Income Taxes (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2014

Components of Income Tax Expense (Benefit), Continuing Operations [Abstract]

Components Of Income Tax Expense

The provision for income tax expense consists of the following components:

	Year Ended December 31,
	2014		2013			2012
	(Amounts in thousands)
Federal
Current	$	44,469	$	30,266		$	9,340
Deferred	20,444		(14,970		)	6,238
	$	64,913	$	15,296		$	15,578
State
Current	$	4,421	$	5,234		$	2,079
Deferred	142		(577		)	742
	$	4,563	$	4,657		$	2,821
Total
Current	$	48,890	$	35,500		$	11,419
Deferred	20,586		(15,547		)	6,980
Total	$	69,476	$	19,953		$	18,399

Reconciliation Of Income Taxes

The income tax provision reflected in the consolidated statements of operations is reconciled to the federal income tax on income before income taxes based on a statutory rate of 35% as shown in the table below:

	Year Ended December 31,
	2014			2013			2012
	(Amounts in thousands)
Computed tax expense at 35%	$	86,598		$	46,234		$	47,359
Tax-exempt interest income	(27,839		)	(26,381		)	(27,789		)
Dividends received deduction	(2,027		)	(2,239		)	(1,482		)
State tax expense	3,872			4,944			1,918
Nondeductible expenses	9,900			190			317
Other, net	(1,028		)	(2,795		)	(1,924		)
Income tax expense	$	69,476		$	19,953		$	18,399

Deferred Tax Assets And Liabilities

Significant components of the Company’s net deferred tax assets and liabilities are as follows:

	December 31,
	2014			2013
	(Amounts in thousands)
Deferred tax assets:
20% of net unearned premium	$	71,907		$	68,586
Discounting of loss reserves and salvage and subrogation recoverable for tax purposes	11,100			12,810
Write-down of impaired investments	942			1,714
Tax credit carryforward	31,198			40,309
Expense accruals	13,395			12,497
Other deferred tax assets	7,448			5,653
Total gross deferred tax assets	135,990			141,569
Deferred tax liabilities:
Deferred acquisition costs	(69,021		)	(68,063		)
Tax liability on net unrealized gain on securities carried at fair value	(47,333		)	(33,964		)
Tax depreciation in excess of book depreciation	(9,414		)	(9,667		)
Undistributed earnings of insurance subsidiaries	(4,486		)	(4,024		)
Tax amortization in excess of book amortization	(1,982		)	(1,447		)
Other deferred tax liabilities	(9,087		)	(9,184		)
Total gross deferred tax liabilities	(141,323		)	(126,349		)
Net deferred tax (liabilities) assets	$	(5,333	)	$	15,220

Summary Of Unrecognized Tax Benefits

A reconciliation of the beginning and ending balances of unrecognized tax benefits is as follows:

	2014			2013
	(Amounts in thousands)
Balance at January 1	$	10,784		$	5,926
Additions based on tax positions related to:
Current year	2,277			1,225
Prior years	(258		)	3,633
Additions (reductions) as a result of lapse of the applicable statute of limitations	(191		)	0
Balance at December 31	$	12,612		$	10,784