9. Reinsurance

(a) Reinsurance Recoverable on Paid and Unpaid Losses

The Company uses retrocessional agreements to reduce its exposure to risk of loss on reinsurance assumed. These agreements provide for recovery from retrocessionaires of a portion of losses and loss expenses. The Company remains liable to its cedants to the extent that the retrocessionaires do not meet their obligations under these agreements, and therefore the Company evaluates the financial condition of its reinsurers and monitors concentration of credit risk on an ongoing basis. The Company actively manages its reinsurance exposures by generally selecting retrocessionaires having a credit rating of A- or higher. In certain cases where an otherwise suitable retrocessionaire has a credit rating lower than A-, the Company generally requires the posting of collateral, including escrow funds and letters of credit, as a condition to its entering into a retrocession agreement. The Company regularly reviews its reinsurance recoverable balances to estimate an allowance for uncollectible amounts based on quantitative and qualitative factors. The allowance for uncollectible reinsurance recoverable was $9 million and $13 million at December 31, 2015 and 2014, respectively.

(b) Ceded Reinsurance

Net premiums written, net premiums earned and losses and loss expenses and life policy benefits are reported net of reinsurance in the Company’s Consolidated Statements of Operations. Assumed, ceded and net amounts for the years ended December 31, 2015, 2014 and 2013 were as follows (in thousands of U.S. dollars):



	Premiums Written		Premiums Earned		Losses and Loss Expenses and Life Policy Benefits
2015
Assumed	$	5,547,525	$	5,570,321	$	3,215,665
Ceded	317,977		301,143		58,245
Net	$	5,229,548	$	5,269,178	$	3,157,420

2014
Assumed	$	5,932,003	$	5,824,398	$	3,503,060
Ceded	212,119		215,203		40,290
Net	$	5,719,884	$	5,609,195	$	3,462,770

2013
Assumed	$	5,569,706	$	5,373,866	$	3,207,860
Ceded	173,180		175,656		50,052
Net	$	5,396,526	$	5,198,210	$	3,157,808