Junior Subordinated Debt Securities Payable

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2011

Junior Subordinated Debt Securities Payable [Abstract]

Junior Subordinated Debt Securities Payable

8.  JUNIOR SUBORDINATED DEBT SECURITIES PAYABLE

The following table displays Holdings' outstanding junior subordinated debt securities due to Everest Re Capital Trust II ("Capital Trust II"), a wholly-owned finance subsidiary of Holdings.  Fair value is primarily based on the quoted market price of the related trust preferred securities.

					December 31, 2011				December 31, 2010
					Consolidated Balance				Consolidated Balance
(Dollars in thousands)	Date Issued	Date Due	Amount Issued		Sheet Amount		Fair Value		Sheet Amount		Fair Value
6.20% Junior subordinated debt securities	03/29/2004	03/29/2034	$	329,897	$	329,897	$	326,313	$	329,897	$	294,825

Holdings may redeem the junior subordinated debt securities before their maturity at 100% of their principal amount plus accrued interest as of the date of redemption.  The securities may be redeemed, in whole or in part, on one or more occasions at any time on or after March 30, 2009; or at any time, in whole, but not in part, within 90 days of the occurrence and continuation of a determination that the Trust may become subject to tax or the Investment Company Act.

Interest expense incurred in connection with these junior subordinated debt securities is as follows for the periods indicated:

	Years Ended December 31,
(Dollars in thousands)	2011		2010		2009
Interest expense incurred	$	20,454	$	20,454	$	20,454

Holdings considers that the mechanisms and obligations relating to the trust preferred securities, taken together, constitute a full and unconditional guarantee by Holdings of Capital Trust II's payment obligations with respect to their trust preferred securities.

Capital Trust II will redeem all of the outstanding trust preferred securities when the junior subordinated debt securities are paid at maturity on March 29, 2034.  The Company may elect to redeem the junior subordinated debt securities, in whole or in part, at any time on or after March 30, 2009.  If such an early redemption occurs, the outstanding trust preferred securities would also be proportionately redeemed.

There are certain regulatory and contractual restrictions on the ability of Holdings' operating subsidiaries to transfer funds to Holdings in the form of cash dividends, loans or advances.  The insurance laws of the State of Delaware, where Holdings' direct insurance subsidiaries are domiciled, require regulatory approval before

those subsidiaries can pay dividends or make loans or advances to Holdings that exceed certain statutory thresholds.  In addition, the terms of Holdings Credit Facility (discussed in Note 5) require Everest Re, Holdings' principal insurance subsidiary, to maintain a certain statutory surplus level as measured at the end of each fiscal year.  At December 31, 2011, $2,108,692 thousand of the $2,766,266 thousand in net assets of Holdings' consolidated subsidiaries were subject to the foregoing regulatory restrictions.