2. INVESTMENTS

The amortized cost, market value and gross unrealized appreciation and depreciation of available for sale, fixed maturity and equity security investments, carried at market value, are as follows for the periods indicated:


	At December 31, 2011
	Amortized		Unrealized		Unrealized			Market
(Dollars in thousands)	Cost		Appreciation		Depreciation			Value
Fixed maturity securities
U.S. Treasury securities and obligations of
U.S. government agencies and corporations	$	284,514	$	16,407	$	(287	)	$	300,634
Obligations of U.S. states and political subdivisions		1,558,615		102,815		(525	)		1,660,905
Corporate securities		3,495,761		197,914		(27,054	)		3,666,621
Asset-backed securities		186,936		7,020		(550	)		193,406
Mortgage-backed securities
Commercial		310,387		20,942		(9,902	)		321,427
Agency residential		2,198,937		86,722		(3,066	)		2,282,593
Non-agency residential		53,365		499		(775	)		53,089
Foreign government securities		1,555,707		120,900		(8,389	)		1,668,218
Foreign corporate securities		2,086,951		91,869		(32,189	)		2,146,631
Total fixed maturity securities	$	11,731,173	$	645,088	$	(82,737	)	$	12,293,524
Equity securities	$	463,620	$	4,060	$	(18,750	)	$	448,930


	At December 31, 2010
	Amortized		Unrealized		Unrealized			Market
(Dollars in thousands)	Cost		Appreciation		Depreciation			Value
Fixed maturity securities
U.S. Treasury securities and obligations of
U.S. government agencies and corporations	$	394,690	$	12,772	$	(5,655	)	$	401,807
Obligations of U.S. states and political subdivisions		2,809,514		116,920		(24,929	)		2,901,505
Corporate securities		2,916,977		168,687		(16,518	)		3,069,146
Asset-backed securities		210,717		7,799		(215	)		218,301
Mortgage-backed securities
Commercial		324,922		17,751		(5,454	)		337,219
Agency residential		2,018,384		76,367		(1,469	)		2,093,282
Non-agency residential		76,259		1,205		(1,723	)		75,741
Foreign government securities		1,584,355		79,661		(25,668	)		1,638,348
Foreign corporate securities		1,675,518		71,268		(31,666	)		1,715,120
Total fixed maturity securities	$	12,011,336	$	552,430	$	(113,297	)	$	12,450,469
Equity securities	$	363,283	$	3,039	$	(2,586	)	$	363,736

The $1,668,218 thousand of foreign government securities at December 31, 2011 included $756,833 thousand of European sovereign securities. Approximately 59%, 21% and 8% represented securities held in the governments of the United Kingdom, France and Austria, respectively. No other countries represented more than 5% of the European sovereign securities. The Company held no sovereign securities of Portugal, Italy, Ireland, Greece or Spain at December 31, 2011.

n accordance with FASB guidance, the Company reclassified the non-credit portion of other-than-temporary impairments from retained earnings into accumulated other comprehensive income (loss), on April 1, 2009. The table below presents the pre-tax cumulative unrealized appreciation (depreciation) on those corporate securities, for the periods indicated:


	At December 31,
(Dollars in thousands)	2011		2010
Pre-tax cumulative unrealized appreciation (depreciation)	$	2,567	$	1,743

The amortized cost and market value of fixed maturity securities are shown in the following table by contractual maturity. Mortgage-backed securities are generally more likely to be prepaid than other fixed maturity securities. As the stated maturity of such securities may not be indicative of actual maturities, the totals for mortgage-backed and asset-backed securities are shown separately.


	At December 31, 2011				At December 31, 2010
	Amortized		Market		Amortized		Market
(Dollars in thousands)	Cost		Value		Cost		Value
Fixed maturity securities – available for sale:
Due in one year or less	$	494,098	$	494,911	$	572,985	$	580,528
Due after one year through five years		5,052,484		5,268,748		3,911,482		4,057,230
Due after five years through ten years		2,188,080		2,325,142		2,564,948		2,686,005
Due after ten years		1,246,886		1,354,208		2,331,639		2,402,163
Asset-backed securities		186,936		193,406		210,717		218,301
Mortgage-backed securities:
Commercial		310,387		321,427		324,922		337,219
Agency residential		2,198,937		2,282,593		2,018,384		2,093,282
Non-agency residential		53,365		53,089		76,259		75,741
Total fixed maturity securities	$	11,731,173	$	12,293,524	$	12,011,336	$	12,450,469

The changes in net unrealized appreciation (depreciation) for the Company's investments are derived from the following sources for the periods indicated:


	Years Ended December 31,
(Dollars in thousands)	2011			2010
Increase (decrease) during the period between the market value and cost
of investments carried at market value, and deferred taxes thereon:
Fixed maturity securities	$	122,393		$	40,095
Fixed maturity securities, other-than-temporary impairment		824			7,831
Equity securities		(15,143	)		(1,878	)
Other invested assets		(1,515	)		2,389
Change in unrealized appreciation (depreciation), pre-tax		106,559			48,437
Deferred tax benefit (expense)		(26,484	)		10,726
Deferred tax benefit (expense), other-than-temporary impairment		66			1,001
Change in unrealized appreciation (depreciation),
net of deferred taxes, included in shareholders' equity	$	80,141		$	60,164

The Company frequently reviews all of its fixed maturity, available for sale securities for declines in market value and focuses its attention on securities whose fair value has fallen below 80% of their amortized cost at the time of review. The Company then assesses whether the decline in value is temporary or other-than-temporary. In making its assessment, the Company evaluates the current market and interest rate environment as well as specific issuer information. Generally, a change in a security's value caused by a change in the market, interest rate or foreign exchange environment does not constitute an other-than-temporary impairment, but rather a temporary decline in market value. Temporary declines in market value are recorded as unrealized losses in accumulated other comprehensive income (loss). If the Company determines that the decline is other-than-temporary and the Company does not have the intent to sell the security; and it is more likely than not that the Company will not have to sell the security before recovery of its cost basis, the carrying value of the investment is written down to fair value. The fair value adjustment that is credit or foreign exchange related is recorded in net realized capital gains (losses) in the Company's consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive income (loss). The fair value adjustment that is non-credit related is recorded as a component of other comprehensive income (loss), net of tax, and is included in accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) in the Company's consolidated balance sheets. The Company's assessments are based on the issuers current and expected future financial position, timeliness with respect to interest and/or principal payments, speed of repayments and any applicable credit enhancements or breakeven constant default rates on mortgage-backed and asset-backed securities, as well as relevant information provided by rating agencies, investment advisors and analysts.

The majority of the Company's equity securities available for sale at market value are primarily comprised of mutual fund investments whose underlying securities consist of fixed maturity securities. When a fund's value reflects an unrealized loss, the Company assesses whether the decline in value is temporary or other-than-temporary. In making its assessment, the Company considers the composition of its portfolios and their related markets, reports received from the portfolio managers and discussions with portfolio managers. If the Company determines that the declines are temporary and it has the ability and intent to continue to hold the investments, then the declines are recorded as unrealized losses in accumulated other comprehensive income (loss). If declines are deemed to be other-than-temporary, then the carrying value of the investment is written down to fair value and recorded in net realized capital gains (losses) in the Company's consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive income (loss).

Retrospective adjustments are employed to recalculate the values of asset-backed securities. All of the Company's asset-backed and mortgage-backed securities have a pass-through structure. Each acquisition lot is reviewed to recalculate the effective yield. The recalculated effective yield is used to derive a book value as if the new yield were applied at the time of acquisition. Outstanding principal factors from the time of acquisition to the adjustment date are used to calculate the prepayment history for all applicable securities. Conditional prepayment rates, computed with life to date factor histories and weighted average maturities, are used in the calculation of projected and prepayments for pass-through security types.

The tables below display the aggregate market value and gross unrealized depreciation of fixed maturity and equity securities, by security type and contractual maturity, in each case subdivided according to length of time that individual securities had been in a continuous unrealized loss position for the periods indicated:


	Duration of Unrealized Loss at December 31, 2011 By Security Type
	Less than 12 months					Greater than 12 months					Total
			Gross					Gross					Gross
			Unrealized					Unrealized					Unrealized
(Dollars in thousands)	Market Value		Depreciation			Market Value		Depreciation			Market Value		Depreciation
Fixed maturity securities - available for sale
U.S. Treasury securities and obligations of
U.S. government agencies and corporations	$	-	$	-		$	3,452	$	(287	)	$	3,452	$	(287	)
Obligations of U.S. states and political subdivisions		-		-			7,518		(525	)		7,518		(525	)
Corporate securities		512,255		(14,962	)		120,064		(12,092	)		632,319		(27,054	)
Asset-backed securities		20,839		(339	)		3,655		(211	)		24,494		(550	)
Mortgage-backed securities
Commercial		9,292		(1,267	)		54,535		(8,635	)		63,827		(9,902	)
Agency residential		253,171		(2,524	)		43,894		(542	)		297,065		(3,066	)
Non-agency residential		1,542		(19	)		35,679		(756	)		37,221		(775	)
Foreign government securities		39,534		(1,035	)		132,977		(7,354	)		172,511		(8,389	)
Foreign corporate securities		278,949		(12,287	)		259,641		(19,902	)		538,590		(32,189	)
Total fixed maturity securities	$	1,115,582	$	(32,433	)	$	661,415	$	(50,304	)	$	1,776,997	$	(82,737	)
Equity securities		108,939		(8,499	)		204,466		(10,251	)		313,405		(18,750	)
Total	$	1,224,521	$	(40,932	)	$	865,881	$	(60,555	)	$	2,090,402	$	(101,487	)


	Duration of Unrealized Loss at December 31, 2011 By Maturity
	Less than 12 months					Greater than 12 months					Total
			Gross					Gross					Gross
			Unrealized					Unrealized					Unrealized
(Dollars in thousands)	Market Value		Depreciation			Market Value		Depreciation			Market Value		Depreciation
Fixed maturity securities
Due in one year or less	$	26,581	$	(326	)	$	72,083	$	(8,953	)	$	98,664	$	(9,279	)
Due in one year through five years		421,995		(12,001	)		256,698		(15,635	)		678,693		(27,636	)
Due in five years through ten years		337,232		(13,019	)		159,476		(8,264	)		496,708		(21,283	)
Due after ten years		44,930		(2,938	)		35,395		(7,308	)		80,325		(10,246	)
Asset-backed securities		20,839		(339	)		3,655		(211	)		24,494		(550	)
Mortgage-backed securities		264,005		(3,810	)		134,108		(9,933	)		398,113		(13,743	)
Total fixed maturity securities	$	1,115,582	$	(32,433	)	$	661,415	$	(50,304	)	$	1,776,997	$	(82,737	)

The aggregate market value and gross unrealized losses related to investments in an unrealized loss position at December 31, 2011 were $2,090,402 thousand and $101,487 thousand, respectively. There were no unrealized losses on a single issuer that exceeded 0.04% of the market value of the fixed maturity securities at December 31, 2011. In addition, as indicated on the above table, there was no significant concentration of unrealized losses in any one market sector. The $32,433 thousand of unrealized losses related to fixed maturity securities that have been in an unrealized loss position for less than one year were generally comprised of domestic and foreign corporate securities. Of these unrealized losses, $17,207 thousand were related to securities that were rated investment grade by at least one nationally recognized statistical rating organization. The $50,304 thousand of unrealized losses related to fixed maturity securities in an unrealized loss position for more than one year related primarily to domestic and foreign corporate securities, foreign government securities and commercial mortgage-backed securities. Of these unrealized losses, $34,840 thousand related to securities that were rated investment grade by at least one nationally recognized statistical rating organization. All of the unrealized losses related to foreign corporate and foreign government securities are due to temporary currency exchange rate movements as opposed to market value movements. The non-investment grade securities with unrealized losses were mainly comprised of corporate and commercial mortgage-backed securities. The gross unrealized depreciation for mortgage-backed securities included $322 thousand related to sub-prime and alt-A loans. In all instances, there were no projected cash flow shortfalls to recover the full book value of the investments and the related interest obligations. The mortgage-backed securities still have excess credit coverage and are current on interest and principal payments. The unrealized losses related to equity securities represent temporary declines in value of mutual fund investments where the underlying investments are comprised of emerging market debt fixed maturities.

The Company, given the size of its investment portfolio and capital position, does not have the intent to sell these securities; and it is more likely than not that the Company will not have to sell the security before recovery of its cost basis. In addition, all securities currently in an unrealized loss position are current with respect to principal and interest payments.


	Duration of Unrealized Loss at December 31, 2010 By Security Type
	Less than 12 months					Greater than 12 months					Total
			Gross					Gross					Gross
			Unrealized					Unrealized					Unrealized
(Dollars in thousands)	Market Value		Depreciation			Market Value		Depreciation			Market Value		Depreciation
Fixed maturity securities - available for sale
U.S. Treasury securities and obligations of
U.S. government agencies and corporations	$	70,193	$	(2,425	)	$	43,264	$	(3,230	)	$	113,457	$	(5,655	)
Obligations of U.S. states and political subdivisions		336,522		(9,520	)		171,812		(15,409	)		508,334		(24,929	)
Corporate securities		186,898		(5,077	)		107,520		(11,441	)		294,418		(16,518	)
Asset-backed securities		7,816		(92	)		2,408		(123	)		10,224		(215	)
Mortgage-backed securities
Commercial		962		(25	)		58,036		(5,429	)		58,998		(5,454	)
Agency residential		208,930		(1,236	)		614		(233	)		209,544		(1,469	)
Non-agency residential		-		-			44,341		(1,723	)		44,341		(1,723	)
Foreign government securities		194,113		(6,416	)		203,913		(19,252	)		398,026		(25,668	)
Foreign corporate securities		309,627		(9,452	)		198,161		(22,214	)		507,788		(31,666	)
Total fixed maturity securities	$	1,315,061	$	(34,243	)	$	830,069	$	(79,054	)	$	2,145,130	$	(113,297	)
Equity securities		273,378		(2,584	)		13		(2	)		273,391		(2,586	)
Total	$	1,588,439	$	(36,827	)	$	830,082	$	(79,056	)	$	2,418,521	$	(115,883	)


	Duration of Unrealized Loss at December 31, 2010 By Maturity
	Less than 12 months					Greater than 12 months					Total
			Gross					Gross					Gross
			Unrealized					Unrealized					Unrealized
(Dollars in thousands)	Market Value		Depreciation			Market Value		Depreciation			Market Value		Depreciation
Fixed maturity securities
Due in one year or less	$	24,854	$	(450	)	$	55,204	$	(9,061	)	$	80,058	$	(9,511	)
Due in one year through five years		313,179		(11,829	)		224,770		(19,685	)		537,949		(31,514	)
Due in five years through ten years		358,468		(9,538	)		144,264		(12,624	)		502,732		(22,162	)
Due after ten years		400,852		(11,073	)		300,432		(30,176	)		701,284		(41,249	)
Asset-backed securities		7,816		(92	)		2,408		(123	)		10,224		(215	)
Mortgage-backed securities		209,892		(1,261	)		102,991		(7,385	)		312,883		(8,646	)
Total fixed maturity securities	$	1,315,061	$	(34,243	)	$	830,069	$	(79,054	)	$	2,145,130	$	(113,297	)

The aggregate market value and gross unrealized losses related to investments in an unrealized loss position at December 31, 2010 were $2,418,521 thousand and $115,883 thousand, respectively. There were no unrealized losses on a single issuer that exceeded 0.08% of the market value of the fixed maturity securities at December 31, 2010. In addition, as indicated on the above table, there was no significant concentration of unrealized losses in any one market sector. The $34,243 thousand of unrealized losses related to fixed maturity securities that have been in an unrealized loss position for less than one year were generally comprised of highly rated municipal, foreign government and domestic and foreign corporate securities. Of these unrealized losses, $33,463 thousand were related to securities that were rated investment grade by at least one nationally recognized statistical rating organization. The $79,054 thousand of unrealized losses related to fixed maturity securities in an unrealized loss position for more than one year related primarily to highly rated municipal, foreign government, domestic and foreign corporate securities and commercial mortgage-backed securities. Of these unrealized losses, $66,514 thousand related to securities that were rated investment grade by at least one nationally recognized statistical rating organization. The non-investment grade securities with unrealized losses were mainly comprised of corporate and commercial mortgage-backed securities. The gross unrealized depreciation for mortgage-backed securities included $210 thousand related to sub-prime and alt-A loans. In all instances, there were

no projected cash flow shortfalls to recover the full book value of the investments and the related interest obligations. The mortgage-backed securities still have excess credit coverage and are current on interest and principal payments.

The components of net investment income are presented in the table below for the periods indicated:


	Years Ended December 31,
(Dollars in thousands)	2011			2010			2009
Fixed maturity securities	$	521,991		$	581,870		$	570,798
Equity securities		57,573			12,200			3,574
Short-term investments and cash		1,281			151			5,965
Other invested assets
Limited partnerships		56,851			70,740			(19,022	)
Other		2,741			1,274			74
Total gross investment income		640,437			666,235			561,389
Interest debited (credited) and other investment expense		(20,396	)		(12,772	)		(13,596	)
Total net investment income	$	620,041		$	653,463		$	547,793

The Company records results from limited partnership investments on the equity method of accounting with changes in value reported through net investment income. Due to the timing of receiving financial information from these partnerships, the results are generally reported on a one month or quarter lag. If the Company determines there has been a significant decline in value of a limited partnership during this lag period, a loss will be recorded in the period in which the Company indentifies the decline.

The Company had contractual commitments to invest up to an additional $159,312 thousand in limited partnerships at December 31, 2011. These commitments will be funded when called in accordance with the partnership agreements, which have investment periods that expire, unless extended, through 2016.

The components of net realized capital gains (losses) are presented in the table below for the periods indicated:


	Years Ended December 31,
(Dollars in thousands)	2011			2010			2009
Fixed maturity securities, market value:
Other-than-temporary impairments	$	(16,223	)	$	(2,975	)	$	(13,210	)
Gains (losses) from sales		20,378			27,491			(45,666	)
Fixed maturity securities, fair value:
Gains (losses) from sales		(905	)		775			682
Gains (losses) from fair value adjustments		(15,518	)		15,091			9,337
Equity securities, market value:
Gains (losses) from sales		38			77			8,087
Equity securities, fair value:
Gains (losses) from sales		8,021			6,136			7,510
Gains (losses) from fair value adjustments		11,130			55,308			30,908
Short-term investments gain (loss)		2			8			40
Total net realized capital gains (losses)	$	6,923		$	101,911		$	(2,312	)

The Company recorded as net realized capital gains (losses) in the consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive income (loss) both fair value re-measurements and write-downs in the value of securities deemed to be impaired on an other-than-temporary basis as displayed in the table above. The Company had no other-than-temporary impaired securities where the impairment had both a credit and non-credit component.

The proceeds and split between gross gains and losses, from sales of fixed maturity and equity securities, are presented in the table below for the periods indicated:


	Years Ended December 31,
(Dollars in thousands)	2011			2010			2009
Proceeds from sales of fixed maturity securities	$	1,797,404		$	1,652,956		$	326,050
Gross gains from sales		86,519			141,038			20,576
Gross losses from sales		(67,046	)		(112,772	)		(65,560	)

Proceeds from sales of equity securities	$	274,434		$	237,149		$	67,655
Gross gains from sales		16,325			11,562			16,483
Gross losses from sales		(8,266	)		(5,349	)		(886	)

Securities with a carrying value amount of $1,410,030 thousand at December 31, 2011 were on deposit with various state or governmental insurance departments in compliance with insurance laws.