HISTORY	12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2011
HISTORY [Abstract]
HISTORY [Text Block]	1. HISTORY AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (“AXIS Capital”) is the Bermuda-based holding company for the AXIS group of companies, collectively the “Company”. AXIS Capital was incorporated on December 9, 2002, under the laws of Bermuda. Through its subsidiaries and branches organized in Bermuda, the United States, Europe, Singapore, Canada, Australia and Latin America, AXIS Capital provides a broad range of (re)insurance products on a worldwide basis under two distinct global underwriting platforms, AXIS Insurance and AXIS Re. In these notes, the terms “we,” “us,” “our,” or the “Company” refer to AXIS Capital and its direct and indirect subsidiaries.

The entire disclosure for the nature of an entity's business, the major products or services it sells or provides and its principal markets, including the locations of those markets. If the entity operates in more than one business, the disclosure also indicates the relative importance of its operations in each business and the basis for the determination (for example, assets, revenues, or earnings).

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef

-Name Statement of Position (SOP)

-Publisher AICPA

-Number 94-6

-Paragraph 10

-LegacyDoc This reference is SUPERSEDED by the Accounting Standards Codification effective for interim and annual periods ending after September 15, 2009.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 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef

-Publisher FASB

-Name Accounting Standards Codification

-Topic 275

-SubTopic 10

-Section 50

-Paragraph 2

-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6927468&loc=d3e6003-108592

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