W R Berkley WRB · USD

Industry SegmentsThe Company’s reportable segments include the following two business segments, plus a corporate segment:•Insurance - predominantly commercial insurance business, including excess and surplus lines, admitted lines and specialty personal lines throughout the United States, as well as insurance business in Asia, Australia, Canada, Continental Europe, Mexico, Scandinavia, South America and the United Kingdom.•Reinsurance & Monoline Excess - reinsurance business on a facultative and treaty basis, primarily in the United States, United Kingdom, Continental Europe, Australia, the Asia-Pacific region and South Africa, as well as operations that solely retain risk on an excess basis and certain program management business.The Company's chief operating decision maker ("CODM") is the President and Chief Executive Officer. The CODM assesses performance, makes decisions and allocates resources for each of the three reportable segments based on their contribution towards the Company's profitability and balance sheet strength. Certain key metrics such as combined ratio and return on allocated capital for the Insurance and Reinsurance & Monoline Excess segments, as well as Corporate segment expenditures, are examples of key components of the assessment, decision-making and resource-allocation process.The accounting policies of the segments are the same as those described in the summary of significant accounting policies. Income tax expense and benefits are calculated based upon the Company’s overall effective tax rate. Summary financial information about the Company’s reporting segments is presented in the following table. Income before income taxes by segment includes allocated investment income. Identifiable assets by segment are those assets used in or allocated to the operation of each segment.

Commitments, Litigation and Contingent Liabilities In the ordinary course of business, the Company is subject to disputes, litigation and arbitration arising from its insurance and reinsurance businesses. These matters are generally related to insurance and reinsurance claims and are considered in the establishment of loss and loss expense reserves. In addition, the Company may also become involved in legal actions which seek extra-contractual damages, punitive damages or penalties, including claims alleging bad faith in handling of insurance claims. The Company expects its ultimate liability with respect to such matters will not be material to its financial condition. However, adverse outcomes on such matters are possible, from time to time, and could be material to the Company’s results of operations in any particular financial reporting period.On December 22, 2023, one of the Company’s subsidiaries filed a lawsuit against certain reinsurers to recover in excess of $90 million in respect of certain losses paid to its policyholders under certain event cancellation and related insurance policies. The Company believes its claims against the reinsurers are meritorious and expects a positive resolution to its lawsuit. While an adverse outcome is possible, the Company believes that the outcome, in any case, will not be material to the Company’s financial condition.At December 31, 2025, the Company had commitments to invest up to $274 million and $31 million in certain investment funds and real estate construction projects, respectively.

IndebtednessIndebtedness consisted of the following as of December 31, 2025 (the difference between the face value and the carrying value is unamortized discount and debt issuance costs):Carrying Value(In thousands)Interest RateFace Value20252024Senior notes and other debt due on: February 15, 20376.250%$250,000 $248,776 $248,666 August 1, 20444.750%350,000 346,574 346,389 May 12, 20504.000%470,000 488,449 489,207 March 30, 20523.550%400,000 394,807 394,609 September 30, 20613.150%350,000 343,498 343,314 Subsidiary debt and other (1)Various7,094 7,094 8,973 Total senior notes and other debt $1,827,094 $1,829,198 $1,831,158 Subordinated debentures due on: March 30, 20585.700%$185,000 $179,811 $179,489 December 30, 20595.100%300,000 291,895 291,418 September 30, 20604.250%250,000 244,958 244,668 March 30, 20614.125%300,000 293,863 293,515 Total subordinated debentures $1,035,000 $1,010,527 $1,009,090 ________________(1) Subsidiary debt of $7.3 million is due in 2026, partially offset by the unamortized cost of $0.2 million due to entering into the $300 million senior unsecured revolving credit facility.

Income TaxesIncome tax expense (benefit) consists of:(In thousands)CurrentExpenseDeferred Expense (Benefit)TotalDecember 31, 2025 U.S. Federal$399,800 $(16,709)$383,091 State & Local13,597 (561)13,036 Foreign96,856 2,781 99,637 Total expense (benefit)$510,253 $(14,489)$495,764 December 31, 2024 Domestic$344,210 $51,754 $395,964 Foreign69,312 44,640 113,952 Total expense$413,522 $96,394 $509,916 December 31, 2023 Domestic$352,891 $(43,456)$309,435 Foreign44,372 16,750 61,122 Total expense (benefit)$397,263 $(26,706)$370,557 Income before income taxes from domestic operations was $1,881 million, $1,840 million and $1,430 million for the years ended December 31, 2025, 2024 and 2023, respectively. Income before income taxes from foreign operations was $400 million, $424 million and $324 million for the years ended December 31, 2025, 2024 and 2023, respectively. A reconciliation of the income tax expense and the amounts computed by applying the Federal and foreign income tax rate of 21% for 2025, 2024 and 2023 to pre-tax income are as follows:(In thousands)2025%20242023U.S. Federal Statutory Tax Rate$478,914 21.0 %$475,543 $368,425 State and Local Taxes, Net of Federal Benefit (1)10,299 0.4 %12,329 12,271 Foreign Tax Effects11,635 0.5 %19,317 (1,896)Effect of Cross-Border Tax Laws(14,727)(0.7)%— — Changes in Valuation Allowances19,726 0.9 %(220)(10,883)Nontaxable or Nondeductible Items(10,083)(0.4)%2,947 2,640 Total $495,764 21.7 %$509,916 $370,557 (1) State income taxes in Florida and Illinois made up the majority (greater than 50%) of the tax effect in this category.

Leases Lessees are required to recognize a right-of-use asset and a lease liability for leases with terms of more than 12 months on the balance sheet. All leases disclosed within this note are classified as operating leases. Recognized right-of-use asset and lease liability are reported within other assets and other liabilities, respectively, in the consolidated balance sheet. Lease expense is reported in other operating costs and expenses in the consolidated statement of income and accounted for on a straight-line basis over the lease term. To determine the discount rate used to calculate present value of future minimum lease payments, the Company uses its incremental borrowing rate during the lease commencement period in line with the respective lease duration. In certain cases, the Company has the option to renew the lease. Lease renewal future payments are included in the present value of the future minimum lease payments when the Company determines it is reasonably certain to renew. The main leases entered into by the Company are for office space used by the Company’s businesses across the world. Additionally, the Company, to a lesser extent, has equipment leases mainly for office equipment. Further information relating to operating lease expense and other operating lease information is as follows: For the Year Ended December 31,(In thousands)20252024Leases:Lease cost$54,261 $45,718 Cash paid for amounts included in the measurement of lease liabilities reported in operating cash flows$49,421 $49,441 Right-of-use assets obtained in exchange for new lease liabilities$74,451 $43,624 As of December 31,($ in thousands)20252024Right-of-use assets$221,480 $180,035 Lease liabilities$260,451 $218,397 Weighted-average remaining lease term7.1 years7.2 yearsWeighted-average discount rate5.98 %5.

Cybersecurity Risk Management and StrategyThe Company has a documented information security program (the "Program"), which is integrated into its overall risk management processes, to identify, assess, monitor and manage potential cybersecurity threats and incidents. The Program is designed to protect the confidentiality, integrity and availability of our information systems and assets that store, process, or transmit information, as well as the information processed thereon. The Program is modeled on the global standard for information security management systems, International Organization for Standardization 27001, and is guided by the six domains of cybersecurity established by the National Institute of Standards and Technology Cybersecurity Framework (i.e., govern, identify, protect, detect, respond, and recovery). The Program seeks to adhere to applicable U.S. and international laws and regulations, including New York State’s cybersecurity regulation applicable to financial services institutions authorized by the New York State Department of Financial Services.The Program’s security and risk policies and standards, implemented by either the Company or third party assessors or consultants, include: –information security management tools, such as firewalls, intrusion prevention and detection systems, anti-malware functionality, and access privilege controls;–vulnerability management, including penetration and control testing and vulnerability scans of information systems, and patching of systems when vulnerabilities have been identified;–incident monitoring, breach notification and escalation procedures, including disaster recovery and incident response plans and resources;–risk based assessment of third party service providers; and–annual cybersecurity awareness training for employees and contractors. The Company engages third party consultants with respect to cybersecurity, including to conduct vulnerability assessments and penetration testing of its information technology systems. The Company has established a regular vendor risk management process to evaluate and address potential risks associated with the use of such third parties.The Company has not identified any cybersecurity incidents that have materially affected or are reasonably likely to materially affect the Company, including its business strategy, results of operations, or financial condition, for the period covered by this annual report.

Real EstateInvestment in real estate represents directly owned property held for investment, as follows: As of December 31,(In thousands)20252024Properties in operation$1,051,455 $1,063,687 Properties under development228,293 227,768 Total$1,279,748 $1,291,455 In 2025, properties in operation primarily included a long-term ground lease in Washington, D.C., an office complex in New York City and the completed portion of a mixed-use project in Washington D.C. Properties in operation are net of accumulated depreciation and amortization of $41,942,000 and $38,671,000 as of December 31, 2025 and 2024, respectively. Depreciation expense was $9,453,000, $8,633,000 and $8,935,000 for the years ended December 31, 2025, 2024 and 2023, respectively. Future minimum rental income expected on operating leases relating to properties in operation is $36,767,697 in 2026, $39,898,012 in 2027, $42,512,029 in 2028, $37,191,356 in 2029, $31,563,792 in 2030 and $373,880,063 thereafter.A mixed-use project in Washington, D.C. had been under development in 2025 and 2024, with the completed portion as noted above reported in properties in operation as of December 31, 2025.The Company had commitments to invest up to $31 million in certain real estate investment projects as of December 31, 2025.

Premiums and Reinsurance Related Information The Company reinsures a portion of its insurance exposures in order to reduce its net liability on individual risks and catastrophe losses. Reinsurance coverage and retentions vary depending on the line of business, location of the risk and nature of loss. The Company’s reinsurance purchases include the following: property reinsurance treaties that reduce exposure to large individual property losses and catastrophe events; casualty reinsurance treaties that reduce its exposure to large individual casualty losses, workers’ compensation catastrophe losses and casualty losses involving multiple claimants or insureds; and facultative reinsurance that reduces exposure on individual policies or risks for losses that exceed treaty reinsurance capacity. Depending on the business, the Company purchases specific additional reinsurance to supplement the above programs.