Reinsurance

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2011

Reinsurance Disclosures [Abstract]

Reinsurance

Reinsurance

The following is a summary of reinsurance financial information:

	Year Ended December 31,
(Dollars in thousands)	2011			2010			2009
Written premiums:
Direct	$	4,370,092		$	3,788,251		$	3,599,836
Assumed	707,221			627,826			653,603
Ceded	(719,945		)	(565,151		)	(523,344		)
Total net written premiums	$	4,357,368		$	3,850,926		$	3,730,095
Earned premiums:
Direct	$	4,164,277		$	3,744,150		$	3,690,493
Assumed	669,593			652,485			617,143
Ceded	(673,003		)	(561,053		)	(501,787		)
Total net earned premiums	$	4,160,867		$	3,835,582		$	3,805,849
Ceded losses incurred	$	458,249		$	379,153		$	252,299

The Company reinsures a portion of its exposures principally to reduce its net liability on individual risks and to protect against catastrophic losses. Estimated amounts due from reinsurers are reported net of reserves for uncollectible reinsurance of $3,169,000, $3,098,000 and $4,430,000 as of December 31, 2011, 2010 and 2009, respectively. The following table presents the amounts due from reinsurers as of December 31, 2011 (dollars in thousands):

Reinsurer	Amount
Munich Re	$	163,420
Swiss Re	72,690
Transatlantic Re	64,619
Partner Re	60,769
Berkshire Hathaway	56,042
Axis Capital	54,121
Lloyd’s of London	52,859
Ace Group	43,463
Hannover Re Group	33,262
Arch Capital Group	22,984
Other reinsurers less then $20,000	224,380
Subtotal	848,609
Residual market pools	367,070
Total	$	1,215,679