W. R. Berkley Corporation has appointed Heath Kidd (pictured above) as executive vice president, effective immediately.
Kidd brings more than 30 years of experience in the property and casualty insurance industry. His background includes leadership roles spanning strategy, underwriting, risk control, product development, claims, and analytics.
Prior to joining W. R. Berkley, Kidd served as vice president of industry practices for the North American underwriting division of a large national insurer.
Kidd’s appointment follows another major expansion for the insurance group. Earlier this month, W. R. Berkley announced the formation of Berkley Embedded Solutions to deliver tailored insurance products and services to customers at the point of purchase.
As part of this expansion, Stephanie Lloyd was named president of the new business. Lloyd joined Berkley with 20 years of experience in the property and casualty insurance business, with leadership roles that spanned underwriting, product development, and distribution.
Outside of the US, W. R. Berkley also announced in December plans to expand into other territories, with its subsidiary, Berkley Insurance Company, receiving approval from the International Financial Services Centers Authority (IFSCA) to establish a branch office in India.
The new branch, located in GIFT City, Gujarat, will operate under the name Berkley Insurance Company, IFSC Branch.
Besides the appointments, the company also reported a fourth-quarter net income of $576.1 million for common shareholders, marking a 45% increase from the $397.3 million reported in the same period last year.
For the fourth quarter, net premiums increased to $2.94 billion from $2.72 billion the previous year. Premium growth was supported by an average rate increase of 7.7% across all lines, excluding workers' compensation, during the quarter. The company’s total premiums for the year amounted to $11.97 billion.
Comparatively, in the third quarter, the company reported a rise in net income to $365.6 million from $333.6 million. Net premiums written for the quarter were $3.06 billion.
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