Fair Value Measurements

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2011

Fair Value Measurements [Abstract]

Fair Value Measurements

12. Fair Value Measurements

Fair Value of Financial Assets

The Company's financial assets measured at fair value on a recurring basis subject to disclosure requirements at December 31, 2011 and 2010 were as follows (in thousands):

	Balance at December 31, 2011		Quoted Prices in Active Markets for Identical Assets (Level 1)		Significant Other Observable Inputs (Level 2)
Cash equivalents:
Money market mutual funds	$	1,045	$	1,045	$	-
Certificates of deposit		3,100		-		3,100
Commercial paper		6,600		-		6,600
		10,745		1,045		9,700
Short-term investments:
Corporate bonds		2,031		-		2,031
Certificates of deposit		3,278		-		3,278
Commercial paper		1,500		-		1,500
		6,809		-		6,809
Total financial assets measured at fair value	$	17,554	$	1,045	$	16,509

	Balance at December 31, 2010		Quoted Prices in Active Markets for Identical Assets (Level 1)		Significant Other Observable Inputs (Level 2)
Cash equivalents:
Money market mutual funds	$	35	$	35	$	-
Certificates of deposit		2,000		-		2,000
Commercial paper		10,649		-		10,649
		12,684		35		12,649
Short-term investments:
Certificates of deposit		2,250		-		2,250
Commercial paper		1,000		-		1,000
		3,250		-		3,250
Long-term investments:
Corporate bonds		1,577		-		1,577
Total financial assets measured at fair value	$	17,511	$	35	$	17,476

The Company held no Level 3 investments at December 31, 2011 and 2010. In February 2010, the level 3 investment, a warrant, expired unexercised.

Investments

For investments that have quoted market prices in active markets, the Company uses the quoted market prices as fair value and includes these prices in the amounts disclosed in Level 1 of the hierarchy. The Company receives the quoted market prices from a third party, nationally recognized pricing service (“pricing service”). When quoted market prices are unavailable, the Company utilizes a pricing service to determine a single estimate of fair value, which is mainly for its fixed maturity investments. The fair value estimates provided from this pricing service are included in the amount disclosed in Level 2 of the hierarchy. The Company bases all of its estimates of fair value for assets on the bid price as it represents what a third party market participant would be willing to pay in an arm's length transaction.

The Company validates the prices received from the pricing service using various methods including, applicability of Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or other national government insurance or guarantees, comparison of proceeds received on individual investments subsequent to reporting date, prices received from publicly available sources, and review of transaction volume data to confirm the presence of active markets. The Company does not adjust the prices received from the pricing service unless such prices are determined to be inconsistent. At December 31, 2011 and 2010, the Company did not adjust prices received from the pricing service.

Trade accounts receivable, net: The carrying value reported in the Consolidated Balance Sheets approximates fair value and is net of allowances for doubtful accounts and returns which estimate customer non-performance risk.

Trade accounts payable and accrued liabilities: The carrying value reported in the Consolidated Balance Sheets for these items approximates their fair value, which is the likely amount which the liability with short settlement periods would be transferred to a market participant with a similar credit standing as the Company.