Adoption of Accounting Pronouncements

In October 2010, the FASB issued ASU 2010-26, Financial Services-Insurance (Topic 944): Accounting for Costs Associated with Acquiring or Renewing Insurance Contracts (“ASU 2010-26”). ASU 2010-26 requires that only costs that are incremental or directly related to the successful acquisition of new or renewal insurance contracts are to be capitalized as a deferred acquisition cost. This includes, among other items, sales commissions paid to agents, premium taxes, and the portion of employee salaries and benefits directly related to time spent on acquired contracts. We adopted this guidance on January 1, 2012, with retrospective application and, as such, all historical data in this Form 10-Q has been restated to reflect the revised guidance.

The following tables provide select restated financial information:



Balance Sheet Information December 31, 2011
($ in thousands)	As Originally Reported		Effect of Change		As Adopted
Deferred policy acquisition costs	$	214,069	(78,308	)	135,761
Deferred federal income tax recoverable ¹	92,078		27,408		119,486
Retained earnings	1,167,219		(50,900	)	1,116,319

¹ Included in the deferred federal income tax recoverable amount is an adjustment of $0.6 million reflecting the revaluation of a deferred tax asset acquired as part of the purchase of Mesa Underwriters Specialty Insurance Company ("MUSIC" ). For additional information, see Footnote 14, "Federal Income Taxes" below.



Income Statement Information Quarter ended September 30, 2011
($ in thousands, except per share amounts)	As Originally Reported			Effect of Change		As Adopted
Policy acquisition costs	$	119,456		(3,345	)	116,111
Deferred federal income tax expense (benefit)	(1,335		)	1,171		(164	)
Net income (loss)	(20,142		)	2,174		(17,968	)
Net income (loss) per share:
Basic	$	(0.37	)	0.04		(0.33	)
Diluted	(0.37		)	0.04		(0.33	)



Income Statement Information Nine months ended September 30, 2011
($ in thousands, except per share amounts)	As Originally Reported			Effect of Change		As Adopted
Policy acquisition costs	$	346,729		(411	)	346,318
Deferred federal income tax expense (benefit)	(3,603		)	144		(3,459	)
Net income (loss)	$	3,732		267		3,999
Net income (loss) per share:
Basic	$	0.07		—		0.07
Diluted	0.07			—		0.07



Cash Flow Information Nine months ended September 30, 2011
($ in thousands, except per share amounts)	As Originally Reported			Effect of Change		As Adopted
(Increase) decrease in deferred policy acquisition costs	$	(10,417	)	(411	)	(10,828	)
Increase (decrease) in net federal income taxes recoverable	(9,570		)	144		(9,426	)

In May 2011, the FASB issued ASU 2011-04, Amendments to Achieve Common Fair Value Measurement and Disclosure Requirements in U.S. GAAP and IFRSs (“ASU 2011-04”). This guidance changes the wording used to describe the requirements in U.S. GAAP for measuring fair value and disclosing information about fair value measurements to improve consistency in the application and description of fair value between GAAP and International Financial Reporting Standards. ASU 2011-04 clarifies that the concepts of highest and best use and valuation premise in a fair value measurement are relevant only when measuring the fair value of nonfinancial assets, and are not relevant when measuring the fair value of financial assets or liabilities. In addition, ASU 2011-04 expands the disclosures for unobservable inputs for Level 3 fair value measurements, requiring quantitative and qualitative information to be disclosed related to: (i) the valuation processes used; (ii) the sensitivity of the fair value measurement to changes in unobservable inputs and the interrelationships between those unobservable inputs; and (iii) the use of a nonfinancial asset in a way that differs from the asset’s highest and best use. ASU 2011-04 was effective prospectively for interim and annual periods beginning after December 15, 2011. We have included the disclosures required by this guidance in our notes to the Financial Statements, where appropriate.

In June 2011, the FASB issued ASU 2011-05, Comprehensive Income (Topic 220): Presentation of Comprehensive Income (“ASU 2011-05”). ASU 2011-05 requires that all non-owner changes in stockholders’ equity be presented either in a single continuous statement of comprehensive income or in two separate but consecutive statements. This standard eliminates the option to report other comprehensive income and its components in the statement of stockholders’ equity. Based on an amendment issued in December 2011, companies are not required to present separate line items on the income statement for reclassification adjustments out of accumulated other comprehensive income into net income, as would have been required under the initial ASU. This guidance, which is ASU 2011-12, Comprehensive Income (Topic 220): Deferral of the Effective Date for Amendments to the Presentation of Reclassifications of Items Out of Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income in Accounting Standards Update No. 2011-05, is effective concurrently with ASU 2011-05. We have retroactively restated our financial statements in this Form 10-Q to comply with the presentation required under this accounting guidance.

In September 2011, the FASB issued ASU 2011-08, Intangibles-Goodwill and Other (Topic 350): Testing Goodwill for Impairment ("ASU 2011-08"), which simplifies the requirements to test goodwill for impairment. ASU 2011-08 permits an entity to first assess qualitative factors to determine whether it is more likely than not that the fair value of a reporting unit is less than its carrying amount. If, after assessing events and circumstances, an entity determines that it is not more likely than not that the fair value of the reporting unit is less than the carrying amount, then performing the two-step impairment test is unnecessary. However, if the entity concludes otherwise, then it is required to perform the quantitative impairment test. ASU 2011-08 was effective for annual and interim goodwill impairment tests performed for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2011, and early adoption was permitted. The adoption of this guidance did not impact our financial condition or results of operation.

In July 2012, the FASB issued ASU 2012-02, Intangibles-Goodwill and Other (Topic 350): Testing Indefinite-Lived Intangible Assets for Impairment ("ASU 2012-02"), which reduces the cost and complexity of performing an impairment test for indefinite-lived intangible assets. This guidance permits an entity to first assess qualitative factors to determine whether it is more likely or not that an indefinite-lived intangible asset is impaired as a basis for determining whether it is necessary to perform a quantitative impairment test. ASU 2012-02 was effective for annual and interim intangible impairment tests performed for fiscal years beginning on, or after, September 15, 2012, and early adoption was permitted. The adoption of this guidance did not impact our financial condition or results of operation.