Commitments, Contingencies and Concentrations

a) Concentrations of Credit Risk

At December 31, 2015 and 2014, the Company’s assets where significant concentrations of credit risk may exist include investments, cash and cash equivalents, loan to related party and reinsurance balances receivable.

The Company manages concentration of credit risk in the investment portfolio through issuer and sector exposure limitations. The Company believes it bears minimal credit risk in its cash on deposit. The Company also monitors the credit risk related to the loan to related party and its reinsurance balances receivable, within which the largest balance is due from AmTrust. To mitigate credit risk, we generally have a contractual right of offset thereby allowing us to settle claims net of any premiums or loan receivable. The Company believes these balances will be fully collectible.

b) Concentrations of Revenue

During 2015, our gross premiums written from AmTrust accounted for $1,885,974 or 70.8% of our total gross premiums written (2014 – $1,610,485 or 64.2% and 2013 – $1,169,961 or 53.1%).

c) Brokers

We market our Diversified Reinsurance segment through a combination of third-party intermediaries and directly through our own marketing efforts. For the year ended December 31, 2015, 54.6% (2014 - 57.1%, 2013 - 57.7%) of the Diversified Reinsurance segment gross premiums written was sourced through brokers. Our top three brokers represented approximately 36.9% of gross premiums written by our Diversified Reinsurance segment for the year ended December 31, 2015 (2014 - 31.6%, 2013 - 29.9%) and is comprised of Aon Benfield Inc. -17.3% (2014 - 15.8%, 2013 - 11.9%), Marsh & McLennan Companies (including Guy Carpenter) - 12.2% (2014 - 12.0%, 2013 - 12.6%), and U.S. RE Corporation - 7.4% (Tiger Risk Partners - 2014 - 3.8%, Beach & Associates, Ltd. - 2013- 5.4%).

d) Letters of Credit

At December 31, 2015 and 2014, we had letters of credit outstanding of $76,964 and $82,489, respectively. The letters of credit are for collateral purposes and are secured by cash and fixed maturities with a fair value of $108,666 (2014 - $115,151).

e) Employment agreements

The Company has entered into employment agreements with certain individuals. The employment agreements provide for option awards, executive benefits and severance payments under certain circumstances.

f) Operating Lease Commitments

The Company leases office space, an apartment, equipment and vehicles under operating leases expiring in various years through 2020. The Company's office space lease in Hamilton, Bermuda for Maiden Holdings and Maiden Bermuda, which expires on November 30, 2017, has an option to renew for another five years. The Company's total rent expense for the years ended December 31, 2015, 2014 and 2013 was $1,984, $2,220 and $2,171, respectively. Future minimum lease payments at December 31, 2015 under non-cancellable operating leases for the next five years are approximately as follows:



	December 31, 2015
2016	$	1,395
2017	1,126
2018	534
2019	491
2020	345
	$	3,891

g) Unfunded Commitments

The Company has an unfunded commitment on its investment in limited partnerships of approximately $622 at December 31, 2015 (2014 - $736).

11. Commitments and Contingencies (continued)

h) Other Collateral

In the ordinary course of business, the Company enters into reinsurance agreements that may include terms which could require the Company to collateralize certain of its obligations.

i) Deposit Insurance

The Company maintains cash and cash equivalents balances at financial institutions in the U.S., Bermuda and other international jurisdictions. In the U.S., the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation secures accounts up to $250. In certain other international jurisdictions, there exist similar protections. Management monitors balances in excess of insured limits and believes they do not represent a significant credit risk to the Company.

j) Legal Proceedings

Except as noted below, the Company is not a party to any material legal proceedings. From time to time, the Company is subject to routine legal proceedings, including arbitrations, arising in the ordinary course of business. These legal proceedings generally relate to claims asserted by or against the Company in the ordinary course of insurance or reinsurance operations. Based on the Company's opinion, the eventual outcome of these legal proceedings is not expected to have a material adverse effect on its financial condition or results of operations.

In April 2009, the Company learned that Bentzion S. Turin, the former Chief Operating Officer, General Counsel and Secretary of Maiden Holdings and Maiden Bermuda, sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Labor claiming that his employment with the Company was terminated in retaliation for corporate whistle blowing in violation of the whistle blower protection provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. Mr. Turin alleged concerns regarding corporate governance with respect to negotiation of the terms of the Trust Preferred Securities Offering and seeks reinstatement as Chief Operating Officer, General Counsel and Secretary of Maiden Holdings and Maiden Bermuda, back pay and legal fees incurred. On December 31, 2009, the U.S. Secretary of Labor found no reasonable cause for Mr. Turin’s claim and dismissed the complaint in its entirety. Mr. Turin objected to the Secretary's findings and requested a hearing before an administrative law judge in the U.S. Department of Labor. The Company moved to dismiss Mr. Turin's complaint, and its motion was granted by the Administrative Law Judge on June 30, 2011.

On July 13, 2011, Mr. Turin filed a petition for review of the Administrative Law Judge's decision with the Administrative Review Board in the U.S. Department of Labor. The Company filed its brief in opposition to the petition for review on October 19, 2011. On March 29, 2013, the Administrative Review Board reversed the dismissal of the complaint on procedural grounds, and remanded the case to the administrative law judge. The administrative hearing began in September 2014, and we expect it to conclude in 2016. The Company believes that it had ample reason for terminating such employment for good and sufficient legal cause, and the Company believes that the claim is without merit and is vigorously defending this claim.

k) Dividends declared

On November 4, 2015, the Company's Board of Directors authorized the following quarterly dividend:



	Dividend per Share		Payable on:	Record date:
Common shares	$	0.14	January 15, 2016	January 1, 2016