2. Significant Accounting Policies

The Company’s Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States (U.S. GAAP) for interim financial information and with the instructions for Form 10-Q and Article 10 of Regulation S-X. The Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements include the accounts of the Company and its subsidiaries. Intercompany accounts and transactions have been eliminated.

The preparation of financial statements in conformity with U.S. GAAP requires Management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. While Management believes that the amounts included in the Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements reflect its best estimates and assumptions, actual results could differ from those estimates. The Company’s principal estimates include:


•	Unpaid losses and loss expenses;


•	Policy benefits for life and annuity contracts;


•	Gross and net premiums written and net premiums earned;


•	Recoverability of deferred acquisition costs;


•	Recoverability of deferred tax assets;


•	Valuation of goodwill and intangible assets; and


•	Valuation of certain assets and derivative financial instruments that are measured using significant unobservable inputs.

In the opinion of Management, all adjustments (which include normal recurring adjustments) necessary for a fair presentation of results for the interim periods have been made. As the Company’s reinsurance operations are exposed to low-frequency, high-severity risk events, some of which are seasonal, results for certain interim periods may include unusually low loss experience, while results for other interim periods may include significant catastrophic losses. Consequently, the Company’s results for interim periods are not necessarily indicative of results for the full year. These Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements should be read in conjunction with the Consolidated Financial Statements and notes thereto included in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2014.