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W.R. Berkley CEO warns delegated underwriting model lacks alignment
The commercial insurer’s CEO said property insurance’s shared, layered coverage is “mushrooming” and could leave market participants without proper control over capital.
W.R. Berkley’s CEO, W. Robert Berkley Jr, renewed his criticism of the delegated underwriting authority model, saying the company remains concerned about how the approach operates in the marketplace. Berkley, president, CEO, and chairman after taking over following his father William R. Berkley’s death in June, warned that misaligned incentives and limited control can create risk for other participants.
Speaking with analysts after CFO Richard Baio’s second-quarter financial report, Berkley said the model’s lack of alignment between those providing underwriting and those holding capital is “mushrooming.” He added that it is likely to end badly for market participants who do not have appropriate control over how capital is managed.
Berkley singled out property insurance, describing what he called shared and layered coverage structures as the “greatest stupidity.” He said coverage problems are spreading through the property market, with issues “water falling through” to other parts of the sector.
The executive said his concerns are not new, noting similar comments over the past year about alignment between underwriting and capital holders, and continued to raise the theme during a first-quarter 2026 call. Separately, the company reported net income increased about 12.7% versus a year ago, according to the same period discussed on the call.