Income Taxes

The provision for income taxes is comprised of the following:



	Three Months Ended September 30,					Nine Months Ended September 30,
	2014		2013			2014		2013
Current	$	18,062	$	46,389		$	71,658	$	72,291
Deferred	11,728		(13,102		)	48,666		(5,132		)
Total income tax provision	$	29,790	$	33,287		$	120,324	$	67,159

The following table presents a reconciliation between the statutory federal income tax rate and the Company’s effective income tax rate:



	Nine Months Ended September 30,
	2014		2013
Statutory federal income tax rate	35.0	%	35.0	%
Income tax effect of:
Investment income not subject to federal tax	(2.0	)%	(2.7	)%
Tax credits	(0.3	)%	(1.4	)%
State income taxes, net of federal benefit	1.5	%	2.0	%
Other, net	0.1	%	0.4	%
Effective income tax rate	34.3	%	33.3	%

During the nine months ended September 30, 2014 and 2013, the Company recorded an increase in unrecognized tax benefits in the amount of $1,401 and $12,965, respectively. The Company anticipates additional increases to its unrecognized tax benefits of $6,000 to $7,000 in the next twelve months. The Company expects that the majority of the increase in its unrecognized tax benefits will not impact the effective tax rate.

The Company files income tax returns in the U.S. federal jurisdiction and various states. With few exceptions, the Company is no longer subject to U.S. federal income tax examinations by tax authorities for years 2010 and prior. Tax years 2011 through 2013 are open to federal examination by the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”). The Company does not expect significant increases or decreases to unrecognized tax benefits relating to federal, state or local audits.