Note 6 - Investments Gain (Loss) on Investments (Details) - USD ($)		3 Months Ended	12 Months Ended
		Jun. 30, 2015	Dec. 31, 2016		Dec. 31, 2015		Dec. 31, 2014
Gain (Loss) on Investments [Line Items]
Other than Temporary Impairment, Credit Losses Recognized in Earnings, Credit Losses on Debt Securities Held			$ 0		$ 0		$ 0
Other than Temporary Impairment, Credit Losses Recognized in Earnings, Period Increase (Decrease)			0		0		0
Fixed-maturities held to maturity			0		0		(9,000)
Fixed-maturities available for sale	[1]		4,160,000		(1,176,000)		(1,599,000)
Equities available for sale		$ 69,200,000	(170,000)	[2]	69,150,000	[2]	0	[2]
Trading securities			(237,000)		(9,231,000)		(6,996,000)
Short-term investments			(135,000)		(24,000)		1,000
Other invested assets			631,000		3,267,000		0
Gain (Loss) on Disposition of Other Assets			64,000		110,000		246,000
Net realized gains (losses) on investments			4,313,000		62,096,000	[3]	(8,357,000)
Other than Temporary Impairment Losses, Investments, Portion Recognized in Earnings, Net			(526,000)		0		0
Unrealized gains (losses) on trading securities			27,217,000		(27,015,000)		92,226,000
Net gains (losses) on investments			31,004,000		35,081,000		83,869,000
Net gains (losses) on other financial instruments			(253,000)		612,000		(3,880,000)
Net Gains/Losses on All Financial Instruments			30,751,000		35,693,000		79,989,000
Other Comprehensive Income (Loss) [Member]
Gain (Loss) on Investments [Line Items]
Other Comprehensive Income (Loss), Reclassification Adjustment from AOCI for Sale of Securities Continuing Operations, before Tax		$ 69,200,000
Fixed Maturities [Member]
Gain (Loss) on Investments [Line Items]
Available-for-sale Securities, Gross Realized Gains			10,326,000		64,000		99,000
Available-for-sale Securities, Gross Realized Losses			$ (6,166,000)		$ (1,240,000)		$ (1,698,000)

[1] Components of net realized gains (losses) on fixed-maturities available for sale include: Year Ended December 31,(In thousands) 2016 2015 2014Gross investment gains from sales and redemptions $10,326 $64 $99Gross investment losses from sales and redemptions (6,166) (1,240) (1,698)

[2] Net realized gains (losses) on equities available for sale for the years ended December 31, 2016 and 2015 represent the gross amount of losses and gains, respectively, realized for those periods.

[3] During the second quarter of 2015, we sold equity securities in our portfolio and reinvested the proceeds in assets that qualify as PMIERs-compliant Available Assets, recognizing pretax gains of $69.2 million.