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Commitments and Contingencies
9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2013
Commitments and Contingencies
9. COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

Litigation, Claims and Assessments

We are involved in litigation incidental to the operation of our business. We vigorously defend all matters in which we or our subsidiaries are named defendants and, for insurable losses, maintain significant levels of insurance to protect against adverse judgments, claims or assessments that may affect us. Although the adequacy of existing insurance coverage and the outcome of any legal proceedings cannot be predicted with certainty, based on the current information available, we do not believe the ultimate liability associated with any known claims or litigation will have a material adverse effect on our financial condition or results of operations.

Self-Insurance

Self-insurance reserves are maintained relative to company-wide casualty insurance and health benefit programs. The level of exposure from catastrophic events is limited by the purchase of stop-loss and aggregate liability reinsurance coverage. When estimating the self-insurance liabilities and related reserves, management considers a number of factors, which include historical claims experience, demographic factors, severity factors and valuations provided by independent third-party actuaries. Management reviews its assumptions with its independent third-party actuaries to evaluate whether the self-insurance reserves are adequate. If actual claims or adverse development of loss reserves occur and exceed these estimates, additional reserves may be required. The estimation process contains uncertainty since management must use judgment to estimate the ultimate cost that will be incurred to settle reported claims and unreported claims for incidents incurred but not reported as of the balance sheet date. Reserves in the amounts of $5,478 and $4,844 at September 30, 2013 and December 31, 2012, respectively, were established related to such insurance programs and are included in accrued expenses and other current liabilities in our condensed consolidated balance sheets.