W.R. Berkley hikes dividend by 12.5% and pays special dividend

On June 11, 2025, W.R. Berkley Corp (WRB) announced a dividend hike of 12.5% to $0.09 quarterly per share. Also the P&C insurer (and dividend hero) will pay a $0.50 per share special dividend.

W.R. Berkley is one of the Dividend Heroes for 2025 and that is because of its strong dividend growth combined with annual special dividend payments. Last year WRB paid two 50 cent specials, now followed up by its first special dividend in 2025.

Both the increased quarterly dividend of 9 cents and the 50 cent special dividend will be paid by WRB on June 30, 2025. The dividend yield is 0.5% annually and based on the regular dividend of 36 cents annually. You can easily add one dollar in special dividends to this small regular dividend.

W. R. Berkley Corporation is an insurance holding company. The company operates worldwide in two segments of the property casualty insurance business: Insurance and Reinsurance. The insurance business consists of 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 the United Kingdom, Continental Europe, South America, Canada, Mexico, Scandinavia, Asia and Australia. The reinsurance business operates as 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. Founded in 1967, W. R. Berkley Corporation has grown from a small investment management firm into one of the largest commercial lines property and casualty insurers in the United States. The company has paid cash dividends each year since 1978.