Industry Segments

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2012

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 22operating 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 includes allocated investment income. Identifiable assets by segment are those assets used in or allocated to the operation of each segment.

Revenues
(In thousands)	Earned Premiums		Investment Income		Other		Total		Pre-Tax Income (Loss)			Net Income (Loss)
December 31, 2012:
Specialty	$	1,646,471	$	186,998	$	2,348	$	1,835,817	$	261,856		$	186,270
Regional	1,090,217		81,635		6,406		1,178,258		122,211			86,450
Alternative Markets	680,334		156,154		94,379		930,867		194,433			139,795
Reinsurance	446,939		96,123		—		543,062		93,268			68,881
International	809,555		56,605		—		866,160		62,061			25,390
Corporate, other and eliminations(1)	—		9,248		249,677		258,925		(242,366		)	(132,996		)
Net investment gains	—		—		210,465		210,465		210,465			136,802
Consolidated	$	4,673,516	$	586,763	$	563,275	$	5,823,554	$	701,928		$	510,592
December 31, 2011:
Specialty	$	1,442,748	$	175,289	$	2,704	$	1,620,741	$	290,937		$	210,687
Regional	1,065,975		75,404		4,112		1,145,491		30,529			29,127
Alternative Markets	612,558		121,360		86,031		819,949		145,660			109,618
Reinsurance	426,008		91,871		—		517,879		83,150			65,356
International	613,578		42,882		—		656,460		39,033			25,158
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	$	513,086		$	391,211
December 31, 2010:
Specialty	$	1,288,373	$	180,063	$	3,130	$	1,471,566	$	294,825		$	213,586
Regional	1,066,922		82,411		3,114		1,152,447		115,828			85,334
Alternative Markets	608,191		123,309		79,173		810,673		178,485			131,047
Reinsurance	419,356		103,079		—		522,435		129,449			96,708
International	452,740		32,794		—		485,534		20,719			14,516
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	$	598,910		$	446,405

Identifiable Assets
(In thousands)	December 31, 2012		December 31, 2011
Specialty	$	6,720,056	$	6,157,853
Regional	2,587,603		2,488,940
Alternative Markets	4,313,404		4,044,915
Reinsurance	2,773,133		2,732,489
International	1,965,359		1,569,749
Corporate, other and eliminations(1)	1,796,341		1,409,927
Consolidated	$	20,155,896	$	18,403,873

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(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:

(In thousands)	2012		2011		2010
Specialty
Other liability	$	528,623	$	454,582	$	384,799
Property	265,204		237,762		212,164
Professional liability	254,385		229,281		200,219
Workers’ compensation	171,760		130,469		103,377
Commercial automobile	163,321		141,800		129,505
Products liability	105,584		96,794		112,072
Other	157,594		152,060		146,237
Total Specialty	1,646,471		1,442,748		1,288,373
Regional
Commercial multi peril	413,405		394,168		389,997
Commercial automobile	286,332		289,098		301,290
Workers’ compensation	227,439		219,639		214,857
Other	163,041		163,070		160,778
Total Regional	1,090,217		1,065,975		1,066,922
Alternative Markets
Primary workers’ compensation	333,266		271,173		260,508
Excess workers’ compensation	136,576		164,173		216,647
Accident and health	136,317		105,128		57,915
Other liability	33,609		28,960		24,726
Other	40,566		43,124		48,395
Total Alternative Markets	680,334		612,558		608,191
Reinsurance
Casualty	313,381		307,051		307,474
Property	133,558		118,957		111,882
Total Reinsurance	446,939		426,008		419,356
International
Professional liability	103,179		90,871		88,997
Property	107,798		83,960		47,796
Casualty reinsurance	143,230		82,505		60,907
Automobile	125,927		110,568		99,873
Workers’ compensation	82,066		73,823		57,803
Marine	89,445		53,741		24,113
Accident and health	51,037		41,517		23,334
Property reinsurance	35,585		22,563		13,140
Other liability	43,829		26,583		20,796
Fidelity and surety	27,459		27,447		15,981
Total International	809,555		613,578		452,740
Total	$	4,673,516	$	4,160,867	$	3,835,582