Represents the number of regional branch offices operated by the acquiree.

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Represents the number of contractors served by the acquiree.

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- Definition

Represents the number of agents and brokers served by the acquiree.

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- Definition

Represents the maximum period within which the business acquisition purchase accounting adjustments can be made.

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- Definition

The amount of acquisition cost of a business combination allocated to an identifiable intangible asset, net of related amortization.

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- Definition

Represents the percentage of investments sold and reinvested in higher yielding securities.

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- Definition

Amount of cash paid to acquire the entity.

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef

-Publisher FASB

-Name Statement of Financial Accounting Standard (FAS)

-Number 141

-Paragraph 51

-Subparagraph d

-LegacyDoc This reference is SUPERSEDED by the Accounting Standards Codification effective for interim and annual periods ending after September 15, 2009. This reference is included to help users transition from the previous accounting hierarchy and will be removed from future versions of this taxonomy.

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-Publisher FASB

-Name Statement of Financial Accounting Standard (FAS)

-Number 141R

-Paragraph 68

-Subparagraph f(1)

-LegacyDoc This reference is SUPERSEDED by the Accounting Standards Codification effective for interim and annual periods ending after September 15, 2009. This reference is included to help users transition from the previous accounting hierarchy and will be removed from future versions of this taxonomy.

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Line items represent financial concepts included in a table. These concepts are used to disclose reportable information associated with domain members defined in one or many axes to the table.

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The amount of acquisition cost of a business combination allocated to an identifiable intangible asset that will be amortized.

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Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef

-Publisher FASB

-Name Statement of Financial Accounting Standard (FAS)

-Number 141

-Paragraph 51

-Subparagraph e

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-Publisher FASB

-Name Statement of Financial Accounting Standard (FAS)

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-Paragraph 52

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- Definition

Amount of goodwill arising from a business combination, which is the excess of the cost of the acquired entity over the amounts assigned to assets acquired and liabilities assumed.

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef

-Publisher FASB

-Name Statement of Financial Accounting Standard (FAS)

-Number 141

-Paragraph 52

-Subparagraph c

-LegacyDoc This reference is SUPERSEDED by the Accounting Standards Codification effective for interim and annual periods ending after September 15, 2009. This reference is included to help users transition from the previous accounting hierarchy and will be removed from future versions of this taxonomy.

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-Publisher FASB

-Name Statement of Financial Accounting Standard (FAS)

-Number 141

-Paragraph 53

-Subparagraph d

-LegacyDoc This reference is SUPERSEDED by the Accounting Standards Codification effective for interim and annual periods ending after September 15, 2009. This reference is included to help users transition from the previous accounting hierarchy and will be removed from future versions of this taxonomy.

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- Definition

This item represents investment income derived from investments in debt and equity securities consisting of interest income earned from investments in debt securities and on cash and cash equivalents, dividend income from investments in equity securities, and income or expense derived from the amortization of investment related discounts or premiums, respectively, net of related investment expenses. This item does not include realized or unrealized gains or losses on the sale or holding of investments in debt and equity securities required to be included in earnings for the period or for other than temporary losses related to investments in debt and equity securities which are included in realized losses in the period recognized, and does not include investment income from real or personal property, such as rental income.

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef

-Publisher FASB

-Name Accounting Standards Codification

-Topic 225

-SubTopic 10

-Section S99

-Paragraph 2

-Subparagraph (SX 210.5-03.9)

-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6880815&loc=d3e20235-122688

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-SubTopic 10

-Section S99

-Paragraph 2

-Subparagraph (SX 210.5-03.7(a),(b))

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-Name FASB Staff Position (FSP)

-Number FAS115-1/124-1

-Paragraph 13, 14, 15, 16

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-Name Accounting Standards Codification

-Topic 225

-SubTopic 10

-Section S99

-Paragraph 2

-Subparagraph (SX 210.5-03.8)

-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6880815&loc=d3e20235-122688

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- Definition

Premiums written for all insurance and reinsurance contracts, after adding premiums assumed from other insurers and subtracting any amounts ceded to another insurer.

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef

-Publisher SEC

-Name Regulation S-X (SX)

-Number 210

-Section 17

-Article 12

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-Publisher FASB

-Name Statement of Financial Accounting Standard (FAS)

-Number 113

-Paragraph 27

-Subparagraph a, b

-LegacyDoc This reference is SUPERSEDED by the Accounting Standards Codification effective for interim and annual periods ending after September 15, 2009. This reference is included to help users transition from the previous accounting hierarchy and will be removed from future versions of this taxonomy.

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-Publisher FASB

-Name Accounting Standards Codification

-Topic 944

-SubTopic 605

-Section 50

-Paragraph 1

-Subparagraph (b),(c)

-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6486672&loc=d3e27261-158547

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- Definition

The difference between the price paid by the public and the contract price less the related expenses. A broker-dealer may underwrite a security offering by contracting to buy the issue either at a fixed price or a price based on selling the offering on a best-effort basis.

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef

-Publisher AICPA

-Name Audit and Accounting Guide (AAG)

-Number AAG-BRD

-Chapter 4

-Paragraph 9, 51, 58

-IssueDate 2006-05-01

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Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef

-Publisher FASB

-Name Accounting Standards Codification

-Topic 942

-SubTopic 225

-Section S99

-Paragraph 1

-Subparagraph (SX 210.9-04.13(b))

-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6879574&loc=d3e536633-122882

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-Publisher FASB

-Name Accounting Standards Codification

-Topic 940

-SubTopic 605

-Section 05

-Paragraph 1

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ACQUISITION (Details) (USD $)	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended		3 Months Ended		5 Months Ended	9 Months Ended		3 Months Ended			9 Months Ended		3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended
ACQUISITION (Details) (USD $)	Sep. 30, 2011	Sep. 30, 2010	Sep. 30, 2011	Sep. 30, 2010	Sep. 30, 2011 Surety Contractors Bonding and Insurance Company (CBIC)	Sep. 30, 2011 Contractors Bonding and Insurance Company (CBIC) Count Person	Sep. 30, 2011 Contractors Bonding and Insurance Company (CBIC) Count Person	Sep. 30, 2011 Contractors Bonding and Insurance Company (CBIC) Y Count Person	Apr. 28, 2011 Contractors Bonding and Insurance Company (CBIC)	Sep. 30, 2011 Contractors Bonding and Insurance Company (CBIC) Casualty	Sep. 30, 2011 Casualty	Sep. 30, 2010 Casualty	Sep. 30, 2011 Casualty	Sep. 30, 2010 Casualty	Sep. 30, 2011 Surety	Sep. 30, 2010 Surety	Sep. 30, 2011 Surety	Sep. 30, 2010 Surety	Sep. 30, 2011 Corporates	Sep. 30, 2011 Equity
Business acquisition
Business acquisition consideration paid in cash									$ 135,900,000
Number of contractors served by the acquiree (in persons)						30,000	30,000	30,000
Number of insurance agents and brokers served by the acquiree (in persons)						4,000	4,000	4,000
Number of regional branch offices operated by the acquiree (in counts)						13	13	13
Amount of goodwill resulting from acquisition						22,900,000	22,900,000	22,900,000
Amount of separately identifiable intangible assets resulting from acquisition						11,900,000	11,900,000	11,900,000
Amount of separately identifiable intangible assets resulting from acquisition, net of related amortization						11,600,000	11,600,000	11,600,000
Business acquisition purchase accounting adjustments, maximum tenure (in years)								1
Premiums written					6,400,000	14,000,000	24,300,000			7,600,000
Underwriting loss	(24,736,000)	(21,726,000)	(89,533,000)	(65,242,000)		300,000		500,000			(23,794,000)	(8,977,000)	(55,388,000)	(23,185,000)	(2,868,000)	(7,461,000)	(17,523,000)	(19,388,000)
Net investment income						$ 900,000		$ 1,100,000
Percentage of investments sold (as a percent)																			90.00%	100.00%