Notes Payable and Debt and Financing Arrangements	9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2011
Debt Disclosure [Text Block]	9. Notes Payable and Debt and Financing Arrangements All outstanding debt of the Company at September 30, 2011 and December 31, 2010 was issued by XL-Cayman except for the $600 million par value 6.5% Guaranteed Senior Notes due January 2012 which were issued by XLCFE. Both XL-Cayman and XLCFE are wholly-owned subsidiaries of XL-Ireland. The XLCFE notes are fully and unconditionally guaranteed by XL Company Switzerland GmbH (“XL-Switzerland”). The Company’s ability to obtain funds from its subsidiaries to satisfy any of its obligations under this guarantee is subject to certain contractual restrictions, applicable laws and statutory requirements of the various countries in which the Company operates, including, among others, Bermuda, the United States, Ireland, Switzerland and the U.K. Aggregated required statutory capital and surplus for the principal operating subsidiaries of the Company was $6.2 billion at December 31, 2010. In August 2011, in accordance with the terms of the 10.75% Units, XL-Cayman purchased and retired all of the 8.25% Senior Notes for $575 million in a remarketing. These notes comprised a part of the 10.75% Units. The proceeds from the remarketing were used to satisfy the purchase price for XL-Ireland’s ordinary shares issued to holders of the 10.75% Units pursuant to the forward purchase contracts comprising a part of the 10.75% Units. Each forward purchase contract provided for the issuance of 1.3242 ordinary shares of XL-Ireland at a price of $25 per share. The settlement of the forward purchase contracts resulted in XL-Ireland’s issuance of an aggregate of 30,456,600 ordinary shares for an aggregate purchase price of $575 million. As a result of the settlement of the forward purchase contracts, the 10.75% Units ceased to exist and are no longer traded on the NYSE. On September 30, 2011, XL-Cayman completed the sale of $400 million aggregate principal amount of its 5.75% senior notes due 2021 (the “5.75% Senior Notes”) at the issue price of 100% of the principal amount. The 5.75% Senior Notes are fully and unconditionally guaranteed by XL-Ireland. XL-Cayman received net proceeds of approximately $396.4 million from the offering, which will be used to partially repay the $600 million par value 6.5% Guaranteed Senior Notes due January 2012 which were issued by XLCFE. The 5.75% Senior Notes bear interest at a rate of 5.75% per annum, payable semi-annually, beginning on April 1, 2012, and mature on October 1, 2021. Upon the occurrence of a contractually defined event of default, all unpaid principal of and accrued interest and additional amounts, if any, on the 5.75% Senior Notes then outstanding will become due and payable immediately without any declaration or other act on the part of the trustee or the holders of any 5.75% Senior Notes. XL-Cayman may redeem the 5.75% Senior Notes, in whole or part, from time to time pursuant to the terms of the indenture. Letter of Credit Facilities and Other Sources of Collateral On March 25, 2011, the Company and certain of its subsidiaries entered into a secured credit agreement (the “2011 Credit Agreement”) that currently provides for issuance of letters of credit of up to $1 billion. Concurrent with the effectiveness of the 2011 Credit Agreement, the commitments of the lenders under the existing five-year credit agreement dated June 21, 2007 were reduced from $4 billion to $3 billion. The commitments under the 2011 Credit Agreement will expire on, and the credit facility is available on a continuous basis until, the earlier of (i) March 25, 2014 and (ii) the date of termination in whole of the commitments upon an optional termination or reduction of the commitments by the account parties or upon an event of default.

Notes Payable and Debt and Financing Arrangements

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2011

9. Notes Payable and Debt and Financing Arrangements

All outstanding debt of the Company at September 30, 2011 and December 31, 2010 was issued by XL-Cayman except for the $600 million par value 6.5% Guaranteed Senior Notes due January 2012 which were issued by XLCFE. Both XL-Cayman and XLCFE are wholly-owned subsidiaries of XL-Ireland. The XLCFE notes are fully and unconditionally guaranteed by XL Company Switzerland GmbH (“XL-Switzerland”). The Company’s ability to obtain funds from its subsidiaries to satisfy any of its obligations under this guarantee is subject to certain contractual restrictions, applicable laws and statutory requirements of the various countries in which the Company operates, including, among others, Bermuda, the United States, Ireland, Switzerland and the U.K. Aggregated required statutory capital and surplus for the principal operating subsidiaries of the Company was $6.2 billion at December 31, 2010.

In August 2011, in accordance with the terms of the 10.75% Units, XL-Cayman purchased and retired all of the 8.25% Senior Notes for $575 million in a remarketing. These notes comprised a part of the 10.75% Units. The proceeds from the remarketing were used to satisfy the purchase price for XL-Ireland’s ordinary shares issued to holders of the 10.75% Units pursuant to the forward purchase contracts comprising a part of the 10.75% Units. Each forward purchase contract provided for the issuance of 1.3242 ordinary shares of XL-Ireland at a price of $25 per share. The settlement of the forward purchase contracts resulted in XL-Ireland’s issuance of an aggregate of 30,456,600 ordinary shares for an aggregate purchase price of $575 million. As a result of the settlement of the forward purchase contracts, the 10.75% Units ceased to exist and are no longer traded on the NYSE.

On September 30, 2011, XL-Cayman completed the sale of $400 million aggregate principal amount of its 5.75% senior notes due 2021 (the “5.75% Senior Notes”) at the issue price of 100% of the principal amount. The 5.75% Senior Notes are fully and unconditionally guaranteed by XL-Ireland. XL-Cayman received net proceeds of approximately $396.4 million from the offering, which will be used to partially repay the $600 million par value 6.5% Guaranteed Senior Notes due January 2012 which were issued by XLCFE.

The 5.75% Senior Notes bear interest at a rate of 5.75% per annum, payable semi-annually, beginning on April 1, 2012, and mature on October 1, 2021. Upon the occurrence of a contractually defined event of default, all unpaid principal of and accrued interest and additional amounts, if any, on the 5.75% Senior Notes then outstanding will become due and payable immediately without any declaration or other act on the part of the trustee or the holders of any 5.75% Senior Notes. XL-Cayman may redeem the 5.75% Senior Notes, in whole or part, from time to time pursuant to the terms of the indenture.

Letter of Credit Facilities and Other Sources of Collateral

On March 25, 2011, the Company and certain of its subsidiaries entered into a secured credit agreement (the “2011 Credit Agreement”) that currently provides for issuance of letters of credit of up to $1 billion. Concurrent with the effectiveness of the 2011 Credit Agreement, the commitments of the lenders under the existing five-year credit agreement dated June 21, 2007 were reduced from $4 billion to $3 billion. The commitments under the 2011 Credit Agreement will expire on, and the credit facility is available on a continuous basis until, the earlier of (i) March 25, 2014 and (ii) the date of termination in whole of the commitments upon an optional termination or reduction of the commitments by the account parties or upon an event of default.