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STATUTORY FINANCIAL INFORMATION | 12 Months Ended
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Dec. 31, 2011
STATUTORY FINANCIAL INFORMATION [Abstract] |
STATUTORY FINANCIAL INFORMATION [Text Block] | 18. STATUTORY FINANCIAL INFORMATION Our (re)insurance operations are subject to insurance and/or reinsurance laws and regulations in the jurisdictions in which they operate, including Bermuda, Ireland and the United States. These regulations include certain restrictions on the amount of dividends or other distributions, such as loans or cash advances, available to shareholders without prior approval of the insurance regulatory authorities. The unaudited statutory capital and surplus for our principal operating subsidiaries at December 31, 2011 and 2010 was as follows:
|  | Bermuda |  | Ireland |  | United States |
| At December 31, | 2011 |  | 2010 |  | 2011 |  | 2010 |  | 2011 |  | 2010 |
| Required statutory capital and surplus | $ | 2,004,439 |  | $ | 1,719,284 |  | $ | 262,879 |  | $ | 212,767 |  | $ | 325,998 |  | $ | 317,588 |
| Actual statutory capital and surplus | $ | 3,887,670 |  | $ | 4,206,359 |  | $ | 820,891 |  | $ | 814,032 |  | $ | 1,237,046 |  | $ | 1,141,176 |
Our U.S. operations required statutory capital and surplus is determined using risk based capital tests, which is the threshold that constitutes the authorized control level. If a company falls below the control level, the commissioner is authorized to take whatever regulatory actions considered necessary to protect policyholders and creditors. The maximum dividend that may be paid by our U.S. insurance subsidiaries is restricted by the regulatory requirements of the domiciliary states. Generally, the maximum dividend that may be paid by each of our U.S. insurance subsidiaries is limited to unassigned surplus (statutory equivalent of retained earnings) and may also be limited to statutory net income, net investment income or 10% of total statutory capital and surplus. At December 3 1, 2011, the maximum dividend that our U.S. insurance operations could pay without regulator y approval was approximately $124 million. Under the Insurance Act 1978, amendments thereto and Related Regulations of Bermuda, our Bermuda subsidiary, AXIS Specialty Bermuda is restricted as to the payment of dividends and/or distributions for amounts greater than 25% of the prior year's statutory capital and surplus whereby a signed affidavit by at least two members of the Board of Directors attesting that a dividend and/or distribution in excess of this amount would not cause the company to fail to meet its relevant margins is required. At December 31, 2011, the maximum dividend/distribution AXIS Specialty Bermuda could pay, without a signed affidavit, having met minimum levels of statutory capital and surplus re quirements, was approximately $1 billion. Our Irish subsidiaries, AXIS Specialty Europe and AXIS Re Ltd., are required to maintain minimum levels of statu tory and capital surplus. At December 31, our subsidiaries were in compliance with these requirements. Our Irish subsidiaries may declare dividends out of retained earnings subject to meeting their solvency and capital re quirements. At December 31, 2011, the maximum dividend our Irish subsidiaries could pay out of retained earnings, subject to regulatory approval, was approximately $89 million. Total statutory net income of our operating sub sidiaries was $99 million, $921 million, $685 million for 2011, 2010 and 2009, respectively. The difference between statutory financial statements and statements prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP vary by jurisdiction; however, the primary difference is that statutory financial statements do not reflect deferred acquisition costs, certain net deferred tax assets, goodwill and intangible assets, unrealized appreciation on debt securities or certain unauthorized reinsurance recoverables.

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- Definition The entire disclosure of how the entity's reporting under GAAP as of the balance sheet date differs from the results based on prescribed and permitted accounting practices of the state or country of domicile in which a relevant statutory filing is made, or differences in results based on the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) prescribed practices, or a combination thereof. Describes the accounting practices used and the related monetary effect on statutory surplus, net income, and risk-based capital. If an insurance enterprise's risk-based capital would have triggered a regulatory event had it not used a permitted practice, that fact is disclosed in the financial statements. Permitted statutory accounting practices include practices not prescribed but allowed by the domiciliary state insurance department regulatory authority. + References No definition available. + Details
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