Agreements with Related Parties

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2011

Disclosure - Agreements With Related Parties [Abstract]

Agreements with related parties

21. Agreements with Related Parties

The Company was party to agreements with Atradius N.V. since December 2003 (a company in which a board member is a supervisory director) and Delta Lloyd since May 2008 (a company in which a board member is a director). All agreements entered into with Atradius N.V. and Delta Lloyd were completed on an arm's-length basis.

Agreements with Atradius N.V.

In the normal course of its underwriting activities, the Company and certain subsidiaries entered into reinsurance contracts with Atradius N.V. The activity included in the Consolidated Statements of Operations related to Atradius N.V. for the years ended December 31, 2011, 2010 and 2009 was as follows (in thousands of U.S. dollars):

		2011		2010		2009
Net premiums written	$	75,991	$	80,975	$	49,487
Net premiums earned		77,230		69,094		63,724
Losses and loss expenses and life policy benefits		32,595		40,740		58,394
Acquisition costs		33,906		22,012		20,824

Included in the Consolidated Balance Sheets were the following balances related to Atradius N.V. at December 31, 2011 and 2010 (in thousands of U.S. dollars):

		2011		2010
Reinsurance balances receivable	$	5,332	$	21,571
Unpaid losses and loss expenses		75,173		71,929
Unearned premiums		34,836		36,744
Other net assets		14,187		12,916

Agreements with Delta Lloyd

In the normal course of its underwriting activities, the Company and certain subsidiaries entered into reinsurance contracts with Delta Lloyd. The activity included in the Consolidated Statements of Operations related to Delta Lloyd for the years ended December 31, 2011, 2010 and 2009 includes net premiums earned of $1.9 million, $1.2 million and $1.4 million, respectively, and losses and loss expenses and life policy benefits of $0.8 million, $0.3 million and $0.5 million, respectively. Included in the Consolidated Balance Sheets at December 31, 2011 and 2010 were unpaid losses and loss expenses of $7.5 million and $8.9 million, respectively.

Other Agreements

In the normal course of its investment operations, the Company bought or held securities of companies in which board members of the Company are also directors or non-executive directors. All transactions entered into as part of the investment portfolio were completed on market terms.