W. R. Berkley Corporation Names R. Christopher DeLauder President of Berkley Environmental

GREENWICH, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--W. R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE: WRB) today announced the appointment of R. Christopher DeLauder as president of Berkley Environmental. He succeeds Kenneth J. Berger, who has been named chair of the business. The appointments are effective immediately.

Mr. DeLauder has nearly 40 years of experience in the insurance industry, focused almost exclusively in the environmental sector. He joined Berkley Environmental as vice president in 2010 and most recently served as executive vice president. Mr. Berger will support the Berkley Environmental team through the transition and remain a key member of W. R. Berkley Corporation management engaged in other initiatives and activities.

Commenting on the appointment, W. Robert Berkley, Jr., president and chief executive officer of W. R. Berkley Corporation, said: "Ken has been an outstanding contributor and leader within our organization for many years. He has been instrumental in building Berkley Environmental into one of the most successful parts of our group today. We are grateful for all that he has done and will continue to do on behalf of our shareholders. We are pleased to welcome Chris into the role of president and are confident in his abilities to successfully lead the extremely talented team going forward.”

Berkley Environmental provides customized environmental risk solutions for a wide range of businesses through a unique regional structure in which a single underwriter provides a total account solution by handling all required lines of business. For further information about the products and services available from Berkley Environmental, please visit www.berkleyenvironmental.com.

Founded in 1967, W. R. Berkley Corporation is an insurance holding company that is among the largest commercial lines writers in the United States and operates worldwide in two segments of the property casualty insurance business: Insurance and Reinsurance & Monoline Excess. For further information about W. R. Berkley Corporation, please visit www.berkley.com.