WR Berkley names new president of Admiral Insurance Group

Property/casualty insurer  WR Berkley Corporation has appointed a new president of Admiral Insurance Group, succeeding Curtis Fletcher, who has been named chairman of the company.

Daniel Smyrl (pictured) will assume the president's role with immediate effect. He joined Admiral in 2002 and most recently served as executive vice president of underwriting.

Smyrl has nearly 40 years of commercial property and casualty insurance experience in underwriting and management. He holds both the Associate in Surplus Lines Insurance (ASLI) and Associate in Commercial Underwriting (AU) designations.

Fletcher has been with Admiral for 23 years and was named president in 2018. He has been instrumental in advancing Admiral's position in the excess and surplus lines commercial insurance market. As chairman, he will maintain an active role, providing insights and strategic guidance, the company said.

W Robert Berkley, Jr., president and chief executive officer of WR Berkley, said: "Curt has been a model of what we look for in an outstanding leader within our organization. He has done an exceptional job in all of the positions he has held during his tenure. We would thank him for his extraordinary contributions to Admiral and W. R. Berkley Corporation over his many years of service, and we are delighted that he will be continuing in this new role.

"Dan is a dynamic executive, who has brought a wealth of experience to the organization. We are exceedingly confident in Dan’s ability to lead the Admiral team as they further build upon Admiral’s long history of success."

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