Fair Value (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2016

Fair Value, by Balance Sheet Grouping [Table Text Block]



Fair Values and Carrying Values

	December 31,
	2016				2015
	Carrying Value		Fair Value		Carrying Value		Fair Value
	(Dollars in thousands)
Assets
Fixed maturities - available for sale	$	7,008,790	$	7,008,790	$	6,637,776	$	6,637,776
Equity securities - available for sale	132,968		132,968		121,667		121,667
Mortgage loans	816,471		840,337		744,303		780,624
Policy loans	188,254		230,656		185,784		230,153
Other investments	9,809		11,272		2,331		2,331
Cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments	49,931		49,931		57,741		57,741
Reinsurance recoverable	3,411		3,411		2,636		2,636
Assets held in separate accounts	597,072		597,072		625,257		625,257



Liabilities
Future policy benefits	$	4,044,148	$	3,903,177	$	3,750,186	$	3,618,145
Supplementary contracts without life contingencies	330,232		330,633		339,929		339,717
Advance premiums and other deposits	257,171		257,171		245,269		245,269
Short-term debt	—		—		15,000		15,000
Long-term debt	97,000		67,599		97,000		68,133
Other liabilities	114		114		56		56
Liabilities related to separate accounts	597,072		593,760		625,257		620,676

Schedule of Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring Basis [Table Text Block]



Valuation of our Financial Instruments Measured on a Recurring Basis by Hierarchy Levels

	December 31, 2016
	Quoted prices in active markets for identical assets (Level 1)		Significant other observable inputs (Level 2)		Significant unobservable inputs (Level 3)		Total
	(Dollars in thousands)
Assets
Fixed maturities:
Corporate securities	$	—	$	3,649,536	$	59,119	$	3,708,655
Residential mortgage-backed securities	—		422,300		—		422,300
Commercial mortgage-backed securities	—		494,520		81,434		575,954
Other asset-backed securities	—		716,282		54,368		770,650
United States Government and agencies	11,943		20,129		—		32,072
State, municipal and other governments	—		1,499,159		—		1,499,159
Non-redeemable preferred stocks	—		95,006		7,411		102,417
Common stocks	3,056		27,495		—		30,551
Other investments	—		9,360		—		9,360
Cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments	49,931		—		—		49,931
Reinsurance recoverable	—		3,411		—		3,411
Assets held in separate accounts	597,072		—		—		597,072
Total assets	$	662,002	$	6,937,198	$	202,332	$	7,801,532

Liabilities
Future policy benefits - indexed annuity embedded derivatives	$	—	$	—	$	15,778	$	15,778
Other liabilities	—		114		—		114
Total liabilities	$	—	$	114	$	15,778	$	15,892



Valuation of our Financial Instruments Measured on a Recurring Basis by Hierarchy Levels

	December 31, 2015
	Quoted prices in active markets for identical assets (Level 1)		Significant other observable inputs (Level 2)		Significant unobservable inputs (Level 3)		Total
	(Dollars in thousands)
Assets
Fixed maturities:
Corporate securities	$	—	$	3,469,631	$	49,076	$	3,518,707
Residential mortgage-backed securities	—		461,777		3,729		465,506
Commercial mortgage-backed securities	—		465,812		88,180		553,992
Other asset-backed securities	—		527,565		55,557		583,122
United States Government and agencies	14,760		20,612		8,726		44,098
State, municipal and other governments	—		1,472,351		—		1,472,351
Non-redeemable preferred stocks	—		84,480		7,471		91,951
Common stocks	4,728		24,988		—		29,716
Other investments	—		2,331		—		2,331
Cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments	57,741		—		—		57,741
Reinsurance recoverable	—		2,636		—		2,636
Assets held in separate accounts	625,257		—		—		625,257
Total assets	$	702,486	$	6,532,183	$	212,739	$	7,447,408

Liabilities
Future policy benefits - indexed annuity embedded derivatives	$	—	$	—	$	9,374	$	9,374
Other liabilities	—		56		—		56
Total liabilities	$	—	$	56	$	9,374	$	9,430

Fair Value Measurements, Recurring and Nonrecurring, Valuation Techniques [Table Text Block]



Level 3 Fixed Maturities by Valuation Source - Recurring Basis

	December 31, 2016
	Third-party vendors			Priced internally			Total
	(Dollars in thousands)
Corporate securities	$	17,684		$	41,435		$	59,119
Commercial mortgage-backed securities	81,434			—			81,434
Other asset-backed securities	39,308			15,060			54,368
Total	$	138,426		$	56,495		$	194,921
Percent of total	71.0		%	29.0		%	100.0		%



	December 31, 2015
	Third-party vendors			Priced internally			Total
	(Dollars in thousands)
Corporate securities	$	17,208		$	31,868		$	49,076
Residential mortgage-backed securities	—			3,729			3,729
Commercial mortgage-backed securities	88,180			—			88,180
Other asset-backed securities	35,420			20,137			55,557
United States Government and agencies	—			8,726			8,726
Total	$	140,808		$	64,460		$	205,268
Percent of total	68.6		%	31.4		%	100.0		%

Fair Value, Measurement Inputs, Disclosure [Text Block]



Quantitative Information about Level 3 Fair Value Measurements - Recurring Basis

	December 31, 2016
	Fair Value		Valuation Technique	Unobservable Input	Range (Weighted Average)
	(Dollars in thousands)
Assets
Corporate securities	$	47,398	Discounted cash flow	Credit spread	0.58% - 4.25% (2.81%)
Commercial mortgage-backed	81,434		Discounted cash flow	Credit spread	1.10% - 4.15% (2.95%)
Other asset-backed securities	6,461		Discounted cash flow	Credit spread	1.08% - 4.87% (3.45%)
Non-redeemable preferred stocks	7,411		Discounted cash flow	Credit spread	4.05% (4.05%)
Total assets	$	142,704

Liabilities
Future policy benefits - indexed annuity embedded derivatives	$	15,778	Discounted cash flow	Credit risk Risk margin	0.80% - 2.00% (1.25%) 0.15% - 0.40% (0.25%)



	December 31, 2015
	Fair Value		Valuation Technique	Unobservable Input	Range (Weighted Average)
	(Dollars in thousands)
Assets
Corporate securities	$	33,508	Discounted cash flow	Credit spread	1.16% - 17.50% (11.26%)
Commercial mortgage-backed	71,100		Discounted cash flow	Credit spread	1.10% - 4.15% (3.12%)
Other asset-backed securities	13,737		Discounted cash flow	Credit spread	1.25% - 7.90% (5.61%)
United States Government and agencies	8,726		Discounted cash flow	Credit spread	2.59% (2.59%)
Non-redeemable preferred stocks	7,471		Discounted cash flow	Credit spread	4.55% (4.55%)
Total assets	$	134,542

Liabilities
Future policy benefits - indexed annuity embedded derivatives	$	9,374	Discounted cash flow	Credit risk Risk margin	0.80% - 2.25% (1.45%) 0.15% - 0.40% (0.25%)

The tables above exclude certain securities for which the fair value was based on non-binding broker quotes where we could not reasonably obtain the quantitative unobservable inputs.

Level 3 Financial Instruments Changes in Fair Value [Table Text Block]



Level 3 Financial Instruments Changes in Fair Value - Recurring Basis

	December 31, 2016
								Realized and unrealized gains (losses), net
	Balance, December 31, 2015		Purchases		Disposals			Included in net income			Included in other compre-hensive income			Transfers into Level 3 (1)		Transfers out of Level 3 (1)			Amort-ization included in net income			Balance, December 31, 2016
	(Dollars in thousands)
Assets
Corporate securities	$	49,076	$	2,000	$	(13,751	)	$	(27	)	$	(490	)	$	35,956	$	(13,572	)	$	(73	)	$	59,119
Residential mortgage-backed securities	3,729		—		(3,722		)	—			(137		)	—		—			130			—
Commercial mortgage-backed securities	88,180		18,826		(1,656		)	—			(141		)	—		(23,852		)	77			81,434
Other asset-backed securities	55,557		64,146		(11,621		)	—			212			30,098		(84,045		)	21			54,368
United States Government and agencies	8,726		—		—			—			486			—		(9,218		)	6			—
State, municipal and other governments	—		—		—			—			108			2,393		(2,501		)	—			—
Non-redeemable preferred stocks	7,471		—		—			—			(60		)	—		—			—			7,411
Total assets	$	212,739	$	84,972	$	(30,750	)	$	(27	)	$	(22	)	$	68,447	$	(133,188	)	$	161		$	202,332

Liabilities
Future policy benefits - indexed annuity embedded derivatives	$	9,374	$	5,913	$	(115	)	$	606		$	—		$	—	$	—		$	—		$	15,778



	December 31, 2015
								Realized and unrealized gains (losses), net
	Balance, December 31, 2014		Purchases		Disposals			Included in net income			Included in other compre-hensive income			Transfers into Level 3 (1)		Transfers out of Level 3 (1)			Amort-ization included in net income		Balance, December 31, 2015
	(Dollars in thousands)
Assets
Corporate securities	$	64,239	$	15,993	$	(20,499	)	$	—		$	55		$	21,363	$	(32,649	)	$	574	$	49,076
Residential mortgage-backed securities	—		19,353		(2,340		)	—			284			5,984		(19,631		)	79		3,729
Commercial mortgage-backed securities	77,891		17,287		(885		)	—			(3,905		)	—		(2,334		)	126		88,180
Other asset-backed securities	116,141		53,215		(10,085		)	—			(662		)	30,287		(133,351		)	12		55,557
United States Government and agencies	9,065		—		—			—			(346		)	—		—			7		8,726
Non-redeemable preferred stocks	8,054		—		—			—			(583		)	—		—			—		7,471
Total Assets	$	275,390	$	105,848	$	(33,809	)	$	—		$	(5,157	)	$	57,634	$	(187,965	)	$	798	$	212,739

Liabilities
Future policy benefits - indexed annuity embedded derivatives	$	8,681	$	4,567	$	(1,064	)	$	(2,810	)	$	—		$	—	$	—		$	—	$	9,374

(1)

Transfers into Level 3 represent assets previously priced using an external pricing service with access to observable inputs no longer available and therefore, were priced using non-binding broker quotes. Transfers out of Level 3 include those assets that we are now able to obtain pricing from a third party pricing vendor that uses observable inputs. The fair values of newly issued securities often require additional estimation until a market is created, which is generally within a few months after issuance. Once a market is created, as was the case for the majority of the security transfers out of the Level 3 category above, Level 2 valuation sources become available. There were no transfers between Level 1 and Level 2 during the periods presented above.

Financial Instruments Not Reported at Value [Table Text Block]



Valuation of our Financial Instruments Not Reported at Fair Value by Hierarchy Levels

	December 31, 2016
	Quoted prices in active markets for identical assets (Level 1)		Significant other observable inputs (Level 2)		Significant unobservable inputs (Level 3)		Total
	(Dollars in thousands)
Assets
Mortgage loans	$	—	$	—	$	840,337	$	840,337
Policy loans	—		—		230,656		230,656
Other investments					1,912		1,912
Total assets	$	—	$	—	$	1,072,905	$	1,072,905

Liabilities
Future policy benefits	$	—	$	—	$	3,887,399	$	3,887,399
Supplementary contracts without life contingencies	—		—		330,633		330,633
Advance premiums and other deposits	—		—		257,171		257,171
Long-term debt	—		—		67,599		67,599
Liabilities related to separate accounts	—		—		593,760		593,760
Total liabilities	$	—	$	—	$	5,136,562	$	5,136,562



	December 31, 2015
	Quoted prices in active markets for identical assets (Level 1)		Significant other observable inputs (Level 2)		Significant unobservable inputs (Level 3)		Total
	(Dollars in thousands)
Assets
Mortgage loans	$	—	$	—	$	780,624	$	780,624
Policy loans	—		—		230,153		230,153
Total assets	$	—	$	—	$	1,010,777	$	1,010,777

Liabilities
Future policy benefits	$	—	$	—	$	3,608,771	$	3,608,771
Supplementary contracts without life contingencies	—		—		339,717		339,717
Advance premiums and other deposits	—		—		245,269		245,269
Short-term debt	—		—		15,000		15,000
Long-term debt	—		—		68,133		68,133
Liabilities related to separate accounts	—		—		620,676		620,676
Total liabilities	$	—	$	—	$	4,897,566	$	4,897,566