For W.R. Berkley, Exiting Personal Lines Proved ‘Great’ Decision

The decision by his company more than a decade ago to exit personal lines was a “great” decision, says William R. Berkley, founder of W.R. Berkley Corp.

“[W]e decided that the political arena for personal lines was going to get more and more difficult. So in 1999 we decided to get out of the personal lines business. So we just basically either gave away, sold or just closed our personal lines businesses all over the country,” the insurance executive recalls.

Asked if that still looks like a good decision, Berkley went further: “Great decision. And that took us a long way away from the political issues.”

Berkley discusses that decision as well as his view of the property insurance situation in Florida in an excerpt from an exclusive video interview with Insurance Journal.

He expresses concern about the “uninformed” but well-intentioned political decision-making in Florida.

Click here to view the excerpt.

Click here to view the entire interview.