WR Berkley (WRB) rose marginally in premarket trading on Tuesday after the company reported higher written net premiums during the first quarter, which offset losses from catastrophes.

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Its net premiums rose by 10% to $3.1 billion for the first quarter ended March 31 as the commercial insurer saw strong demand amid elevated risks of natural disasters.

Its operating income of $1.01 per share for the first quarter topped Wall Street’s estimates of $0.99 per share, according to FinChat data.

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However, the company’s net income fell to $417.57 million for the first quarter, compared to $442.47 million in the same quarter last year.

Its combined ratio grew to 90.9% during the first quarter, including 3.7 points of catastrophe losses, primarily attributed to the Los Angeles wildfires in January.

A ratio less than 100 percentage points indicated that the company paid less in claims compared to what it earned in premiums.

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Its catastrophe losses surged to $111 million compared with $30.5 million in the year-ago quarter.

The company’s net investment income grew 12.6% to $360.3 million.

“We are paying close attention, as you would expect, to the tariffs, and it is a very fluid situation,” a company executive said on a call with analysts.

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Retail sentiment on Stocktwits jumped to ‘extremely bullish’ (76/100) territory from ‘extremely bearish’(9/100) a day ago, while retail chatter rose to ‘extremely high.’

**WRB’s Sentiment Meter and Message Volume as of 04:34 a.m. ET on April 22, 2025 | Source: Stocktwits**

Some users praised the earnings report, while one user pointed out that the catastrophe losses ratio is “too high.”

WR Berkley shares have risen 14.2% year-to-date (YTD).

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