SEGMENT INFORMATION

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2013

Segment Reporting [Abstract]

SEGMENT INFORMATION [Text Block]

Our underwriting operations are organized around our global underwriting platforms, AXIS Insurance and AXIS Reinsurance. Therefore we have determined that we have two reportable segments, insurance and reinsurance. We do not allocate our assets by segment, with the exception of goodwill and intangible assets, as we evaluate the underwriting results of each segment separately from the results of our investment portfolio.

Insurance

Our insurance segment provides insurance coverage on a worldwide basis. The product lines in this segment are property, marine, terrorism, aviation, credit and political risk, professional lines, liability and accident and health.

Reinsurance

Our reinsurance segment provides non-life treaty reinsurance to insurance companies on a worldwide basis. The product lines in this segment are catastrophe, property, professional lines, credit and surety, motor, liability, agriculture, engineering and other.

The following tables summarize the underwriting results of our reportable segments, as well as the carrying values of allocated goodwill and intangible assets:

At and year ended December 31, 2013	Insurance			Reinsurance			Total
Gross premiums written	$	2,559,138		$	2,137,903		$	4,697,041
Net premiums written	1,813,538			2,114,662			3,928,200
Net premiums earned	1,722,762			1,984,303			3,707,065
Other insurance related income	2,436			1,988			4,424
Net losses and loss expenses	(1,050,402		)	(1,083,793		)	(2,134,195		)
Acquisition costs	(242,363		)	(421,828		)	(664,191		)
General and administrative expenses	(347,684		)	(137,450		)	(485,134		)
Underwriting income	$	84,749		$	343,220		427,969
Corporate expenses							(90,256		)
Net investment income							409,312
Net realized investment gains							75,564
Foreign exchange losses							(26,143		)
Interest expense and financing costs							(61,979		)
Income before income taxes							$	734,467
Net loss and loss expense ratio	61.0		%	54.6		%	57.6		%
Acquisition cost ratio	14.1		%	21.3		%	17.9		%
General and administrative expense ratio	20.1		%	6.9		%	15.5		%
Combined ratio	95.2		%	82.8		%	91.0		%
Goodwill and intangible assets	$	89,528		$	—		$	89,528

At and year ended December 31, 2012	Insurance			Reinsurance			Total
Gross premiums written	$	2,309,481		$	1,830,162		$	4,139,643
Net premiums written	1,522,245			1,815,211			3,337,456
Net premiums earned	1,558,058			1,857,405			3,415,463
Other insurance related income	2,676			—			2,676
Net losses and loss expenses	(953,564		)	(1,142,464		)	(2,096,028		)
Acquisition costs	(226,859		)	(400,794		)	(627,653		)
General and administrative expenses	(314,834		)	(116,487		)	(431,321		)
Underwriting income	$	65,477		$	197,660		263,137
Corporate expenses							(129,660		)
Net investment income							380,957
Net realized investment gains							127,469
Foreign exchange losses							(29,512		)
Interest expense and financing costs							(61,863		)
Income before income taxes							$	550,528
Net loss and loss expense ratio	61.2		%	61.5		%	61.4		%
Acquisition cost ratio	14.6		%	21.6		%	18.4		%
General and administrative expense ratio	20.2		%	6.3		%	16.4		%
Combined ratio	96.0		%	89.4		%	96.2		%
Goodwill and intangible assets	$	97,493		$	—		$	97,493

At and year ended December 31, 2011	Insurance			Reinsurance			Total
Gross premiums written	$	2,121,829		$	1,974,324		$	4,096,153
Net premiums written	1,466,134			1,953,300			3,419,434
Net premiums earned	1,429,687			1,885,274			3,314,961
Other insurance related income	2,396			—			2,396
Net losses and loss expenses	(919,319		)	(1,755,733		)	(2,675,052		)
Acquisition costs	(199,583		)	(387,886		)	(587,469		)
General and administrative expenses	(278,147		)	(103,915		)	(382,062		)
Underwriting income (loss)	$	35,034		$	(362,260	)	(327,226		)
Corporate expenses							(77,089		)
Net investment income							362,430
Net realized investment gains							121,439
Foreign exchange gains							44,582
Interest expense and financing costs							(62,598		)
Income before income taxes							$	61,538
Net loss and loss expense ratio	64.3		%	93.1		%	80.7		%
Acquisition cost ratio	14.0		%	20.6		%	17.7		%
General and administrative expense ratio	19.4		%	5.5		%	13.9		%
Combined ratio	97.7		%	119.2		%	112.3		%
Goodwill and intangible assets	$	99,590		$	—		$	99,590

The following table presents our gross premiums written by the geographical location of our subsidiaries:

Year ended December 31,	2013		2012		2011
Bermuda	$	718,904	$	684,588	$	822,237
Europe	1,699,748		1,561,701		1,493,692
United States	2,278,389		1,893,354		1,780,224
Total gross premium written	$	4,697,041	$	4,139,643	$	4,096,153

The following table presents our net premiums earned by segment and line of business:

Year ended December 31,	2013		2012		2011
Insurance
Property	$	462,364	$	408,943	$	385,291
Marine	179,057		171,165		152,123
Terrorism	39,298		38,605		35,213
Aviation	48,489		60,363		70,681
Credit and political risk	68,192		87,103		97,680
Professional lines	586,200		563,500		536,238
Liability	110,623		86,873		89,555
Accident & health	228,539		141,506		62,906
Total Insurance	1,722,762		1,558,058		1,429,687
Reinsurance
Catastrophe	380,199		375,088		456,858
Property	350,970		351,470		356,022
Professional lines	304,754		297,726		281,025
Credit and surety	279,943		277,185		263,912
Motor	221,844		237,006		202,830
Liability	234,736		220,874		230,872
Agriculture	126,490		17,116		15,031
Engineering	66,243		68,402		65,727
Other	19,124		12,538		12,997
Total Reinsurance	1,984,303		1,857,405		1,885,274
Total	$	3,707,065	$	3,415,463	$	3,314,961