Credit Agreements

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2012

Line of Credit Facility [Abstract]

Schedule Of Line Of Credit Facilities Text Block

8. Credit Agreements

In the normal course of its operations, the Company enters into agreements with financial institutions to obtain unsecured and secured credit facilities. These facilities are used primarily for the issuance of letters of credit, although a portion of these facilities may also be used for liquidity purposes.

On March 20, 2012, the Company modified its existing three-year syndicated unsecured credit facility to reduce the available facility from $750 million to $500 million. All other terms, and the access to a revolving line of credit, remained unchanged.

See Note 20 to the Consolidated Financial Statements included in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K/A for the year ended December 31, 2011 for further information related to the credit facilities available to the Company.