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STATUTORY FINANCIAL INFORMATION | 12 Months Ended
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Dec. 31, 2018
STATUTORY FINANCIAL INFORMATION [Abstract] |
STATUTORY FINANCIAL INFORMATION | The Company's insurance and reinsurance 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, the U.S. In addition, the Company is regulated by Lloyd'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. At December 31, 2018 and 2017, the statutory capital and surplus in each of the Company's most significant regulatory jurisdictions are shown in the following table:
|  | Bermuda |  | Ireland |  | U.S. |
| At December 31, | 2018 | 2017 |  | 2018 | 2017 |  | 2018 | 2017 |
| Required statutory capital and surplus | $ | 1,470,375 |  | $ | 1,800,064 |  |  | $ | 637,226 |  | $ | 613,923 |  |  | $ | 489,560 |  | $ | 488,560 |  |
| Available statutory capital and surplus | $ | 3,513,342 |  | $ | 3,641,279 |  |  | $ | 896,868 |  | $ | 906,512 |  |  | $ | 1,668,847 |  | $ | 1,511,480 |  |
Bermuda Under the Insurance Act 1978, amendments thereto and Related Regulations of Bermuda (the "Act"), the Company's 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 and 25% of the ECR. The Company's ECR is calculated based on 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. At December 31, 2018 and 2017, the required and available statutory capital and surplus were 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 an affidavit signed by at least two members of the Board of Directors is required, attesting that any dividend in excess of this amount would not cause the Company to fail to meet its relevant margins. At December 31, 2018, the maximum dividend AXIS Specialty Bermuda could pay, without a signed affidavit, having met minimum levels of statutory capital and surplus requirements, was approximately $0.9 billion (2017: $0.9 billion). Ireland Effective January 1, 2016, the Company's 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 Solvency II definitions. If an entity falls below the MCR or SCR, the Central Bank of Ireland is authorized to take action to restore the financial position of the Company's Irish subsidiaries. During 2018 and 2017, the Company's Irish subsidiaries were in compliance with these requirements. The Company's Irish subsidiaries may declare dividends subject to meeting their solvency and capital requirements. The maximum dividend is limited to "excess eligible own funds" which is defined as excess Solvency II capital over the SCR and may also be limited to "profits available for distribution'', which is defined as accumulated realized profits less accumulated realized losses and statutory reserves. At December 31, 2018, the maximum dividend the Company's Irish subsidiaries could pay, having met their solvency and capital requirements was approximately $37 million (2017: $52 million). United States The Company's U.S. operations required statutory capital and surplus is determined using the risk-based capital formula ("RBC"), which is the National Association of Insurance Commissioners' (the "Commissioner") method of measuring the minimum capital appropriate for U.S. reporting entities to support its overall business operations in consideration of its size and risk profile. If a company falls below the authorized control level as determined under the RBC, 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 the Company's 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 the Company's 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, 2018, the maximum dividend that the Company's U.S. insurance operations could pay without regulatory approval was approximately $130 million (2017: $115 million). Lloyd's of London The Company operates in the Lloyd’s market through AXIS Corporate Capital UK Limited which is the sole corporate member of Syndicate 1686. Syndicate 1686 was managed by a third party managing agency, Asta Managing Agency Limited until August 2017 when the Company received final authorization from Lloyd's, the Prudential Regulation Authority ("PRA") and the Financial Conduct Authority ("FCA") for its own Lloyd's managing agent, AXIS Managing Agency Ltd. ("AXIS Managing Agency"). Effective August 4, 2017, AXIS Managing Agency assumed management of Syndicate 1686, replacing the Company's third-party managing agency agreement with Asta Managing Agency Limited, which had been in place since 2014. In addition, the Company operates in the Lloyd's market through Novae Corporate Underwriting Limited, the sole corporate member of Syndicate 2007. The Company owned Lloyd’s managing agency, Novae Syndicates Limited ("NSL"), which operated in the Lloyd’s insurance market and managed Syndicate 2007 and SPA 6129, until it was deregistered in 2018. On January 1, 2018, the Company received authorization from Lloyd’s for AXIS Managing Agency to commence management and oversight of Syndicate 2007 and SPA 6129. SPA 6129 commenced trading on January 1, 2016, as a collaboration between Novae and Securis Investment Partners LLP, an insurance linked securities fund manager. For the three months ended December 31, 2017, NSL received a managing agency fee from SPA 6129. For the year ended December 31, 2018, AXIS Managing Agency received a managing agency fee from SPA 6129. The Company ended its collaboration with SPA 6129 in 2018. Corporate members of Lloyd’s and Lloyd’s syndicates are bound by the rules of Lloyd’s, which are prescribed by Bye-laws and Requirements made by the Council of Lloyd’s under powers conferred by the Lloyd’s Act 1982. These rules prescribe members’ membership subscription, the level of their contribution to the Lloyd’s Central Fund and the assets they must deposit with Lloyd’s in support of their underwriting. The Council of Lloyd’s has broad powers to sanction breaches of its rules, including the power to restrict or prohibit a member’s participation on Lloyd’s syndicates. The capital provided to support underwriting, or FAL is not available for distribution for the payment of dividends or for working capital requirements. Corporate members may also be required to maintain funds under the control of Lloyd’s in excess of their capital requirements and such funds also may not be available for distribution for the payment of dividends. Lloyd’s sets the corporate members’ required capital annually through the application of a capital model that is based on regulatory rules pursuant to Solvency II. FAL may be satisfied by cash, certain investments and letters of credit provided by approved banks. At December 31, 2018, fixed maturities and short term investments with a fair value of $715 million (2017: $557 million) and cash of $8 million (2017: $12 million), respectively, were restricted to satisfy AXIS Corporate Capital UK Limited FAL requirements. At December 31, 2018, fixed maturities and short term investments with a fair value of $528 million (2017: $564 million), equity securities with a fair value of $40 million (2017: $59 million), and cash of $16 million (2017: $nil) were restricted to satisfy Novae Corporate Underwriting Limited FAL requirements (refer to Note 6 'Investments'). Each year, corporate members can apply to Lloyd's to release accumulated funds, whether syndicate profits or interest on FAL, which are in excess of the agreed FAL requirements. At December 31, 2018 and 2017, actual capital and assets exceeded the FAL requirements for Syndicates 1686 and 2007. During 2018, Syndicate 1686 and 2007 did not apply to release funds for the year ended December 31, 2017. During 2017, the release of funds for Syndicate 1686 for the year ended December 31, 2016 was $1.6 million and the release of funds for Syndicate 2007 for the year ended December 31, 2016 was $41 million. Branch Offices The Company's operating subsidiaries in Bermuda and the U.S. maintain branch offices in Singapore and Canada, respectively. The Company's Irish operating subsidiaries maintain branch offices in Switzerland and the U.K. In 2017, the Company ceased operations in Australia. 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. The Company's branch offices in Singapore and Canada are subject to additional minimum capital or asset requirements in their countries of domicile. At December 31, 2018 and 2017, the actual capital/assets for each of these branches exceeded the relevant local regulatory requirements. Total statutory net income (loss) of the Company's operating subsidiaries was $268 million, $(94) million, $598 million for 2018, 2017 and 2016, 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 investment gains (losses) on fixed maturities or certain unauthorized reinsurance recoverable balances.

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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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