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STATUTORY FINANCIAL INFORMATION | 12 Months Ended
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Dec. 31, 2016
STATUTORY FINANCIAL INFORMATION [Abstract] |
STATUTORY FINANCIAL INFORMATION | Our (re)insurance operations are subject to insurance and/or reinsurance laws and regulations in the jurisdictions in which they operate, the most significant of which include Bermuda, Ireland and the U.S. 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 statutory capital and surplus in each of our most significant regulatory jurisdictions at December 31, 2016 and 2015 was as follows:
|  | Bermuda |  | Ireland |  | U.S. |
| At December 31, | 2016 | 2015 |  | 2016 | 2015 |  | 2016 | 2015 |
| Required statutory capital and surplus | $ | 1,835,279 |  | $ | 1,948,833 |  |  | $ | 552,678 |  | $ | 282,857 |  |  | $ | 430,145 |  | $ | 412,990 |  |
| Available statutory capital and surplus | $ | 4,055,252 |  | $ | 3,619,642 |  |  | $ | 925,164 |  | $ | 781,892 |  |  | $ | 1,470,772 |  | $ | 1,439,366 |  |
Under the Insurance Act 1978, amendments thereto and Related Regulations of Bermuda (the "Act"), our Bermuda subsidiary, AXIS Specialty Bermuda is required to maintain minimum statutory capital and surplus equal to the greater of a minimum solvency margin ("MSM") and the Enhanced Capital Requirement ("ECR"). The MSM is the greater of $100 million, 50% of net premiums written, 15% of the net reserve for losses and loss expenses or 25% of the ECR. The ECR is calculated based on either an internally developed risk-based capital model or a standard risk-based capital model developed by the Bermuda Monetary Authority ("BMA"). In 2016, the BMA implemented an Economic Balance Sheet ("EBS") framework which was used as the basis to determine the ECR. The required and available statutory capital and surplus as at December 31, 2016 are based on this EBS framework. Under the Act, AXIS Specialty Bermuda is restricted as to the payment of dividends 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 the dividend in excess of this amount would not cause the company to fail to meet its relevant margins is required. The maximum dividend AXIS Specialty Bermuda could pay, without a signed affidavit, having met minimum levels of statutory capital and surplus requirements, is approximately $1.0 billion. Effective January 1, 2016, our Irish subsidiaries, AXIS Specialty Europe SE and AXIS Re SE, are required to maintain the Minimum Capital Requirement (“MCR”) (subject to a monetary minimum floor) and the Solvency Capital Requirement “SCR” at all times. The capital requirements are calculated by reference to standard formulae defined in Solvency II. The MCR is the level of capital below which a company would be deemed insolvent for regulatory purposes. If a company falls below the SCR, the Central Bank of Ireland is authorized to take action to restore the financial position of the company. At December 31, 2016, 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 requirements. The maximum dividend is limited to excess eligible own funds (excess Solvency II capital over the SCR) and may also be limited to “profits available for distribution”, which consists of accumulated realized profits less accumulated realized losses and statutory reserves. At December 31, 2016, the maximum dividend our Irish subsidiaries could pay having met minimum levels of statutory capital and surplus requirements, after obtaining prior approval from the Central Bank of Ireland, was approximately $372 million. 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 may be 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 31, 2016, the maximum dividend that our U.S. insurance operations could pay without regulatory approval was approximately $147 million. Our operating subsidiaries in Bermuda and the U.S. maintain branch offices in Singapore and Canada, respectively. Our Irish operating subsidiaries maintain branch offices in Switzerland, Australia and the U.K. As branch offices are not considered separate entities for regulatory purposes, the required and actual statutory capital and surplus amounts for each jurisdiction in the table above include amounts related to the applicable branch offices. Our branch offices in Singapore, Australia and Canada are subject to additional minimum capital or asset requirements in their countries of domicile. At December 31, 2016 and 2015, the actual capital/assets for each of these branches exceeded the relevant local regulatory requirements. Total statutory net income of our operating subsidiaries was $598 million, $457 million, $884 million for 2016, 2015 and 2014, respectively. The differences between statutory financial statements and statements prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP vary by jurisdiction, however, the primary differences are that statutory financial statements may not reflect deferred acquisition costs, certain net deferred tax assets, goodwill and intangible assets, unrealized appreciation or depreciation 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. Also includes information on regulatory restrictions on dividends and/or distributions. + References No definition available. + Details
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