REINSURANCE (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2013

REINSURANCE

Schedule of premiums written and earned along with losses and settlement expenses incurred

(in thousands)	2013			2012			2011
WRITTEN
Direct	770,142			709,107			629,727
Reinsurance assumed	73,053			75,692			72,380
Reinsurance ceded	(176,873		)	(191,713		)	(152,469		)
Net	$	666,322		$	593,086		$	549,638
EARNED
Direct	741,569			679,124			625,963
Reinsurance assumed	78,891			77,597			66,984
Reinsurance ceded	(189,658		)	(180,150		)	(154,495		)
Net	$	630,802		$	576,571		$	538,452
LOSSES AND SETTLEMENT EXPENSES INCURRED
Direct	279,358			282,859			180,768
Reinsurance assumed	72,508			69,830			60,076
Reinsurance ceded	(92,065		)	(81,044		)	(40,760		)
Net	$	259,801		$	271,645		$	200,084

Schedule of net reinsurance balances recoverable, after consideration of collateral, from top 10 reinsurers

			Net Reinsurer				Ceded
	A.M. Best	S & P	Exposure as of		Percent of		Premiums		Percent of
(dollars in thousands)	Rating	Rating	12/31/2013		Total		Written		Total
Munich Re America / HSB	A+, Superior	AA-, Very Strong	$	60,256	16.6	%	$	23,544	13.3	%
Endurance Re	A, Excellent	A, Strong	60,235		16.6	%	16,039		9.1	%
Aspen UK Ltd.	A, Excellent	A, Strong	35,152		9.7	%	10,585		6.0	%
Transatlantic Re	A, Excellent	A+, Strong	25,803		7.1	%	11,549		6.5	%
Berkley Insurance Co.	A+, Superior	A+, Strong	24,060		6.6	%	7,658		4.3	%
Axis Re	A+, Superior	A+, Strong	22,494		6.2	%	5,834		3.3	%
Swiss Re / Westport Ins. Corp.	A+, Superior	AA-, Very Strong	21,268		5.9	%	5,958		3.4	%
Allied World Re - US	A, Excellent	A, Strong	16,148		4.5	%	6,340		3.6	%
Toa-Re	A+, Superior	A+, Strong	14,106		3.9	%	3,021		1.7	%
Alterra Re USA	A, Excellent	A, Strong	10,680		2.9	%	1,479		0.8	%
All other reinsurers*			71,884		20.0	%	84,866		48.0	%
Total ceded exposure			$	362,086	100.0	%	$	176,873	100.0	%

 *All other reinsurance balances recoverable, when considered by individual reinsurer, are less than 2 percent of shareholders’ equity.