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SEGMENT INFORMATION | 12 Months Ended
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Dec. 31, 2011
SEGMENT INFORMATION [Abstract] |
SEGMENT INFORMATION [Text Block] | 3. SEGMENT INFORMATION O ur underwriting operations are organized around our global underwriting platforms, AXIS Insurance and AXIS Re. Therefore we have determined that we ha ve two reportable segments, insurance and reinsurance. Except for goodwill and intangible assets, we do not allocate our assets by segment as we evaluate the underwriting results of each segment separately from the results of our investment portfolio. Insurance Our insurance segment provides insurance coverage on a worldwide basis. The product lines in this segment are property, marine, terrorism, aviation, credit and political risk, professional lines, liability and accident & health. Reinsurance Our reinsurance segment provides treaty and facultative property and casualty reinsurance to insurance companies on a worldwide basis. The product lines in this segment are catastrophe, property, professional li nes, cre dit and bond, motor, liability, engineering and other.
The following tables summarize the underwriting results of our reportable segments, as well as the carrying values of allocated goodwill and intangible assets:
| At and year ended December 31, 2011 |  | Insurance |  | Reinsurance |  | Total |
| Gross premiums written | $ | 2,121,829 |  | $ | 1,974,324 |  | $ | 4,096,153 |
| Net premiums written |  | 1,466,134 |  |  | 1,953,300 |  |  | 3,419,434 |
| Net premiums earned |  | 1,429,687 |  |  | 1,885,274 |  |  | 3,314,961 |
| Other insurance related income |  | 2,396 |  |  | - |  |  | 2,396 |
| Net losses and loss expenses |  | (919,319) |  |  | (1,755,733) |  |  | (2,675,052) |
| Acquisition costs |  | (199,583) |  |  | (387,886) |  |  | (587,469) |
| General and administrative expenses |  | (278,147) |  |  | (103,915) |  |  | (382,062) |
| Underwriting income (loss) | $ | 35,034 |  | $ | (362,260) |  |  | (327,226) |
| Corporate expenses |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | (77,089) |
| Net investment income |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 362,430 |
| Net realized investment gains |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 121,439 |
| Foreign exchange gains |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 44,582 |
| Interest expense and financing costs |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | (62,598) |
| Income before income taxes |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | $ | 61,538 |
| Net loss and loss expense ratio |  | 64.3 | % |  |  | 93.1 | % |  |  | 80.7 | % |
| Acquisition cost ratio |  | 14.0 | % |  |  | 20.6 | % |  |  | 17.7 | % |
| General and administrative expense ratio |  | 19.4 | % |  |  | 5.5 | % |  |  | 13.9 | % |
| Combined ratio |  | 97.7 | % |  |  | 119.2 | % |  |  | 112.3 | % |
| Goodwill and intangible assets | $ | 99,590 |  | $ | - |  | $ | 99,590 |
| At and year ended December 31, 2010 |  | Insurance |  | Reinsurance |  | Total |
| Gross premiums written | $ | 1,916,116 |  | $ | 1,834,420 |  | $ | 3,750,536 |
| Net premiums written |  | 1,332,220 |  |  | 1,815,320 |  |  | 3,147,540 |
| Net premiums earned |  | 1,206,493 |  |  | 1,740,917 |  |  | 2,947,410 |
| Other insurance related income |  | 2,073 |  |  | - |  |  | 2,073 |
| Net losses and loss expenses |  | (569,869) |  |  | (1,107,263) |  |  | (1,677,132) |
| Acquisition costs |  | (152,223) |  |  | (336,489) |  |  | (488,712) |
| General and administrative expenses |  | (276,435) |  |  | (98,001) |  |  | (374,436) |
| Underwriting income | $ | 210,039 |  | $ | 199,164 |  |  | 409,203 |
| Corporate expenses |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | (75,449) |
| Net investment income |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 406,892 |
| Net realized investment gains |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 195,098 |
| Foreign exchange gains |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 15,535 |
| Interest expense and financing costs |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | (55,876) |
| Income before income taxes |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | $ | 895,403 |
| Net loss and loss expense ratio |  | 47.2 | % |  |  | 63.6 | % |  |  | 56.9 | % |
| Acquisition cost ratio |  | 12.6 | % |  |  | 19.3 | % |  |  | 16.6 | % |
| General and administrative expense ratio |  | 23.0 | % |  |  | 5.7 | % |  |  | 15.2 | % |
| Combined ratio |  | 82.8 | % |  |  | 88.6 | % |  |  | 88.7 | % |
| Goodwill and intangible assets | $ | 103,231 |  | $ | - |  | $ | 103,231 |
| At and year ended December 31, 2009 |  | Insurance |  | Reinsurance |  | Total |
| Gross premiums written | $ | 1,775,590 |  | $ | 1,811,705 |  | $ | 3,587,295 |
| Net premiums written |  | 1,025,061 |  |  | 1,791,368 |  |  | 2,816,429 |
| Net premiums earned |  | 1,157,966 |  |  | 1,633,798 |  |  | 2,791,764 |
| Other insurance related income (loss) |  | (130,946) |  |  | 1,265 |  |  | (129,681) |
| Net losses and loss expenses |  | (612,694) |  |  | (811,178) |  |  | (1,423,872) |
| Acquisition costs |  | (113,187) |  |  | (307,308) |  |  | (420,495) |
| General and administrative expenses |  | (216,954) |  |  | (76,127) |  |  | (293,081) |
| Underwriting income | $ | 84,185 |  | $ | 440,450 |  |  | 524,635 |
| Corporate expenses |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | (77,076) |
| Net investment income |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 464,478 |
| Net realized investment losses |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | (311,584) |
| Foreign exchange losses |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | (28,561) |
| Interest expense and financing costs |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | (32,031) |
| Income before income taxes |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | $ | 539,861 |
| Net loss and loss expense ratio |  | 52.9 | % |  |  | 49.6 | % |  |  | 51.0 | % |
| Acquisition cost ratio |  | 9.8 | % |  |  | 18.8 | % |  |  | 15.1 | % |
| General and administrative expense ratio |  | 18.7 | % |  |  | 4.7 | % |  |  | 13.2 | % |
| Combined ratio |  | 81.4 | % |  |  | 73.1 | % |  |  | 79.3 | % |
| Goodwill and intangible assets | $ | 91,505 |  | $ | - |  | $ | 91,505 |
The following table presents our gross premiums written by the geographical location of our subsidiaries:
| Year ended December 31, |  |  | 2011 |  |  | 2010 |  |  | 2009 |
| Bermuda |  | $ | 822,237 |  | $ | 822,530 |  | $ | 802,577 |
| Europe |  |  | 1,493,692 |  |  | 1,203,091 |  |  | 1,057,427 |
| United States |  |  | 1,780,224 |  |  | 1,724,915 |  |  | 1,727,291 |
| Total gross premium written |  | $ | 4,096,153 |  | $ | 3,750,536 |  | $ | 3,587,295 |
The following table presents our net premiums earned by segment and line of business:
| Year ended December 31, | 2011 |  | 2010 |  | 2009 |
| Insurance |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
| Property | $ | 385,291 |  | $ | 337,525 |  | $ | 268,469 |
| Marine |  | 152,123 |  |  | 145,356 |  |  | 139,196 |
| Terrorism |  | 35,213 |  |  | 32,486 |  |  | 34,001 |
| Aviation |  | 70,681 |  |  | 66,636 |  |  | 64,245 |
| Credit and political risk |  | 97,680 |  |  | 89,773 |  |  | 188,311 |
| Professional lines |  | 536,238 |  |  | 444,663 |  |  | 381,364 |
| Liability |  | 89,555 |  |  | 87,481 |  |  | 82,380 |
| Accident & health |  | 62,906 |  |  | 2,573 |  |  | - |
| Total Insurance |  | 1,429,687 |  |  | 1,206,493 |  |  | 1,157,966 |
| Reinsurance |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
| Catastrophe |  | 456,858 |  |  | 454,954 |  |  | 451,085 |
| Property |  | 356,022 |  |  | 323,201 |  |  | 311,272 |
| Professional lines |  | 281,025 |  |  | 285,224 |  |  | 266,792 |
| Credit and bond |  | 263,912 |  |  | 217,809 |  |  | 179,362 |
| Motor |  | 202,830 |  |  | 127,404 |  |  | 99,497 |
| Liability |  | 230,872 |  |  | 232,014 |  |  | 227,511 |
| Engineering |  | 65,727 |  |  | 71,229 |  |  | 66,428 |
| Other |  | 28,028 |  |  | 29,082 |  |  | 31,851 |
| Total Reinsurance |  | 1,885,274 |  |  | 1,740,917 |  |  | 1,633,798 |
| Total | $ | 3,314,961 |  | $ | 2,947,410 |  | $ | 2,791,764 |

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- Definition The entire disclosure for reporting segments including data and tables. Reportable segments include those that meet any of the following quantitative thresholds a) it's reported revenue, including sales to external customers and intersegment sales or transfers is 10 percent or more of the combined revenue, internal and external, of all operating segments b) the absolute amount of its reported profit or loss is 10 percent or more of the greater, in absolute amount of 1) the combined reported profit of all operating segments that did not report a loss or 2) the combined reported loss of all operating segments that did report a loss c) its assets are 10 percent or more of the combined assets of all operating segments. + References Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 280 -SubTopic 10 -Section 50 -Paragraph 12 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6534315&loc=d3e8595-108599 Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 280 -SubTopic 10 -Section 50 -Paragraph 10 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6534315&loc=d3e8538-108599 Reference 3: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 280 -SubTopic 10 -Section 50 -Paragraph 33 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6534315&loc=d3e8971-108599 Reference 4: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 280 -SubTopic 10 -Section 50 -Paragraph 34 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6534315&loc=d3e8981-108599 Reference 5: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 280 -SubTopic 10 -Section 50 -Paragraph 29 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6534315&loc=d3e8864-108599 Reference 6: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 280 -SubTopic 10 -Section 50 -Paragraph 1 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6534315&loc=d3e8380-108599 Reference 7: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 280 -SubTopic 10 -Section 50 -Paragraph 35 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6534315&loc=d3e8984-108599 Reference 8: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 280 -SubTopic 10 -Section 50 -Paragraph 41 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6534315&loc=d3e9038-108599 Reference 9: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 280 -SubTopic 10 -Section 50 -Paragraph 32 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6534315&loc=d3e8933-108599 Reference 10: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Statement of Financial Accounting Standard (FAS) -Number 131 -LegacyDoc This reference is SUPERSEDED by the Accounting Standards Codification effective for interim and annual periods ending after September 15, 2009. This reference is included to help users transition from the previous accounting hierarchy and will be removed from future versions of this taxonomy. Reference 11: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 280 -SubTopic 10 -Section 50 -Paragraph 30 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6534315&loc=d3e8906-108599 Reference 12: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 280 -SubTopic 10 -Section 50 -Paragraph 26 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6534315&loc=d3e8844-108599 Reference 13: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 280 -SubTopic 10 -Section 50 -Paragraph 40 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6534315&loc=d3e9031-108599 Reference 14: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 280 -SubTopic 10 -Section 50 -Paragraph 42 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6534315&loc=d3e9054-108599 Reference 15: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 280 -SubTopic 10 -Section 50 -Paragraph 31 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6534315&loc=d3e8924-108599 + Details
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