HCC Insurance Holdings, Inc. (HCC) and its subsidiaries (collectively we, us or our) include domestic and foreign property and casualty and life insurance companies and underwriting agencies with offices in the United States, the United Kingdom, Spain and Ireland. We underwrite a variety of relatively non-correlated specialty insurance products, including property and casualty, accident and health, surety, credit and aviation product lines, in approximately 180 countries. We market our products through a network of independent agents and brokers, producers, managing general agents and directly to customers.

Our unaudited consolidated financial statements have been prepared in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (GAAP) and include the accounts of HCC and its subsidiaries. We have made all adjustments that, in our opinion, are necessary for a fair statement of results of the interim periods, and all such adjustments are of a normal recurring nature. All significant intercompany balances and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation. The consolidated financial statements should be read in conjunction with our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2011. The consolidated balance sheet at December 31, 2011 was derived from the audited financial statements but does not include all disclosures required by GAAP.

Management must make estimates and assumptions that affect amounts reported in our consolidated financial statements and in disclosures of contingent assets and liabilities. Ultimate results could differ from those estimates. We have reclassified certain amounts in our 2011 consolidated financial statements to conform to the 2012 presentation. None of our reclassifications had an effect on our consolidated net earnings, shareholders' equity or cash flows.

A new accounting standard clarifies the definition of acquisition costs incurred by an insurance company and limits capitalization to such costs directly related to renewing or acquiring new insurance contracts. Under the new standard, we expense all costs incurred for unsuccessful marketing or underwriting efforts, along with indirect costs, as incurred. We adopted this guidance on January 1, 2012 through retrospective adjustment of the capitalized deferred policy acquisition costs, deferred income taxes and consolidated shareholders' equity in our prior years' consolidated financial statements. We also reclassified expenses in our prior years' consolidated income statements to reflect the new definition of policy acquisition costs. Application of the new guidance did not impact our reported consolidated net earnings or cash flows in prior years. The following line items in our consolidated financial statements were affected by this change in accounting guidance:

	December 31, 2011
	As originally
	reported		Change		As adjusted
Deferred policy acquisition costs	$	217,608	$	(27,975)	$	189,633
Accounts payable and accrued liabilities (deferred income taxes)		675,174		(9,943)		665,231
Retained earnings		2,447,850		(18,032)		2,429,818

	Nine months ended September 30, 2011						Three months ended September 30, 2011
	As originally						As originally
	reported		Change		As adjusted		reported		Change		As adjusted
Policy acquisition costs, net	$	239,160	$	(45,980)	$	193,180	$	71,299	$	(13,803)	$	57,496
Other operating expense		198,511		45,980		244,491		70,451		13,803		84,254