums earned	3,121,281			2,963,486			3,069,158
Pre-tax income	467,126			589,138			487,835
Loss ratio	64.9		%	61.1		%	62.0		%
Expense ratio	32.6		%	32.5		%	31.2		%
GAAP combined ratio	97.5		%	93.6		%	93.2		%
Insurance-International:
Gross premiums written	$	681,424		$	508,350		$	360,511
Net premiums written	551,910			430,252			302,594
Premiums earned	508,509			378,693			268,726
Pre-tax income	36,912			15,172			20,691
Loss ratio	57.4		%	59.2		%	56.8		%
Expense ratio	42.7		%	43.6		%	43.8		%
GAAP combined ratio	100.1		%	102.8		%	100.6		%
Reinsurance-Global:
Gross premiums written	$	601,027		$	519,018		$	534,188
Net premiums written	567,338			482,451			496,313
Premiums earned	531,077			493,403			467,965
Pre-tax income	85,271			134,996			88,058
Loss ratio	64.3		%	55.9		%	59.9		%
Expense ratio	38.0		%	38.6		%	37.3		%
GAAP combined ratio	102.3		%	94.5		%	97.2		%
Consolidated:
Gross premiums written	$	5,077,313		$	4,416,077		$	4,253,439
Net premiums written	4,357,368			3,850,926			3,730,095
Premiums earned	4,160,867			3,835,582			3,805,849
Loss ratio	63.9		%	60.2		%	61.4		%
Expense ratio	34.6		%	34.4		%	32.9		%
GAAP combined ratio	98.5		%	94.6		%	94.3		%
Losses from catastrophes:
Insurance-Domestic	$	104,306		$	73,487		$	62,815
Insurance-International	13,840			4,000			—
Reinsurance-Global	35,219			4,000			—
Total	$	153,365		$	81,487		$	62,815

Loss ratio is losses and loss expenses incurred expressed as a percentage of premiums earned. Expense ratio is underwriting expenses expressed as a percentage of premiums earned. GAAP combined ratio is the sum of the loss ratio and the expense ratio.