Reinsurance

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2020

The Company's wholly-owned Luxembourg subsidiary, Hollenfels Re SA ("Hollenfels") provides reinsurance to third party insurance and reinsurance companies. Hollenfels's share of claims incurred and paid during the periods below, as well as claims incurred but not reported plus outstanding claims as of the end of the periods below ("Claims IBNR") were as follows:


	Three Months Ended March 31,
	2020		2019
	(dollars in thousands)
Incurred and paid claims	$	4,235	$	2,907
Claims IBNR	$	17,293	$	10,135

Hollenfels utilizes several methods to determine its Claims IBNR. It generally employs an estimation methodology whereby historical average claims ratios over a period of up to 10 years are utilized, based on availability of data. In cases where current claims development contradicts historical results, Hollenfels employs a method to average claims ratios derived through different actuarial calculation methods. Also, if an event occurs that may give rise to significant future claims in excess of the amount calculated using the above-mentioned methodologies, the impact of such an event is calculated using existing claims data and actuarial estimation methods to adjust Hollenfels's Claims IBNR. During the three months ended March 31, 2020, Hollenfels calculated its claim liability or claim adjustment expenses using the above-mentioned methods consistent with prior years.

While Hollenfels typically settles its premiums and claim payments on a quarterly basis, the frequency of claims in the underlying policies is impractical for Hollenfels to obtain. Certain contracts Hollenfels has written are on a quota-share basis while the rest of the policies provide aggregate loss protection, rendering the collection of information for all underlying contracts impracticable. Hollenfels did not discount any of its reserves and did not cede any portion of its exposures during the three months ended March 31, 2020 and 2019.