Deferred Policy Acquisition Cost

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2013

Deferred Policy Acquisition Cost

Deferred Policy Acquisition Cost

27. Deferred Policy Acquisition Cost

Policy acquisition expenses, primarily commissions, premium taxes and underwriting expenses related to the successful issuance of a new or renewal policy incurred by NLC are deferred and charged against income ratably over the terms of the related policies. A summary of the activity in deferred policy acquisition costs is as follows (in thousands).

	Year Ended December 31,
	2013			2012
Balance, beginning of year	$	19,812		$	19,182
Acquisition expenses capitalized	41,771			39,387
Amortization charged to income	(40,592		)	(38,757		)
Balance, end of year	$	20,991		$	19,812

Amortization is included in policy acquisition and other underwriting expenses in the accompanying consolidated statements of operations.