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Basis of Reportings | 9 Months Ended
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Sep. 30, 2012
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract] |
Basis of Reporting | Basis of Reporting The accompanying unaudited interim consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”) for interim financial statements and with the instructions to Form 10-Q and Article 10 of Regulation S-X and, therefore, do not include all of the information and footnotes required by GAAP for complete financial statements. These interim statements should be read in conjunction with the financial statements and notes thereto included in the AmTrust Financial Services, Inc. (“AmTrust” or the “Company”) Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2011, previously filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) on March 15, 2012. The balance sheet at December 31, 2011 has been derived from the audited consolidated financial statements at that date but does not include all of the information and footnotes required by GAAP for complete financial statements. These interim consolidated financial statements reflect all adjustments that are, in the opinion of management, necessary for a fair presentation of the results for the interim period and all such adjustments are of a normal recurring nature. The results of operations for the interim period are not necessarily indicative, if annualized, of those to be expected for the full year. The preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the amounts reported in the financial statements and accompanying notes. Actual results could differ from those estimates. A detailed description of the Company’s significant accounting policies and management judgments is located in the audited consolidated financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2011, included in the Company’s Form 10-K filed with the SEC. All significant inter-company transactions and accounts have been eliminated in the consolidated financial statements. To facilitate period-to-period comparisons, certain reclassifications have been made to prior period consolidated financial statement amounts to conform to current period presentation. A description of the major items include: The three and nine months ended September 30, 2011 have been restated to include a retrospective gain of $3,185 on a pre-tax basis and $2,070 on an after tax basis related to the renewal rights transaction with Majestic Insurance Company during the three months ended September 30, 2011. The impact on diluted earnings per share in both periods was $0.03. The Company paid a 10% stock dividend during the three months ended September 30, 2012. As such, the weighted average number of shares used for basic and diluted earnings per share have been adjusted in prior periods. The impact on basic and diluted earnings per share was $(0.02) for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2011. The Company and American Capital Acquisition Corporation (“ACAC”) currently each have a 50% ownership interest in Tiger Capital LLC (“Tiger”) and AMT Capital Alpha, LLC (“AMT Alpha”). The Company also has a 21.25% ownership share of ACAC. As a result, the Company ultimately receives 60.625% of the income and losses related to Tiger and AMT Alpha and therefore consolidates Tiger and AMT Alpha. Prior to January 1, 2012, the Company reported Tiger’s and AMT Alpha’s income and losses attributable to its 10.625% indirect ownership as a component of Equity in Earnings of Unconsolidated Subsidiaries. This amount was offset by reporting an equal amount as a component of Non-controlling interest. Effective January 1, 2012, the Company presents the impact of the 10.625% indirect ownership of Tiger and AMT Alpha on a net basis and excludes this amount from both Equity in Earnings of Unconsolidated Subsidiaries and Non-controlling Interest. All prior periods presented have been reclassed to conform to the current presentation. There was no impact on prior period Net Income Attributable to AmTrust Financial Services, Inc. The Company’s equity investment in ACAC and non-controlling interest were reduced by $3,807 as of December 31, 2011. Additionally, the non-controlling interest related to income on life settlement contracts is now presented on a pre-tax basis and the provision for income taxes has been reduced by an equivalent amount.

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