Industry Segments

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2011

Industry Segments Disclosure [Abstract]

Industry Segments

Industry Segments

The Company’s operations are presently conducted in five segments of the insurance business: Specialty, Regional, Alternative Markets, Reinsurance and International.

Our Specialty lines companies underwrite risks within the excess and surplus lines market and on an admitted basis. The risks are highly complex, often unique exposures that typically fall outside the underwriting guidelines of the standard insurance market or are best served by specialized knowledge of a particular industry. The Specialty lines of business include premises operations, commercial automobile, property, products liability and professional liability lines. The customers in this segment are highly diverse. Business is conducted through 20operating units, each delivering their products through a variety of distribution channels, depending on the customer base and particular risks insured.

Our Regional companies provide insurance products and services that meet the specific needs of each regionally differentiated customer base by developing expertise in the niches that drive local communities. They provide commercial insurance products to customers primarily in 45 states and the District of Columbia. Key clients of this segment are small-to-mid-sized businesses and state and local governmental entities. The Regional business is sold through a network of non-exclusive independent agents who are compensated on a commission basis. Our Regional operating units are organized geographically in order to provide them with the flexibility to adapt quickly to local market conditions and customer needs.

Our Alternative Markets operating units offer insurance products, analytical tools and risk management services such as loss control and claims management that enable clients to select their risk tolerance and manage it appropriately. These units specialize in insuring, reinsuring and administering self-insurance programs and other alternative risk transfer mechanisms for clients such as commercial and governmental entity employers, employer groups, insurers, and other groups or entities seeking alternative ways to manage their exposure to risks. In addition to providing insurance products, the Alternative Markets segment also provides a wide variety of fee-based services, including claims, administrative and consulting services.

Our Reinsurance companies provide other insurance companies and self-insureds with assistance in managing their net risk through reinsurance on either a portfolio basis, through treaty reinsurance, or on an individual basis, through facultative reinsurance.

Our International operating units write business in almost 40 countries worldwide, with branches or offices in 15 locations outside the United States, including the United Kingdom, Continental Europe, South America, Australia, the Asia Pacific region, Scandinavia and Canada. In each of our international operating territories, we have built decentralized structures that allow products and services to be tailored to each regional customer base. Our international businesses are managed by teams of professionals with expertise in local markets and knowledge of regional environments.

The accounting policies of the segments are the same as those described in the summary of significant accounting policies. Income tax expense and benefits are calculated based upon the Company’s overall effective tax rate.

Summary financial information about the Company’s operating segments is presented in the following table. Income (loss) before income taxes by segment consists of revenues less expenses related to the respective segment’s operations, including allocated investment income. Identifiable assets by segment are those assets used in or allocated to the operation of each segment.

	Revenues
(Dollars in thousands)	Earned Premiums		Investment Income		Other			Total			Pre-Tax Income (Loss)			Net Income (Loss)
December 31, 2011:
Specialty	$	1,442,748	$	175,289	$	2,704		$	1,620,741		$	292,759		$	211,871
Regional	1,065,975		75,404		4,112			1,145,491			32,382			30,331
Alternative markets	612,558		121,360		86,031			819,949			146,030			109,859
Reinsurance	426,008		91,871		—			517,879			83,251			65,422
International	613,578		42,882		—			656,460			40,084			26,055
Corporate, other and eliminations(1)	—		19,545		250,438			269,983			(201,704		)	(130,382		)
Net investment gains	—		—		125,481			125,481			125,481			81,647
Consolidated	$	4,160,867	$	526,351	$	468,766		$	5,155,984		$	518,283		$	394,803
December 31, 2010:
Specialty	$	1,288,373	$	180,063	$	3,130		$	1,471,566		$	296,645		$	214,769
Regional	1,066,922		82,411		3,114			1,152,447			117,353			86,325
Alternative markets	608,191		123,309		79,173			810,673			178,607			131,126
Reinsurance	419,356		103,079		—			522,435			129,922			97,015
International	452,740		32,794		—			485,534			21,174			14,838
Corporate, other and eliminations(1)	—		8,869		215,964			224,833			(196,977		)	(131,660		)
Net investment gains	—		—		56,581			56,581			56,581			36,874
Consolidated	$	3,835,582	$	530,525	$	357,962		$	4,724,069		$	603,305		$	449,287
December 31, 2009:
Specialty	$	1,354,355	$	125,351	$	3,560		$	1,483,266		$	220,906		$	167,732
Regional	1,116,871		57,530		2,725			1,177,126			106,078			80,031
Alternative markets	597,932		83,719		87,032			768,683			162,875			121,993
Reinsurance	411,511		75,505		—			487,016			86,358			70,675
International	325,180		26,767		—			351,947			22,719			14,676
Corporate, other and eliminations(1)	—		10,136		191,412			201,548			(178,298		)	(121,176		)
Net investment losses	—		—		(38,408		)	(38,408		)	(38,408		)	(24,874		)
Consolidated	$	3,805,849	$	379,008	$	246,321		$	4,431,178		$	382,230		$	309,057

Identifiable assets by segment were as follows (dollars in thousands):

December 31,	2011		2010
Specialty	$	6,180,996	$	5,854,256
Regional	2,534,875		2,616,238
Alternative markets	4,050,949		3,801,597
Reinsurance	2,734,277		2,972,988
International	1,576,707		1,391,604
Corporate, other and eliminations(1)	1,409,927		891,864
Consolidated	$	18,487,731	$	17,528,547

_______________________________________

(1) Corporate, other and eliminations represent corporate revenues and expenses, net investment gains and losses and other items that are not allocated to business segments.

Net premiums earned by major line of business are as follows:

(Dollars in thousands)	2011		2010		2009
Specialty
Other liability	$	454,582	$	384,799	$	449,120
Property	237,762		212,164		199,746
Professional liability	229,281		200,219		173,201
Commercial automobile	141,800		129,505		189,501
Products liability	96,794		112,072		131,713
Other	282,529		249,614		211,074
Total specialty	1,442,748		1,288,373		1,354,355
Regional
Commercial multi peril	394,168		389,997		405,552
Commercial automobile	289,098		301,290		322,445
Workers’ compensation	219,639		214,857		229,066
Other	163,070		160,778		159,808
Total regional	1,065,975		1,066,922		1,116,871
Alternative Markets
Primary workers’ compensation	271,173		260,508		242,259
Excess workers’ compensation	164,173		216,647		252,196
Accident and health	105,128		57,915		36,414
Other liability	28,960		24,726		23,412
Other	43,124		48,395		43,651
Total alternative markets	612,558		608,191		597,932
Reinsurance
Casualty	307,051		307,474		323,479
Property	118,957		111,882		88,032
Total reinsurance	426,008		419,356		411,511
International
Professional liability	90,871		88,997		84,101
Property	151,177		80,105		26,119
Reinsurance	104,851		74,047		56,454
Automobile	72,723		69,875		64,969
Workers’ compensation	73,823		57,802		46,698
Other liability	52,189		38,344		25,736
Other	67,944		43,570		21,103
Total international	613,578		452,740		325,180
Total	$	4,160,867	$	3,835,582	$	3,805,849