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Basis Of Presentation And Significant Accounting Policies
 9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2013
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]  
Basis Of Presentation And Significant Accounting Policies
Basis of Presentation and Significant Accounting Policies

Reference should be made to the "Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements" appearing in the Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2012 of Investors Title Company (the “Company”) for a complete description of the Company’s significant accounting policies.

Principles of Consolidation – The accompanying unaudited Consolidated Financial Statements include the accounts and operations of Investors Title Company and its subsidiaries, and have been prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles for interim financial information, with the instructions to Form 10-Q and with Article 10 of Regulation S-X. Accordingly, certain information and footnote disclosures normally included in annual financial statements have been condensed or omitted. Earnings attributable to the Company's redeemable noncontrolling interest in a majority-owned insurance agency are recorded in the Consolidated Statements of Income. The redeemable noncontrolling interest representing the portion of equity not related to the Company's ownership interest is recorded as redeemable equity in a separate section of the Consolidated Balance Sheets. All intercompany balances and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation.

In the opinion of management, all adjustments considered necessary for a fair presentation of the financial position, results of operations and cash flows of the Company in the accompanying unaudited Consolidated Financial Statements have been included.  All such adjustments are of a normal recurring nature.  Operating results for the quarter ended September 30, 2013 are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be expected for the year ending December 31, 2013.

Reclassification – Certain 2012 amounts in the accompanying unaudited Consolidated Financial Statements have been reclassified to conform to the 2013 classifications. These reclassifications had no effect on stockholders’ equity or net income as previously reported.

Use of Estimates and Assumptions – The preparation of the Company’s Consolidated Financial Statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”) requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosures of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period.  Actual results could differ from those estimates and assumptions used.

The Company’s reserves for claims are established using estimated amounts required to settle claims for which notice has been received (reported) and the amount estimated to be required to satisfy incurred claims of policyholders which have been incurred but not reported (“IBNR”).  During the third quarter of 2013 certain actuarial inputs were changed  to provide a more refined IBNR reserve estimate. See Note 2 in the accompanying Consolidated Financial Statements for further information regarding this change in accounting estimate.

Subsequent Events - The Company has concluded that there were no material subsequent events requiring adjustment to or disclosure in its Consolidated Financial Statements.

Recently Issued Accounting Standards – In July 2013, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) updated guidance to eliminate diversity in practice relating to the financial statement presentation of an unrecognized tax benefit when a net operating loss carryforward, similar tax loss or a tax credit carryforward exists. The main provision of the update requires that an unrecognized tax benefit, or a portion of an unrecognized tax benefit, be presented in the financial statements as a reduction to deferred tax assets for a net operating loss carryforward, a similar tax loss or a tax credit carryforward, except to the extent that a net operating loss carryforward, a similar tax loss, or a tax credit carryforward is not available at the reporting date to settle any additional income taxes that would result from disallowance of a tax position, or the tax law does not require the entity to use, and the entity does not intend to use, the deferred tax asset for such purpose, in which case the unrecognized tax benefit should be presented as a liability. For public entities, this update becomes effective for fiscal years, and interim periods within those years, beginning after December 15, 2013. Early adoption is permitted, and the Company elected to adopt this new guidance in the third quarter of 2013. This update did not have an impact on the Company's financial condition or results of operations.

In February 2013, the FASB updated guidance to improve the reporting of reclassifications out of accumulated other comprehensive income.  The main provisions of this guidance require an entity to provide information about the amount reclassified out of accumulated other comprehensive income by component.  In addition, an entity is required to present, either on the face of the statement where net income is presented or in the footnotes, the amount reclassified out of accumulated other comprehensive income by the respective line items of net income if the amount is reclassified to net income in its entirety in the same reporting period.  For other amounts that are not required to be reclassified in their entirety to net income, an entity is required to cross-reference to other disclosures providing additional detail about those amounts.  The amendments do not change the requirements for reporting net income or other comprehensive income in financial statements.  The Company complied with this update, and it did not have an impact on the Company’s financial condition or results of operations.

In June 2011, the FASB updated requirements relating to the presentation of comprehensive income.  The objectives of this accounting update are to facilitate convergence of GAAP and International Financial Reporting Standards (“IFRS”), to improve the comparability, consistency, and transparency of financial reporting and to increase the prominence of items reported in other comprehensive income.  The main provisions of the guidance require that all nonowner changes in stockholders’ equity be presented either in a single continuous statement of comprehensive income or in two separate but consecutive statements.  For public entities, this update became effective for fiscal years, and interim periods within those years, beginning after December 15, 2011.  The Company complied with this update, and it did not have an impact on the Company’s financial condition or results of operations.

In May 2011, the FASB updated requirements for measuring and disclosing fair value information, resulting in common principles and requirements in accordance with GAAP and IFRS.  For public entities, this guidance became effective during interim and annual periods beginning after December 15, 2011.  The Company complied with this update, and it did not have an impact on the Company’s financial condition or results of operations.