The following table is a summary reconciliation of the beginning and ending Property and Casualty unpaid claims and claim expense reserves for the periods indicated. The table presents reserves on both gross and net (after reinsurance) bases. The total net Property and Casualty insurance claims and claim expense incurred amounts are reflected in the Consolidated Statements of Operations. The end of the period gross reserve (before reinsurance) balances and the reinsurance recoverable balances are reflected on a gross basis in the Consolidated Balance Sheets.



($ in thousands)	Three Months Ended June 30,						Six Months Ended June 30,
	2017			2016			2017			2016
Property and Casualty segment
Beginning Gross reserves (1)	$	316,173		$	319,276		$	307,757		$	301,569
Less: reinsurance recoverables	61,804			60,429			61,199			50,332
Net reserves, beginning of period (2)	254,369			258,847			246,558			251,237
Incurred claims and claim expenses:
Claims occurring in the current period	148,348			131,355			271,552			234,561
Decrease in estimated reserves for claims occurring in prior periods (3)	(600		)	(1,600		)	(1,600		)	(3,600		)
Total claims and claim expenses incurred (4)	147,748			129,755			269,952			230,961
Claims and claim expense payments for claims occurring during:
Current period	95,645			89,549			148,025			128,630
Prior periods	35,538			38,591			97,551			93,106
Total claims and claim expense payments	131,183			128,140			245,576			221,736
Net reserves, end of period (2)	270,934			260,462			270,934			260,462
Plus: reinsurance recoverables	58,897			60,499			58,897			60,499
Ending Gross reserves (1)	$	329,831		$	320,961		$	329,831		$	320,961


(1)	Unpaid claims and claim expenses as reported in the Consolidated Balance Sheets also include reserves for the Life and Retirement segments of $22,682 thousand and $23,783 thousand as of June 30, 2017 and 2016, respectively, in addition to Property and Casualty segment reserves.


(2)	Reserves net of anticipated reinsurance recoverables.


(3)	Shows the amounts by which the Company decreased its reserves in each of the periods indicated for claims occurring in previous periods to reflect subsequent information on such claims and changes in their projected final settlement costs.

(4)

Benefits, claims and settlement expenses as reported in the Consolidated Statements of Operations also include amounts for the Life and Retirement segments of $18,131 thousand and $40,023 thousand for the three and six months ended June 30, 2017, respectively, in addition to the Property and Casualty segment amounts. The Life and Retirement segments for the three and six months ended June 30, 2016 were $18,653 thousand and $36,960 thousand, respectively.

Net favorable development of total reserves for Property and Casualty claims occurring in prior years was $1,600 thousand and $3,600 thousand for the six month periods ended June 30, 2017 and 2016, respectively. The favorable development for both of the six month periods ended June 30, 2017 and 2016 was predominantly the result of favorable severity trends in homeowners loss emergence. This favorable development was for accident years 2015 and prior for the six months ended June 30, 2017 and accident years 2014 and prior for the six months ended June 30, 2016.