Fair Value (Details) (USD $) In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	Dec. 31, 2012	Dec. 31, 2011
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]
US government obligations	$ 70,742	$ 73,137
Government Sponsored Entities Fair Value Disclosure		349
Residential mortgage-backed securities	25,040	21,872
Commercial mortgage-backed securities	11,828	11,300
State and municipal obligations	194,865	190,035
Corporate securities	118,945	90,141
Options embedded in convertible securities	1,651	1,505
Foreign government obligations	22,598	21,121
Total fixed maturities	445,669	409,460
Equity securities	107,582	88,085
Short term	4,201	3,675
Cash equivalents	64,450	81,756
Total fair value	621,902	582,976
Recurring [Member] | Level 1 [Member]
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]
US government obligations	70,742	73,137
Government Sponsored Entities Fair Value Disclosure		0
Residential mortgage-backed securities	0	0
Commercial mortgage-backed securities	0	0
State and municipal obligations	0	0
Corporate securities	0	0
Options embedded in convertible securities	0	0
Foreign government obligations	0	0
Total fixed maturities	70,742	73,137
Equity securities	107,582	88,085
Short term	4,201	2,982
Cash equivalents	0	0
Total fair value	182,525	164,204
Recurring [Member] | Level 2 [Member]
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]
US government obligations	0	0
Government Sponsored Entities Fair Value Disclosure		349
Residential mortgage-backed securities	25,040	21,872
Commercial mortgage-backed securities	11,828	11,300
State and municipal obligations	194,865	190,035
Corporate securities	107,263	73,091
Options embedded in convertible securities	1,651	1,505
Foreign government obligations	22,598	21,121
Total fixed maturities	363,245	319,273
Equity securities	0	0
Short term	0	693
Cash equivalents	64,450	81,756
Total fair value	427,695	401,722
Recurring [Member] | Level 3 [Member]
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]
US government obligations	0	0
Government Sponsored Entities Fair Value Disclosure		0
Residential mortgage-backed securities	0	0
Commercial mortgage-backed securities	0	0
State and municipal obligations	0	0
Corporate securities	11,682	17,050
Options embedded in convertible securities	0	0
Foreign government obligations	0	0
Total fixed maturities	11,682	17,050
Equity securities	0	0
Short term	0	0
Cash equivalents	0	0
Total fair value	$ 11,682	$ 17,050