COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES (Details) (USD $)	3 Months Ended	12 Months Ended		12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2012	Dec. 31, 2012 item	Dec. 31, 2011	Dec. 31, 2012 Administrative and marketing office space item	Dec. 31, 2011 Administrative and marketing office space	Dec. 31, 2010 Administrative and marketing office space	Dec. 31, 2012 Administrative and marketing office space Minimum	Dec. 31, 2012 Administrative and marketing office space Maximum	Dec. 31, 2012 Administrative and Marketing Office Space Birmingham excluding Home Office sqft	Dec. 31, 2012 Building contiguous to home office
Operating leased assets
Number of cities in which the company leases properties				20
Area leased in Birmingham (in square feet)									24,090
Lease period							3 years	10 years
Rental expense				$ 11,200,000	$ 10,800,000	$ 10,800,000
Aggregate annualized rent				6,900,000
Future minimum rental payments required under operating leases
2013				6,948,000						679,000
2014				5,462,000						75,065,000
2015				4,229,000
2016				2,664,000
2017				740,000
Thereafter				235,000
Approximate price for which the company may purchase building at the end of lease term										75,000,000
Outstanding mortgage loan commitments	182,600,000	182,600,000	182,400,000
Average rate (as a percent)	5.10%	5.10%	5.58%
Estimated period to conclude appeals process for protesting certain unfavorable adjustments in IRS audit	12 months
Estimated income tax payment if IRS prevails on every issue identified in audit	$ 24,300,000	$ 24,300,000
Number of auditors from whom notice has been received		2
Number of blocks of life insurance policies		1