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Organization | 12 Months Ended
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Dec. 31, 2014
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract] |
Organization | ORGANIZATION RenaissanceRe Holdings Ltd. (“RenaissanceRe”) was formed under the laws of Bermuda on June 7, 1993. Together with its wholly owned and majority-owned subsidiaries and DaVinciRe (as defined below), which are collectively referred to herein as the “Company”, RenaissanceRe provides reinsurance and insurance coverages and related services to a broad range of customers.
• | Renaissance Reinsurance Ltd. (“Renaissance Reinsurance”), the Company’s principal reinsurance subsidiary, provides property catastrophe and specialty reinsurance coverages to insurers and reinsurers on a worldwide basis.
• | The Company also manages property catastrophe and specialty reinsurance business written on behalf of joint ventures, which principally include Top Layer Reinsurance Ltd. (“Top Layer Re”), recorded under the equity method of accounting, and DaVinci Reinsurance Ltd. (“DaVinci”). Because the Company owns a noncontrolling equity interest in, but controls a majority of the outstanding voting power of DaVinci’s parent, DaVinciRe Holdings Ltd. (“DaVinciRe”), the results of DaVinci and DaVinciRe are consolidated in the Company’s financial statements. Redeemable noncontrolling interest – DaVinciRe represents the interests of external parties with respect to the net income and shareholders’ equity of DaVinciRe. Renaissance Underwriting Managers, Ltd. (“RUM”), a wholly owned subsidiary, acts as exclusive underwriting manager for these joint ventures in return for fee-based income and profit participation.
• | RenaissanceRe Syndicate 1458 (“Syndicate 1458”) is the Company’s Lloyd’s syndicate. RenaissanceRe Corporate Capital (UK) Limited (“RenaissanceRe CCL”), a wholly owned subsidiary of RenaissanceRe, is Syndicate 1458’s sole corporate member and RenaissanceRe Syndicate Management Ltd. (“RSML”), a wholly owned subsidiary of RenaissanceRe, is the managing agent for Syndicate 1458.
• | RenaissanceRe Specialty Risks Ltd. (“RenaissanceRe Specialty Risks”), is a Bermuda-domiciled excess and surplus lines insurance company that is listed on the National Association of Insurance Commissioners’ International Insurance Department’s Quarterly List of Alien Insurers as an eligible surplus lines insurer. RenaissanceRe Underwriting Managers U.S. LLC, a specialty reinsurance agency domiciled in Connecticut, provides specialty treaty reinsurance solutions on both a quota share and excess of loss basis; and writes business on behalf of RenaissanceRe Specialty U.S. Ltd. (“RenaissanceRe Specialty U.S.”), a Bermuda-domiciled reinsurer launched in June 2013 which operates subject to U.S. federal income tax, and Syndicate 1458.
• | Effective January 1, 2013, the Company formed and launched a managed joint venture, Upsilon Reinsurance II Ltd. (“Upsilon Re II”), a Bermuda domiciled special purpose insurer (“SPI”), to provide additional capacity to the worldwide aggregate and per-occurrence primary and retrocessional property catastrophe excess of loss market. Effective December 11, 2013, Upsilon Re II was renamed Upsilon Reinsurance Fund Opportunities Ltd. (“Upsilon RFO”). Upsilon RFO is considered a variable interest entity (“VIE”) and the Company is considered the primary beneficiary. As a result, Upsilon RFO is consolidated by the Company and all significant inter-company transactions have been eliminated.
• | Effective November 13, 2014, the Company incorporated RenaissanceRe Upsilon Fund Ltd. (“Upsilon Fund”), an exempted Bermuda limited segregated accounts company. Upsilon Fund was formed to provide a fund structure through which third party investors can invest in reinsurance risk managed by the Company. As a segregated accounts company, Upsilon Fund is permitted to establish segregated accounts to invest in and hold identified pools of assets and liabilities. Each pool of assets and liabilities in each segregated account is ring-fenced from any claims from the creditors of Upsilon Fund’s general account and from the creditors of other segregated accounts within Upsilon Fund. Third party investors purchase redeemable, non voting preference shares linked to specific segregated accounts of Upsilon Fund and own 100% of these shares. Upsilon Fund is an investment company and is considered a VIE. The Company is not considered the primary beneficiary of Upsilon Fund and as a result it is not consolidated by the Company.
• | RenaissanceRe Medici Fund Ltd. (“Medici”) is an exempted fund, incorporated under the laws of Bermuda. Medici’s objective is to seek to invest substantially all of its assets in various insurance-based investment instruments that have returns primarily tied to property catastrophe risk. Third-party investors have subscribed for a portion of the participating, non-voting common shares of Medici. Because the Company owns a noncontrolling equity interest in, but controls a majority of the outstanding voting power of Medici’s parent, RenaissanceRe Fund Holdings Ltd. (“Fund Holdings”), the results of Medici and Fund Holdings are consolidated in the Company’s financial statements. Redeemable noncontrolling interest - Medici represents the interests of external parties with respect to the net income and shareholders’ equity of Medici.
• | On August 30, 2013, the Company entered into a purchase agreement with a subsidiary of Munich-American Holding Corporation (together with applicable affiliates, “Munich”) to sell its U.S.-based weather and weather-related energy risk management unit, which included RenRe Commodity Advisors LLC (“RRCA”), Renaissance Trading Ltd. (“Renaissance Trading”) and RenRe Energy Advisors Ltd. (collectively referred to as “REAL”). REAL offered certain derivative-based risk management products primarily to address weather and energy risk and engaged in hedging and trading activities related to those transactions. On October 1, 2013, the Company closed the sale of REAL to Munich. In the third quarter of 2013, the Company classified the assets and liabilities associated with this transaction as held for sale. The financial results for these operations have been presented in the Company’s consolidated financial statements as “discontinued operations” for all periods presented. Refer to “Note 3. Discontinued Operations”, for more information.
• | On November 24, 2014, the Company announced that RenaissanceRe and Platinum Underwriters Holdings, Ltd. (“Platinum”) entered into a definitive merger agreement (the “Merger Agreement”) under which RenaissanceRe will acquire Platinum (the “Merger”). The agreement has been unanimously approved by both companies’ Board of Directors and, if approved by Platinum shareholders, the transaction is expected to close on March 2, 2015. The aggregate consideration for the transaction is expected to be approximately $1.9 billion. The Company will account for the acquisition of Platinum under the acquisition method of accounting in accordance with Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) Topic 805 Business Combinations, under which the total consideration paid will be allocated among acquired assets and assumed liabilities based on the fair values of the assets acquired and liabilities assumed. The Company anticipates that the purchase price paid will exceed the fair value of the net assets acquired, perhaps significantly so, and the excess will be accounted for as goodwill. Intangible assets with definite lives will be amortized over their estimated useful lives. Goodwill resulting from the acquisition of Platinum will not be amortized but instead will be tested for impairment at least annually (more frequently if certain indicators are present). There can be no assurance that the Merger will occur. Refer to “Note 20. Commitments, Contingencies and Other Items”, for more information with respect to the Merger.

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