8-K

W. R. Berkley Corporation         1

UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 8-K

CURRENT REPORT

Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934

Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported): November 8, 2019

Commission File Number 1-15202

     W. R. BERKLEY CORPORATION     
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

Delaware			22-1867895
(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization)			(I.R.S. Employer Identification No.)
475 Steamboat Road	Greenwich	Connecticut	06830
(Address of principal executive offices)			(Zip Code)

(203) 629-3000

(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)

	None
Former name, former address and former fiscal year, if changed since last report.

Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions (see General Instruction A.2. below):

☐Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425)

☐Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12)

☐Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b))

☐Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c))

Title of Each Class	Trading Symbol	Name of Each Exchange on Which Registered
Common Stock, par value $.20 per share	WRB	New York Stock Exchange
5.625% Subordinated Debentures due 2053	WRB B	New York Stock Exchange
5.9% Subordinated Debentures due 2056	WRB C	New York Stock Exchange
5.75% Subordinated Debentures due 2056	WRB D	New York Stock Exchange
5.70% Subordinated Debentures due 2058	WRB E	New York Stock Exchange

W. R. Berkley Corporation         2

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is an emerging growth company as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act of 1933 (§230.405 of this chapter) or Rule 12b-2 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (§240.12b-2 of this chapter).    Emerging growth company     ☐    

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act.     ☐    

W. R. Berkley Corporation         3

Item 5.02. Departure of Directors or Principal Officers; Election of Directors; Appointment of Principal Officers.

Reference is made to the press release of W. R. Berkley Corporation (the “Company”) relating to the announcement of the November 8, 2019 election of Jonathan Talisman to its board of directors, increasing the number of board members to eleven and increasing the number of independent directors to nine. Mr. Talisman has been named to each of the Company’s Audit Committee and Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee. The press release was issued on November 8, 2019. A copy of the press release is attached to this Form 8-K as Exhibit 99.1 and is incorporated herein by reference.

Item 9.01 Financial Statements and Exhibits.

(d) Exhibits

Exhibit 99.1 Press Release dated November 8, 2019

W. R. Berkley Corporation         4

SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.

W. R. BERKLEY CORPORATION

By:	/s/ Richard M. Baio
	Name:	Richard M. Baio
	Title:	Executive Vice President
		Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer

Date: November 13, 2019

W. R. Berkley Corporation         5

EXHIBIT INDEX

Exhibit:

99.1 Press Release dated November 8, 2019

EX-99.1

	NEWS RELEASE
W. R. Berkley Corporation 475 Steamboat Road Greenwich, Connecticut 06830 (203) 629-3000

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE     CONTACT:     Karen A. Horvath

Vice President

External Financial Communications

(203) 629-3000

W. R. BERKLEY CORPORATION ELECTS JONATHAN TALISMAN AS A DIRECTOR

Greenwich, CT, November 8, 2019 -- W. R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE: WRB) today announced that its Board of Directors has elected Jonathan Talisman as a director, increasing the number of board members to eleven and the number of independent directors to nine.

Mr. Talisman is a founder and managing partner of Capitol Tax Partners. Before forming Capitol Tax Partners in 2001, Mr. Talisman served as the Assistant Secretary for Tax Policy at the U.S. Treasury Department during the Clinton Administration. Previously, he had served at the Treasury Department as the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Tax Policy and the Tax Legislative Counsel, as the Chief Democratic Tax Counsel of the Senate Finance Committee and as Legislation Counsel to the Joint Committee on Taxation.

Currently, Mr. Talisman serves on the Board of Advisors to the Tax Policy Center and was chair of the Formation of Tax Policy Committee, American Bar Association Tax Section. He also currently serves as an adjunct tax professor at Georgetown University Law Center. He was president of the board of directors at Adventure Theatre Musical Theatre Center for several years.

Mr. Talisman holds a Juris Doctorate from the University of Virginia School of Law and a Bachelor of Science degree in Commerce from the University of Virginia. He was admitted as a certified public accountant in Maryland in 1981.

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.

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XML

Cover Page	Nov. 08, 2019
Entity Information [Line Items]
Document Type	8-K
Document Period End Date	Nov. 08, 2019
Entity Registrant Name	W. R. BERKLEY CORP
Entity File Number	1-15202
Entity Incorporation, State or Country Code	DE
Entity Tax Identification Number	22-1867895
Entity Address, Address Line One	475 Steamboat Road
Entity Address, City or Town	Greenwich
Entity Address, State or Province	CT
Entity Address, Postal Zip Code	06830
City Area Code	(203)
Local Phone Number	629-3000
Written Communications	false
Soliciting Material	false
Pre-commencement Tender Offer	false
Pre-commencement Issuer Tender Offer	false
Title of 12(b) Security	Common Stock, par value $.20 per share
Trading Symbol	WRB
Security Exchange Name	NYSE
Entity Emerging Growth Company	false
Entity Central Index Key	0000011544
Amendment Flag	false
5.625% Subordinated Debentures due 2053
Entity Information [Line Items]
Title of 12(b) Security	5.625% Subordinated Debentures due 2053
Trading Symbol	WRB B
Security Exchange Name	NYSE
5.9% Subordinated Debentures due 2056
Entity Information [Line Items]
Title of 12(b) Security	5.9% Subordinated Debentures due 2056
Trading Symbol	WRB C
Security Exchange Name	NYSE
5.75% Subordinated Debentures due 2056
Entity Information [Line Items]
Title of 12(b) Security	5.75% Subordinated Debentures due 2056
Trading Symbol	WRB D
Security Exchange Name	NYSE
5.70% Subordinated Debentures due 2058
Entity Information [Line Items]
Title of 12(b) Security	5.70% Subordinated Debentures due 2058
Trading Symbol	WRB E
Security Exchange Name	NYSE