Investments

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2012

Investments

Investments

Note 7.  Investments

The following tables summarize the cost and fair value of our available-for-sale securities at March 31, 2012 and December 31, 2011:

	Erie Insurance Group
	March 31, 2012
(in millions)	Amortized	Gross unrealized	Gross unrealized	Estimated
	cost	gains	losses	fair value
Indemnity
Available-for-sale securities:
States & political subdivisions	$   205	$  12	$  0	$   217
Corporate debt securities	256	2	0	258
Commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS)	10	0	0	10
Collateralized debt obligations (CDO)	3	1	0	4
Other debt securities	5	0	0	5
Total fixed maturities	479	15	0	494
Nonredeemable preferred stock	24	2	0	26
Total available-for-sale securities – Indemnity	$   503	$  17	$  0	$   520
Exchange
Available-for-sale securities:
U.S. government & agencies	$     19	$   1	$  0	$     20
States & political subdivisions	1,272	89	0	1,361
Foreign government securities	15	0	0	15
Corporate debt securities	5,277	443	9	5,711
Residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS)	169	10	0	179
Commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS)	67	4	0	71
Collateralized debt obligations (CDO)	62	5	2	65
Other debt securities	58	3	0	61
Total fixed maturities	6,939	555	11	7,483
Nonredeemable preferred stock	561	65	5	621
Total available-for-sale securities – Exchange	$7,500	$620	$16	$8,104
Total available-for-sale securities – Erie Insurance Group	$8,003	$637	$16	$8,624

	Erie Insurance Group
	December 31, 2011
(in millions)	Amortized	Gross unrealized	Gross unrealized	Estimated
	cost	gains	losses	fair value
Indemnity
Available-for-sale securities:
States & political subdivisions	$  208	$  13	$  0	$  221
Corporate debt securities	303	1	1	303
Commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS)	13	0	0	13
Collateralized debt obligations (CDO)	4	0	0	4
Other debt securities	7	0	0	7
Total fixed maturities	535	14	1	548
Nonredeemable preferred stock	24	1	0	25
Total available-for-sale securities – Indemnity	$  559	$  15	$  1	$  573
Exchange
Available-for-sale securities:
U.S. government & agencies	$    16	$    1	$  0	$    17
States & political subdivisions	1,289	91	1	1,379
Foreign government securities	15	0	0	15
Corporate debt securities	5,144	386	31	5,499
Residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS)	178	11	0	189
Commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS)	62	4	0	66
Collateralized debt obligations (CDO)	66	4	5	65
Other debt securities	59	3	0	62
Total fixed maturities	6,829	500	37	7,292
Nonredeemable preferred stock	531	45	12	564
Total available-for-sale securities – Exchange	$7,360	$545	$49	$7,856
Total available-for-sale securities – Erie Insurance Group	$7,919	$560	$50	$8,429

The amortized cost and estimated fair value of fixed maturities at March 31, 2012 are shown below by remaining contractual term to maturity.  Mortgage-backed securities are allocated based upon their stated maturity dates.  Expected maturities may differ from contractual maturities because borrowers may have the right to call or prepay obligations with or without call or prepayment penalties.

	Erie Insurance Group
(in millions)	Amortized	Estimated
	cost	fair value
Indemnity
Due in one year or less	$  150	$  151
Due after one year through five years	204	209
Due after five years through ten years	48	51
Due after ten years	77	83
Total fixed maturities – Indemnity	$  479	$  494
Exchange
Due in one year or less	509	516
Due after one year through five years	2,404	2,559
Due after five years through ten years	2,743	3,016
Due after ten years	1,283	1,392
Total fixed maturities – Exchange	$6,939	$7,483
Total fixed maturities – Erie Insurance Group	$7,418	$7,977

Available-for-sale securities in a gross unrealized loss position at March 31, 2012 are as follows.  Data is provided by length of time for securities in a gross unrealized loss position.

	Erie Insurance Group
	March 31, 2012
(dollars in millions)	Less than 12 months		12 months or longer		Total
	Fair	Unrealized	Fair	Unrealized	Fair	Unrealized	No. of
Indemnity	value	losses	value	losses	value	losses	holdings
Available-for-sale securities:
Corporate debt securities	$  50	$0	$   6	$0	$ 56	$  0	10
Commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS)	4	0	6	0	10	0	3
Other debt securities	4	0	1	0	5	0	2
Total fixed maturities – Indemnity	58	0	13	0	71	0	15
Nonredeemable preferred stock	0	0	3	0	3	0	1
Total available-for-sale securities – Indemnity	$  58	$0	$  16	$0	$ 74	$  0	16
Quality breakdown of fixed maturities:
Investment grade	$  58	$0	$  13	$0	$ 71	$  0	15
Total fixed maturities – Indemnity	$  58	$0	$  13	$0	$ 71	$  0	15
Exchange
Available-for-sale securities:
States & political subdivisions	$  13	$0	$   9	$0	$ 22	$  0	4
Corporate debt securities	342	6	39	3	381	9	59
Residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS)	3	0	0	0	3	0	2
Commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS)	10	0	0	0	10	0	4
Collateralized debt obligations (CDO)	0	0	33	2	33	2	5
Other debt securities	5	0	0	0	5	0	1
Total fixed maturities – Exchange	373	6	81	5	454	11	75
Nonredeemable preferred stock	92	3	26	2	118	5	16
Total available-for-sale securities – Exchange	$465	$9	$107	$7	$572	$16	91
Quality breakdown of fixed maturities:
Investment grade	$321	$5	$ 73	$4	$394	$  9	64
Non-investment grade	52	1	8	1	60	2	11
Total fixed maturities – Exchange	$373	$6	$ 81	$5	$454	$11	75

Available-for-sale securities in a gross unrealized loss position at December 31, 2011 are as follows.  Data is provided by length of time for securities in a gross unrealized loss position.

	Erie Insurance Group
	December 31, 2011
(dollars in millions)	Less than 12 months		12 months or longer		Total
	Fair	Unrealized	Fair	Unrealized	Fair	Unrealized	No. of
Indemnity	value	losses	value	losses	value	losses	holdings
Available-for-sale securities:
Corporate debt securities	$220	$  1	$   0	$ 0	$220	$ 1	41
Commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS)	4	0	9	0	13	0	3
Other debt securities	5	0	2	0	7	0	2
Total fixed maturities – Indemnity	229	1	11	0	240	1	46
Nonredeemable preferred stock	4	0	3	0	7	0	3
Total available-for-sale securities – Indemnity	$233	$  1	$ 14	$ 0	$247	$ 1	49
Quality breakdown of fixed maturities:
Investment grade	$229	$  1	$ 11	$ 0	$240	$ 1	46
Non-investment grade	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Total fixed maturities – Indemnity	$229	$  1	$ 11	$ 0	$240	$ 1	46
Exchange
Available-for-sale securities:
States & political subdivisions	$    7	$  0	$   6	$ 1	$  13	$ 1	3
Corporate debt securities	635	27	50	4	685	31	108
Residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS)	7	0	0	0	7	0	4
Commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS)	5	0	0	0	5	0	1
Collateralized debt obligations (CDO)	0	0	32	5	32	5	6
Other debt securities	9	0	0	0	9	0	2
Total fixed maturities – Exchange	663	27	88	10	751	37	124
Nonredeemable preferred stock	168	11	34	1	202	12	27
Total available-for-sale securities – Exchange	$831	$38	$122	$11	$953	$49	151
Quality breakdown of fixed maturities:
Investment grade	$625	$26	$ 79	$ 9	$704	$35	109
Non-investment grade	38	1	9	1	47	2	15
Total fixed maturities – Exchange	$663	$27	$ 88	$10	$751	$37	124

The above securities for Indemnity and the Exchange have been evaluated and determined to be temporary impairments for which we expect to recover our entire principal plus interest.  The primary components of this analysis include a general review of market conditions and financial performance of the issuer along with the extent and duration at which fair value is less than cost.  Any debt securities that we intend to sell or will more likely than not be required to sell before recovery are included in other-than-temporary impairments with the impairment charges recognized in earnings.

Interest and dividend income are recognized as earned and recorded to net investment income.  Investment income, net of expenses, was generated from the following portfolios:

	Erie Insurance Group
(in millions)	Three months ended March 31,
	2012	2011
Indemnity
Fixed maturities	$    3	$    3
Equity securities	1	1
Cash equivalents and other	0	0
Total investment income	4	4
Less: investment expenses	0	0
Investment income, net of expenses – Indemnity	$    4	$    4
Exchange
Fixed maturities	$  90	$  92
Equity securities	22	18
Cash equivalents and other	1	0
Total investment income	113	110
Less: investment expenses	9	9
Investment income, net of expenses – Exchange	$104	$101
Investment income, net of expenses – Erie Insurance Group	$108	$105

Realized gains (losses) on investments were as follows:

	Erie Insurance Group
(in millions)	Three months ended March 31,
	2012		2011
Indemnity
Available-for-sale securities:
Fixed maturities:
Gross realized gains	$  0		$   0
Gross realized losses	0		0
Net realized gains	0		0
Equity securities:
Gross realized gains	0		1
Gross realized losses	0		0
Net realized gains	0		1
Trading securities:
Common stock:
Gross realized gains	1		1
Gross realized losses	0		0
Valuation adjustments	2		(1	)
Net realized gains	3		0
Net realized investment gains – Indemnity	$   3		$   1
Exchange
Available-for-sale securities:
Fixed maturities:
Gross realized gains	$   9		$  25
Gross realized losses	(3	)	(12	)
Net realized gains	6		13
Equity securities:
Gross realized gains	1		6
Gross realized losses	0		(1	)
Net realized gains	1		5
Trading securities:
Common stock:
Gross realized gains	41		56
Gross realized losses	(12	)	(8	)
Valuation adjustments	257		82
Net realized gains	286		130
Net realized investment gains – Exchange	$293		$148
Net realized investment gains – Erie Insurance Group	$296		$149

There were no impairment losses for Indemnity for the quarter ended March 31, 2012 and 2011.  Impairment losses for the Exchange totaled $0.1 million in the first quarter of 2012 and there were no impairments in the first quarter of 2011.

In considering if fixed maturity securities were credit-impaired, some of the factors considered include: potential for the default of interest and/or principal, level of subordination, collateral of the issue, compliance with financial covenants, credit ratings and industry conditions.  We have the intent to sell all credit-impaired fixed maturity securities, therefore the entire amount of the impairment charges were included in earnings and no non-credit impairments were recognized in other comprehensive income.

Limited partnerships

Our limited partnership investments are recorded using the equity method of accounting.  As these investments are generally reported on a one-quarter lag, our limited partnership results for the three months ended March 31, 2012 are comprised of partnership financial results for the fourth quarter of 2011.  Given the lag in reporting, our limited partnership results do not reflect the market conditions of the first quarter of 2012.  Cash contributions made to and distributions received from the partnerships are recorded in the period in which the transaction occurs.

We have provided summarized financial information in the following table for the three months ended March 31, 2012 and for the year ended December 31, 2011.  Amounts provided in the table are presented using the latest available financial statements received from the partnerships.  Limited partnership financial information has been presented based upon the investment percentage in the partnerships for the Erie Insurance Group consistent with how management evaluates the investments.

As these investments are generally reported on a one-quarter lag, our limited partnership results through March 31, 2012 include partnership financial results for the fourth quarter of 2011.

	Erie Insurance Group
	As of and for the three months ended March 31, 2012
(dollars in millions) Investment percentage in limited partnerships	Number of partnerships	Asset recorded	Income (loss) recognized due to valuation adjustments by the partnerships		Income (1oss) recorded
Indemnity
Private equity:
Less than 10%	26	$73	$  0		$  1
Greater than or equal to 10% but less than 50%	3	9	0		0
Greater than 50%	0	0	0		0
Total private equity	29	82	0		1
Mezzanine debt:
Less than 10%	11	22	(2	)	3
Greater than or equal to 10% but less than 50%	3	11	0		1
Greater than 50%	1	1	0		0
Total mezzanine debt	15	34	(2	)	4
Real estate:
Less than 10%	12	60	(1	)	(1	)
Greater than or equal to 10% but less than 50%	3	18	0		0
Greater than 50%	3	10	0		0
Total real estate	18	88	(1	)	(1	)
Total limited partnerships – Indemnity	62	$204	$ (3	)	$  4
Exchange
Private equity:
Less than 10%	41	$463	$  3		$10
Greater than or equal to 10% but less than 50%	3	44	1		0
Greater than 50%	0	0	0		0
Total private equity	44	507	4		10
Mezzanine debt:
Less than 10%	17	131	(6	)	14
Greater than or equal to 10% but less than 50%	3	30	(1	)	2
Greater than 50%	3	36	0		1
Total mezzanine debt	23	197	(7	)	17
Real estate:
Less than 10%	25	287	(8	)	5
Greater than or equal to 10% but less than 50%	5	58	0		(1	)
Greater than 50%	3	38	0		0
Total real estate	33	383	(8	)	4
Total limited partnerships – Exchange	100	$1,087	$(11	)	$31
Total limited partnerships – Erie Insurance Group		$1,291	$(14	)	$35

Per the limited partnership financial statements, total partnership assets were $53 billion and total partnership liabilities were $6 billion at March 31, 2012 (as recorded in the December 31, 2011 limited partnership financial statements).  For the three month period comparable to that presented in the preceding table (fourth quarter 2011), total partnership valuation adjustment losses were $81 million and total partnership net income was $2 billion.

As these investments are generally reported on a one-quarter lag, our limited partnership results through December 31, 2011 include partnership financial results for the fourth quarter of 2010 and the first three quarters of 2011.

	Erie Insurance Group
	As of and for the year ended December 31, 2011
(dollars in millions) Investment percentage in limited partnerships	Number of partnerships	Asset recorded	Income (loss) recognized due to valuation adjustments by the partnerships		Income (1oss) recorded
Indemnity
Private equity:
Less than 10%	26	$73	$  2		$  5
Greater than or equal to 10% but less than 50%	3	9	0		3
Greater than 50%	0	0	0		0
Total private equity	29	82	2		8
Mezzanine debt:
Less than 10%	11	22	0		6
Greater than or equal to 10% but less than 50%	3	12	1		1
Greater than 50%	1	1	(1	)	0
Total mezzanine debt	15	35	0		7
Real estate:
Less than 10%	12	62	5		(1	)
Greater than or equal to 10% but less than 50%	3	18	1		0
Greater than 50%	3	11	3		1
Total real estate	18	91	9		0
Total limited partnerships – Indemnity	62	$208	$11		$15
Exchange
Private equity:
Less than 10%	41	$452	$13		$30
Greater than or equal to 10% but less than 50%	3	43	(1	)	12
Greater than 50%	0	0	0		0
Total private equity	44	495	12		42
Mezzanine debt:
Less than 10%	17	133	(9	)	26
Greater than or equal to 10% but less than 50%	3	33	3		3
Greater than 50%	3	35	(2	)	3
Total mezzanine debt	23	201	(8	)	32
Real estate:
Less than 10%	25	284	31		(1	)
Greater than or equal to 10% but less than 50%	5	59	3		0
Greater than 50%	3	43	2		10
Total real estate	33	386	36		9
Total limited partnerships – Exchange	100	$1,082	$40		$83
Total limited partnerships – Erie Insurance Group		$1,290	$51		$98

Per the limited partnership financial statements, total partnership assets were $54 billion and total partnership liabilities were $6 billion at December 31, 2011 (as recorded in the September 30, 2011 limited partnership financial statements).  For the twelve month period comparable to that presented in the preceding table (fourth quarter of 2010 and first three quarters of 2011), total partnership valuation adjustment gains were $2 billion and total partnership net income was $3 billion.

See also Note 13, “Commitments and Contingencies,” for investment commitments related to limited partnerships.