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Commitments and Contingent Liabilities
12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2012
Commitments and Contingent Liabilities [Abstract]  
Commitments Contingencies and Guarantees

Note 12 COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENT LIABILITIES

At December 31, 2012, the Company's commitments to fund investments were $176.7 million in limited partnerships, $22.2 million in commercial mortgage loans and $68.5 million in bank loans, including revolving credit agreements. At December 31, 2011, the Company's commitments to fund investments were $156.6 million in limited partnerships, $33.6 million in commercial mortgage loans and $100.0 million in private placement investments. The Company anticipates that the majority of its current commitments will be invested over the next five years; however, these commitments could become due any time at the request of the counterparties. Investments in limited partnerships and private placements are carried at cost or reported using the equity method and included in other invested assets in the consolidated balance sheets. Bank loans are carried at fair value and included in fixed maturities available-for-sale.

The Company is subject to litigation in the normal course of its business. The Company currently has no material litigation. A legal reserve is established when the Company is notified of an arbitration demand or litigation or is notified that an arbitration demand or litigation is imminent, it is probable that the Company will incur a loss as a result and the amount of the probable loss is reasonably capable of being estimated.

The Company has obtained bank letters of credit in favor of various affiliated and unaffiliated insurance companies from which the Company assumes business. These letters of credit represent guarantees of performance under the reinsurance agreements and allow ceding companies to take statutory reserve credits. Certain of these letters of credit contain financial covenant restrictions. At December 31, 2012 and 2011, there were approximately $45.4 million and $15.8 million, respectively, of undrawn outstanding bank letters of credit in favor of third parties. Additionally, the Company utilizes letters of credit to secure reserve credits when it retrocedes business to its subsidiaries, including Parkway Re, Rockwood Reinsurance Company (“Rockwood Re”), Timberlake Financial, RGA Americas, RGA Barbados and RGA Atlantic. The Company cedes business to its affiliates to help reduce the amount of regulatory capital required in certain jurisdictions such as the U.S. and the United Kingdom. The capital required to support the business in the affiliates reflects more realistic expectations than the original jurisdiction of the business, where capital requirements are often considered to be quite conservative. As of December 31, 2012 and 2011, $763.5 million and $582.9 million, respectively, in undrawn letters of credit from various banks were outstanding, backing reinsurance between the various subsidiaries of the Company. The banks providing letters of credit to the Company are included on the NAIC list of approved banks.

The Company maintains three credit facilities, a syndicated revolving credit facility with a capacity of $850.0 million and two letter of credit facilities with a combined capacity of $320.0 million. The Company may borrow cash and obtain letters of credit in multiple currencies under its syndicated revolving credit facility. The following table provides additional information on the Company's credit facilities as of December 31, 2012 and 2011 (dollars in millions):

     Amount Utilized(1)  
     December 31,  
 Facility Capacity Maturity Date 2012 2011 Basis of Fees
 $850.0 December 2015 $ 402.9 $ 183.5 Senior unsecured long-term debt rating
 $200.0 September 2019   200.0   200.0 Fixed
 $120.0 May 2016   100.0   -- Fixed
            
(1)Represents issued but undrawn letters of credit. There was no cash borrowed for the periods presented.

Fees associated with the Company's other letters of credit are not fixed for periods in excess of one year and are based on the Company's ratings and the general availability of these instruments in the marketplace.

RGA has issued guarantees to third parties on behalf of its subsidiaries for the payment of amounts due under certain reinsurance treaties, securities borrowing arrangements and office lease obligations, whereby if a subsidiary fails to meet an obligation, RGA or one of its other subsidiaries will make a payment to fulfill the obligation. In limited circumstances, treaty guarantees are granted to ceding companies in order to provide them additional security, particularly in cases where RGA's subsidiary is relatively new, unrated, or not of a significant size, relative to the ceding company. Liabilities supported by the treaty guarantees, before consideration for any legally offsetting amounts due from the guaranteed party, totaled $686.0 million and $697.5 million as of December 31, 2012 and 2011, respectively, and are reflected on the Company's consolidated balance sheets in future policy benefits. As of December 31, 2012 and 2011, the Company's exposure related to treaty guarantees, net of assets held in trust, was $463.5 million and $467.5 million, respectively. Potential guaranteed amounts of future payments will vary depending on production levels and underwriting results. Guarantees related to borrowed securities provide additional security to third parties should a subsidiary fail to make principal and/or interest payments when due. As of December 31, 2012 and 2011, RGA's obligation related to borrowed securities guarantees was $87.5 million and $150.0 million, respectively. RGA has issued payment guarantees on behalf of two of its subsidiaries in the event the subsidiaries fail to make payment under their office lease obligations, the exposure of which was $10.1 million and $11.7 million as of December 31, 2012 and 2011, respectively.

Manor Re has obtained $300.0 million of collateral financing through 2020 from an international bank which enabled Manor Re to deposit assets in trust to support statutory reserve credit for an affiliated reinsurance transaction. The bank has recourse to RGA should Manor Re fail to make payments or otherwise not perform its obligations under this financing.

The Company, through a wholly-owned subsidiary, has committed to provide statutory reserve support to a third-party through 2035, in exchange for a fee, by funding a loan if certain defined events occur. Such statutory reserves are required under the U.S. Valuation of Life Policies Model Regulation (commonly referred to as Regulation XXX for term life insurance policies and Regulation A-XXX for universal life secondary guarantees). The maximum potential obligation under this commitment is $560.0 million. The third-party has recourse to RGA should the subsidiary fail to provide the required funding, however, as of December 31, 2012, the Company does not believe that it will be required to provide any funding under this commitment as the occurrence of the defined events is considered remote.

In addition, the Company indemnifies its directors and officers as provided in its charters and by-laws. Since this indemnity generally is not subject to limitation with respect to duration or amount, the Company does not believe that it is possible to determine the maximum potential amount due under this indemnity in the future.

The Company leases office space and furniture and equipment under non-cancelable operating lease agreements, which expire at various dates. Future minimum office space annual rentals under non-cancelable operating leases along with associated sublease income at December 31, 2012 are as follows (dollars in thousands):

 Operating  Sublease
 Leases Income
2013$ 14,609 $ 827
2014  12,378   827
2015  7,089   827
2016  6,369   776
2017  5,152   160
Thereafter  18,876   --

Rent expenses amounted to approximately $19.5 million, $18.8 million and $17.1 million for the years ended December 31, 2012, 2011 and 2010, respectively.