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DERIVATIVE INSTRUMENTS | 12 Months Ended
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Dec. 31, 2018
Derivative Instruments and Hedging Activities Disclosure [Abstract] |
DERIVATIVE INSTRUMENTS | The balance sheet classifications of derivatives recorded at fair value are shown in the following table.
|  | At December 31, 2018 |  | At December 31, 2017 |
|  | Derivative notional amount |  | Asset derivative fair value(1) |  | Liability derivative fair value(1) |  | Derivative notional amount |  | Asset derivative fair value(1) |  | Liability derivative fair value(1) |
| Relating to investment portfolio: |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
| Foreign exchange forward contracts | $ | 79,336 |  |  | $ | 262 |  |  | $ | 531 |  |  | $ | 137,422 |  |  | $ | 10 |  |  | $ | 619 |  |
| Interest rate swaps | 150,000 |  |  | — |  |  | 1,116 |  |  | 191,000 |  |  | 448 |  |  | 1,556 |  |
| Relating to underwriting portfolio: |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
| Foreign exchange forward contracts | 737,419 |  |  | 7,975 |  |  | 2,576 |  |  | 698,959 |  |  | 4,667 |  |  | 701 |  |
| Other underwriting-related contracts | 85,000 |  |  | — |  |  | 10,299 |  |  | 85,000 |  |  | — |  |  | 11,510 |  |
| Total derivatives |  |  | $ | 8,237 |  |  | $ | 14,522 |  |  |  |  | $ | 5,125 |  |  | $ | 14,386 |  |
(1) | Asset and liability derivatives are classified within other assets and other liabilities in the consolidated balance sheets.
The notional amounts of derivative contracts which represent the basis upon which pay or receive amounts are calculated and are presented in the above table to quantify the volume of the Company's derivative activities. Notional amounts are not reflective of credit risk. None of the Company's derivative instruments are designated as hedges under current accounting guidance. Offsetting Assets and Liabilities The Company's derivative instruments are generally traded under International Swaps and Derivatives Association master netting agreements, which establish terms that apply to all transactions. In the event of a bankruptcy or other stipulated event, master netting agreements provide that individual positions be replaced with a new amount, usually referred to as the termination amount, determined by taking into account market prices and converting into a single currency. Effectively, this contractual close-out netting reduces credit exposure from gross to net exposure. A reconciliation of gross derivative assets and liabilities to the net amounts presented in the consolidated balance sheets, with the difference being attributable to the impact of master netting agreements, is shown in the following table.
|  | December 31, 2018 |  | December 31, 2017 |
|  | Gross amounts | Gross amounts offset | Net amounts(1) |  | Gross amounts | Gross amounts offset | Net amounts(1) |
| Derivative assets | $ | 11,967 |  | $ | (3,730 | ) | $ | 8,237 |  |  | $ | 8,178 |  | $ | (3,053 | ) | $ | 5,125 |  |
| Derivative liabilities | $ | 18,252 |  | $ | (3,730 | ) | $ | 14,522 |  |  | $ | 17,439 |  | $ | (3,053 | ) | $ | 14,386 |  |
(1) | Net asset and liability derivatives are classified within other assets and other liabilities on the consolidated balance sheets.
Refer to Note 6 'Investments' for information on reverse repurchase agreements.
a) | Relating to Investment Portfolio
Foreign Currency Risk The Company's investment portfolio is exposed to foreign currency risk therefore the fair values of its investments are partially influenced by the change in foreign exchange rates. The Company may enter into foreign exchange forward contracts to manage the effect of this foreign currency risk. These foreign currency hedging activities are not designated as specific hedges for financial reporting purposes. Interest Rate Risk The Company's investment portfolio contains a large percentage of fixed maturities which exposes it to significant interest rate risk. As part of overall management of this risk, the Company may use interest rate swaps. b) Relating to Underwriting Portfolio Foreign Currency Risk The Company's (re)insurance subsidiaries and branches operate in various countries. Some of its business is written in currencies other than the U.S. dollar, therefore the underwriting portfolio is exposed to significant foreign currency risk. The Company manages foreign currency risk by seeking to match its foreign-denominated net liabilities under (re)insurance contracts with cash and investments that are denominated in the same currencies. The Company uses derivative instruments, specifically, forward contracts to economically hedge foreign currency exposures. Weather Risk During 2013, the Company began to write derivative-based risk management products designed to address weather risks with the objective of generating profits on a portfolio basis. The majority of this business consisted of receiving a payment at contract inception in exchange for bearing the risk of variations in a quantifiable weather-related phenomenon, such as temperature. Where a client wished to minimize the upfront payment, these transactions were structured as swaps or collars. In general, the Company's portfolio of such derivative contracts was of short duration, with contracts being predominantly seasonal in nature. In order to economically hedge a portion of this portfolio, the Company also purchased weather derivatives. Effective July 1, 2017, the Company no longer writes derivative-based risk management products which address weather risks. Commodity Risk Within the Company's (re)insurance portfolio it is exposed to commodity price risk. The Company may hedge a portion of this price risk by entering into commodity derivative contracts. Other Underwriting-related Risks The Company enters into insurance and reinsurance contracts that are accounted for as derivatives. These insurance or reinsurance contracts provide indemnification to an insured or cedant as a result of a change in a variable as opposed to an identifiable insurable event. The Company considers these contracts to be part of its underwriting operations. The total unrealized and realized gains (losses) recognized in net income for derivatives not designated as hedges are shown in the following table:
|  | Location of gain (loss) recognized in income on derivative | Amount of gain (loss) recognized in income on derivative |
|  | 2018 |  | 2017 |  | 2016 |
| Relating to investment portfolio: |  |  |  |  |  |  |
| Foreign exchange forward contracts | Net investment gains (losses) | $ | 3,446 |  |  | $ | (6,935 | ) |  | $ | 10,929 |  |
| Interest rate swaps | Net investment gains (losses) | 1,999 |  |  | (1,334 | ) |  | — |  |
| Relating to underwriting portfolio: |  |  |  |  |  |  |
| Foreign exchange forward contracts | Foreign exchange gains (losses) | (3,509 | ) |  | 25,383 |  |  | (8,179 | ) |
| Weather-related contracts | Other insurance related income (losses) | — |  |  | (9,629 | ) |  | 4,910 |  |
| Commodity contracts | Other insurance related income (losses) | — |  |  | — |  |  | (2,382 | ) |
| Other underwriting-related contracts | Other insurance related income (losses) | 2,384 |  |  | 1,476 |  |  | — |  |
| Total |  | $ | 4,320 |  |  | $ | 8,961 |  |  | $ | 5,278 |  |

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- Definition The entire disclosure for derivative instruments and hedging activities including, but not limited to, risk management strategies, non-hedging derivative instruments, assets, liabilities, revenue and expenses, and methodologies and assumptions used in determining the amounts. + References Reference 1: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 815 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/topic&trid=2229140 + Details
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