SCHEDULE II - CONDENSED PARENT COMPANY BALANCE SHEETS (DETAILS) (USD $) In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	Dec. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2013	Dec. 31, 2012	Dec. 31, 2011
Assets
Cash and cash equivalents	$ 921,830	$ 923,326	$ 759,817	$ 981,849
Other assets	250,670us-gaap_OtherAssets	273,385us-gaap_OtherAssets
Total assets	19,955,736us-gaap_Assets	19,634,784us-gaap_Assets
Liabilities
Senior notes	990,790us-gaap_SeniorNotes	995,855us-gaap_SeniorNotes
Other liabilities	315,471us-gaap_OtherLiabilities	248,822us-gaap_OtherLiabilities
Total liabilities	14,075,796us-gaap_Liabilities	13,766,822us-gaap_Liabilities
Shareholders' equity
Preferred shares	627,843	627,843
Common shares (2014: 175,478; 2013: 174,134 shares issued and 2014: 99,426; 2013: 109,485 shares outstanding)	2,191us-gaap_CommonStockValue	2,174us-gaap_CommonStockValue
Additional paid-in capital	2,285,016	2,240,125
Accumulated other comprehensive income (loss)	(45,574)	117,825
Retained earnings	5,715,504	5,062,706
Treasury shares, at cost (2014: 76,052; 2013: 64,439 shares)	(2,763,859)us-gaap_TreasuryStockValue	(2,232,711)us-gaap_TreasuryStockValue
Total shareholders' equity attributable to AXIS Capital	5,821,121us-gaap_StockholdersEquity	5,817,962us-gaap_StockholdersEquity
Total liabilities and shareholders' equity	19,955,736	19,634,784
AXIS Capital Holdings Limited [Member]
Assets
Investment in subsidiaries on equity basis	6,114,436	6,581,368
Cash and cash equivalents	7,041	4,414	2,841	2,363
Other assets	2,642	3,179
Total assets	6,124,119	6,588,961
Liabilities
Intercompany payable	213,149	204,877
Senior notes	0	499,906
Dividends payable	48,197	47,959
Other liabilities	41,652	18,257
Total liabilities	302,998	770,999
Shareholders' equity
Preferred shares	627,843	627,843
Common shares (2014: 175,478; 2013: 174,134 shares issued and 2014: 99,426; 2013: 109,485 shares outstanding)	2,191	2,174
Additional paid-in capital	2,285,016	2,240,125
Accumulated other comprehensive income (loss)	(45,574)	117,825
Retained earnings	5,715,504	5,062,706
Treasury shares, at cost (2014: 76,052; 2013: 64,439 shares)	(2,763,859)	(2,232,711)
Total shareholders' equity attributable to AXIS Capital	5,821,121	5,817,962
Total liabilities and shareholders' equity	$ 6,124,119	$ 6,588,961

This item represents the carrying amount on the entity's balance sheet of its investment in common stock of its subsidiaries under the equity method. This is not an indicator of the fair value of the investment, rather it is the initial cost adjusted for the entity's share of earnings and losses of subsidiaries, adjusted for any distributions (dividends) and other than temporary impairment (OTTI) losses recognized. This element is used for parent company stand-alone (i.e. non-consolidated) financial statements.

No definition available.