The following tables set forth our selected consolidated financial data and other financial information at the end of and for each of the years in the five-year period ended December 31, 2012. The selected consolidated financial data should be read in conjunction with our consolidated financial statements and related notes thereto and "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" included in this filing and all other information appearing elsewhere or incorporated into this filing by reference.
RenaissanceRe was established in Bermuda in 1993 to write principally property catastrophe reinsurance and today is a leading global provider of reinsurance and insurance coverages and related services. Our aspiration is to be the world's best underwriter of high-severity, low frequency risks. Through our operating subsidiaries, we seek to produce superior returns for our shareholders by being a trusted, long-term partner to our customers, for assessing and managing risk, delivering responsive solutions, and keeping our promises. We accomplish this by leveraging our core capabilities of risk assessment and information management, and by investing in our capabilities to serve our customers across the cycles that have historically characterized our markets. Overall, our strategy focuses on superior risk selection, superior customer relationships and superior capital management. We provide value to our customers and joint venture partners in the form of financial security, innovative products, and responsive service. We are known as a leader in paying valid reinsurance claims promptly. We principally measure our financial success through long-term growth in tangible book value per common share plus the change in accumulated dividends, which we believe is the most appropriate measure of our Company's financial performance, and believe we have delivered superior performance in respect of this measure over time.
Our expenses primarily consist of: 1) net claims and claim expenses incurred on the policies of reinsurance and insurance we sell; 2) acquisition costs which typically represent a percentage of the premiums we write; 3) operating expenses which primarily consist of personnel expenses, rent and other operating expenses; 4) corporate expenses which include certain executive, legal and consulting expenses, costs for research and development, and other miscellaneous costs, including those associated with operating as a publicly traded company; 5) redeemable noncontrolling interest - DaVinciRe, which represents the interest of third parties with respect to the net income (loss) of DaVinciRe; and 6) interest and dividend costs related to our debt and preference shares. We are also subject to taxes in certain jurisdictions in which we operate; however, since the majority of our income is currently earned in Bermuda, a non-taxable jurisdiction, the tax impact to our operations has historically been minimal.
The operating results, also known as the underwriting results, of an insurance or reinsurance company are discussed frequently by reference to its net claims and claim expense ratio, underwriting expense ratio, and combined ratio. The net claims and claim expense ratio is calculated by dividing net claims and claim expenses incurred by net premiums earned. The underwriting expense ratio is calculated by dividing underwriting expenses (acquisition expenses and operational expenses) by net premiums earned. The combined ratio is the sum of the net claims and claim expense ratio and the underwriting expense ratio. A combined ratio below 100% generally indicates profitable underwriting prior to the consideration of
investment income. A combined ratio over 100% generally indicates unprofitable underwriting prior to the consideration of investment income. We also discuss our net claims and claim expense ratio on an accident year basis. This ratio is calculated by taking net claims and claim expenses, excluding development on net claims and claim expenses from events that took place in prior fiscal years, divided by net premiums earned.
As of December 31, 2012, we undertook a review of our reportable segments and concluded that our former Insurance segment no longer met the quantitative thresholds defined in FASB ASC Topic Segment Reporting. These operations are not actively involved in pursuing business opportunities and are in run-off; therefore we determined they no longer require, nor warrant, separate disclosure as a reportable segment. As such, the results of operations for the former Insurance segment have been included in our Other category as noted above, and all prior periods presented herein have been reclassified to conform with the current year presentation.
Property catastrophe reinsurance, principally written for our own account, and for DaVinci, is our traditional core business. We believe we are one of the world's leading providers of this coverage, based on catastrophe gross premiums written. This coverage protects against large natural catastrophes, such as earthquakes, hurricanes and tsunamis, as well as claims arising from other natural and man-made catastrophes such as winter storms, freezes, floods, fires, wind storms, tornadoes, explosions and acts of terrorism. We offer this coverage to insurance companies and other reinsurers primarily on an excess of loss basis. This means that we begin paying when our customers' claims from a catastrophe exceed a certain retained amount.
We seek to develop and effectively utilize sophisticated computer models and other analytical tools to assess and manage the risks that we underwrite and attempt to optimize our portfolio of reinsurance and insurance contracts and other financial risks. Our policies, procedures, tools and resources to monitor and assess our operational risks companywide, as well as our global enterprise-wide risk management practices, are overseen by our Chief Risk Officer, who reports directly to our Chief Financial Officer.
During the fourth quarter of 2010, we made the strategic decision to divest substantially all of our U.S.-based insurance operations in order to focus on the business encompassed within our Reinsurance and Lloyd's segments and our other businesses. Except as explicitly described as held for sale or as discontinued operations, and unless otherwise noted, all discussions and amounts presented herein relate
During 2011, RenaissanceRe recognized a $10.0 million liability and corresponding expense in liabilities of discontinued operations held for sale and income (loss) from discontinued operations, respectively, due to purported net adverse development on prior accident years net claims and claim expenses associated with the Reserve Collar. Effective May 23, 2012, RenaissanceRe and QBE reached an agreement in respect of the Reserve Collar, and RenaissanceRe paid QBE the sum of $9.0 million on June 1, 2012, representing full and final settlement of the Reserve Collar and recorded a gain of $1.0 million in income from discontinued operations during the second quarter of 2012.
We believe the most significant accounting judgment made by management is our estimate of claims and claim expense reserves. Claims and claim expense reserves represent estimates, including actuarial and statistical projections at a given point in time, of the ultimate settlement and administration costs for unpaid claims and claim expenses arising from the insurance and reinsurance contracts we sell. We establish our claims and claim expense reserves by taking claims reported to us by insureds and ceding companies, but which have not yet been paid ("case reserves"), adding the costs for additional case reserves ("additional case reserves") which represent our estimates for claims previously reported to us which we believe may not be adequately reserved as of that date, and adding estimates for the anticipated cost of IBNR.
Because of the inherent uncertainties discussed above, we have developed a reserving philosophy which attempts to incorporate prudent assumptions and estimates, and we have generally experienced favorable net development on prior year reserves in the last several years. However, there is no assurance that this will occur in future periods.
As detailed in the table and discussed in further detail below, changes to prior year estimated claims reserves increased our net income by $158.0 million during the year ended December 31, 2012, (2011 - decreased our net loss by $132.0 million, 2010 - increased our net income by $302.1 million), excluding the consideration of changes in reinstatement premium, profit commissions, redeemable noncontrolling interest - DaVinciRe, equity in net claims and claim expenses of Top Layer Re and income tax.
Coverage can also vary from "all property" perils to limited coverage on selected perils, such as "earthquake only" coverage. We also enter into retrocessional contracts that provide property catastrophe coverage to other reinsurers or retrocedants. This coverage is generally in the form of excess of loss retrocessional contracts and may cover all perils and exposures on a worldwide basis or be limited in scope to selected geographic areas, perils and/or exposures. The exposures we assume from retrocessional business can change within a contract term as the underwriters of a retrocedant may alter their book of business after the retrocessional coverage has been bound. We also offer dual trigger reinsurance contracts which require us to pay claims based on claims incurred by insurers and reinsurers in addition to the estimate of insured industry losses as reported by referenced statistical reporting agencies.
In general, our property catastrophe reinsurance reserves for our more recent reinsured catastrophic events are subject to greater uncertainty and, therefore, greater potential variability, and are likely to experience material changes from one period to the next. This is due to the uncertainty as to the size of the industry losses from the event, uncertainty as to which contracts have been exposed to the catastrophic event, uncertainty due to complex legal and coverage issues that can arise out of large or complex catastrophic events such as the events of September 11, 2001, hurricane Katrina and storm Sandy, and uncertainty as to the magnitude of claims incurred by our customers. As our property catastrophe reinsurance claims age,
The favorable development of prior accident years claims and claim expenses within the Company's catastrophe reinsurance unit in the year ended December 31, 2012 of $110.6 million was primarily due to reductions in estimated ultimate losses on the 2010 Chilean earthquake of $24.6 million, the 2008 hurricanes of $17.5 million, the U.K. floods of $17.3 million, the 2005 hurricanes of $6.4 million, hurricane Irene of $4.6 million, the Tohoku earthquake of $3.9 million and a number of other catastrophes totaling $57.7 million, and partially offset by adverse development related to the 2010 and 2011 New Zealand earthquakes of $21.5 million primarily due to increase in estimated ultimate losses.
ultimate claims associated with the 2008 hurricanes, Gustav and Ike, were reduced by $10.9 million and the 2009 European windstorm Klaus were reduced by $8.0 million in 2010, due to better than expected reported claims activity. The remainder of the favorable development of prior accident years claims and claim expenses was due to a reduction in ultimate claims on a large number of relatively small catastrophes, all principally the result of reported claims coming in less than expected, resulting in formulaic decreases to the ultimate claims for these events.
The percentage of claims unpaid at December 31, 2012 for each accident year reflects both the speed at which claims and claim expenses for each accident year have been paid and our estimate of claims and claim expenses for that accident year. As seen above, claims and claim expenses for the 2006 and prior accident years have generally been paid, with 2001 having 4.4% remaining unpaid. This is driven in part by the mix of our business, which primarily included property catastrophe excess of loss reinsurance for personal lines property coverage, rather than commercial property coverage or retrocessional coverage, and the speed of the settlement and payment of claims by our underlying cedants. In contrast, our 2001 accident year, which includes losses from the events of September 11, 2001, includes a higher mix of commercial business and retrocessional coverage where the underlying claims of our cedants tend to be settled and paid more slowly. In addition, our 2007 accident year has also paid out more slowly due to increased complexity surrounding claims of our underlying cedants as a result of the notable losses during 2007, including European windstorm Kyrill. As noted in the table above, the percentage of claims and claims expenses unpaid as of December 31, 2012 related to more recent years, such as 2009 through 2012, range from 17.6% to 80.6%, which higher percentages are driven by the recency of these accident years, combined with the complexity surrounding claims of our underlying cedants and the nature of the events, such as the 2010 and 2011 New Zealand earthquakes, the Tohoku earthquake and storm Sandy.
methods. We elected to use the Bornhuetter-Ferguson actuarial method because this method is appropriate for lines of business, such as our specialty reinsurance business, where there is a lack of historical claims experience. This method allows for greater weight to be applied to expected results in periods where little or no actual experience is available, and, hence, is less susceptible to the potential pitfall of being excessively swayed by one year or one quarter of actual paid and/or reported loss data. This method uses initial expected loss ratio expectations to the extent that the expected paid or reported losses are zero, and it assumes that past experience is not fully representative of the future. As our reserves for claims and claim expenses age, and actual claims experience becomes available, this method places less weight on expected experience and places more weight on actual experience. This experience, which represents the difference between expected reported claims and actual reported claims is reflected in the respective reporting period as a change in estimate. We reevaluate our actuarial reserving techniques on a periodic basis.
The favorable development on prior year reserves in 2011 within our specialty unit of $77.8 million includes: $26.8 million associated with actuarial assumption changes, principally in our workers' compensation quota share and risk, property risk and energy risk lines of business, and primarily as a result of revised initial expected claims ratios and claim development factors due to actual experience coming in better than expected; $13.9 million due to reductions in case reserves and additional case reserves for certain large catastrophe events; and the remainder of $37.1 million due to reported claims coming in better than expected in 2011 on prior accident years events, as a result of the application of our formulaic actuarial reserving methodology.
The Actual vs. Initial Estimated Ultimate Claims and Claim Expense Ratio table below summarizes our key actuarial assumptions in reserving for our specialty reinsurance business. As noted above, the key actuarial assumptions include the estimated ultimate claims and claim expense ratios and the estimated loss reporting patterns. The table shows our initial estimates of the ultimate claims and claim expense ratio by underwriting year. The table shows how our initial estimates of these ratios have developed over time, with the re-estimated ratios reflecting a combination of the amount and timing of paid and reported losses compared to our initial estimates. The initial estimate is based on the actuarial assumptions that were in place at the end of that year. A decrease in the ultimate claims and claim expense ratio implies that our current estimates are lower than our initial estimates while an increase in the ultimate claims and claim expense ratio implies that our current estimates are higher than our initial estimates. The result would be a corresponding favorable impact on shareholders' equity and net income or a corresponding unfavorable impact on shareholders' equity and net income, respectively. The table also shows how our initial estimated ultimate claims and claim expense ratios have changed from one underwriting year to the next. The table below reflects a summary of the weighted average assumptions for all classes of business written within our specialty reinsurance unit. The table is presented on a gross loss basis and therefore does not include the benefit of reinsurance recoveries or loss related premium.
The table above shows our initial estimated ultimate claims and claim expense ratios for attritional losses for each new underwriting year within our specialty reinsurance unit as of the end of each calendar year. Until 2007, our initial estimated ultimate remained relatively constant between 76.6% in 2006 and 78.2% in 2004 and 2005. This reflects the fact that management had not made significant changes to its initial estimates of expected ultimate claims and claim expense ratios from one underwriting year to the next. The principal reason for the modest changes from one underwriting year to the next is that the mix of business has changed. For example, the mix of business for the 2007 through 2012 underwriting years have a lower initial expected ultimate claims and claim expense ratio than in prior years as it is more heavily weighted to business that is expected to produce a lower level of losses. The decrease in the initial estimated ultimate claims and claim expense ratio from 2006 and prior, to 2007 through 2012, also reflects assumption changes made for certain classes of business where our experience, and the industry experience in general, has been better than expected and, as a result, we decreased our initial estimated ultimate claims and claim expense ratio for these classes of business. The decrease in the initial estimated ultimate claims and claim expense ratio for 2010 through 2012, compared to 2009, is principally due to assumption changes for modeled expected loss ratios and expected reporting patterns. The estimated ultimate net claims and claim expense ratio related to the 2011 underwriting year at December 31, 2012 of 61.4%, increased from the initial estimate of 56.8% primarily as a result of several relatively large claims incurred in 2011. The estimated ultimate net claims and claim expense ratio related to the 2012 underwriting year at December 31, 2012 of 88.1%, increased from the initial estimate of 55.3% primarily as a result of storm Sandy.
a reduction in our expected ultimate claims and claim expense ratio for this year. However, the 2008, 2010, 2011 and 2012 underwriting years have performed worse than expected and our current estimates are higher than our initial estimates. This is due in part to the losses in our casualty clash line of business in 2008, associated with exposure to the deterioration of the credit and capital markets in 2008 as well as the Madoff matter discovered in the fourth quarter of 2008. In comparison, our 2010 and 2011 underwriting years were impacted by a number of relatively large catastrophe events, including the 2010 New Zealand and Chilean earthquakes in 2010, and in 2011, the 2011 New Zealand and Tohoku earthquakes, the large U.S. tornadoes, the Australian floods, losses arising from certain aggregate contracts, hurricane Irene and the Thailand floods (collectively referred to as the "2011 Large Losses"). In addition, our 2012 underwriting year was impacted by storm Sandy. As noted above, our specialty reinsurance business is in general characterized by events of low frequency and high severity which results in actual experience that can be significantly better or worse than long-term trends or industry results for similar business may imply.
The table below quantifies the impact on our reserves for claims and claim expenses, net income and shareholders' equity as of and for the year ended December 31, 2012 of reasonably likely changes to the actuarial assumptions used to estimate our December 31, 2012 claims and claim expense reserves within our specialty reinsurance business unit. The table quantifies reasonably likely changes in our initial estimated ultimate claims and claim expense ratios and estimated loss reporting patterns. The changes to the initial estimated ultimate claims and claim expense ratios represent percentage increases or decreases to our current estimated ultimate claims and claim expense ratios. The change to the reporting patterns represent claims reporting that is both faster and slower than our current estimated claims reporting patterns. The impact on net income and shareholders' equity assumes no increase or decrease in reinsurance recoveries, loss related premium or redeemable noncontrolling interest - DaVinciRe.
We use the Bornhuetter-Ferguson actuarial method to estimate claims and claim expenses within our Lloyd's segment for our specialty reinsurance and insurance lines of business. The comments discussed above relating to our reserving techniques and processes for our specialty reinsurance unit apply to the specialty reinsurance and insurance lines of business within our Lloyd's segment. In addition, certain of our coverages may be impacted by natural and man-made catastrophes. We estimate claim reserves for these losses after the event giving rise to these losses occurs, following a process that is similar to our catastrophe unit as noted above.
The following table details the development of our liability for unpaid claims and claim expenses for our Lloyd's segment:
The favorable development of prior accident years claims and claim expenses within our Lloyd's segment of $16.2 million during the year ended December 31, 2012 was principally due to decreases in estimated ultimate losses on certain specific events, including $9.5 million of catastrophe losses, principally related to the Thailand floods and $2.5 million related to hurricane Irene, with the remainder due to reported claims coming in lower than expected on a number of prior accident years events, as a result of the application of our formulaic actuarial reserving methodology, partially offset by adverse development of $1.3 million due to assumption changes used in our formulaic actuarial reserving methodology.
The table below summarizes our initial assumptions and changes in those assumptions for catastrophe claims and claim expense reserves associated with our property catastrophe reinsurance business within our Lloyd's segment. Similar to our catastrophe unit included in our Reinsurance segment above, the key assumption in estimating reserves for property catastrophe reinsurance losses in our Lloyd's segment is our estimate of the ultimate claims and claim expenses. The table shows our initial estimates of ultimate claims and claim expenses for each accident year and how these initial estimates have developed over time. The initial estimate of accident year claims and claim expenses represents our estimate of the ultimate settlement and administration costs for claims incurred from catastrophic events occurring during a particular accident year, and as reported as of December 31 of that year. The re-estimated ultimate claims and claim expenses as of December 31, 2010, 2011 and 2012, represent our revised estimates as reported as of those dates. The cumulative favorable (adverse) development shows how our most recent estimates as reported at December 31, 2012 differ from our initial accident year estimates. Favorable development implies that our current estimates are lower than our initial estimates while adverse development implies that our current estimates are higher than our original estimates. Total reserves as of December 31, 2012 reflect the unpaid portion of our estimates of ultimate claims and claim expenses. The table is presented on a gross basis and therefore does not include the benefit of reinsurance recoveries or loss related premium such as reinstatement premium.
Actual vs. Initial Estimated Lloyd's Segment Catastrophe Claims and Claim Expense Reserve Analysis for Property Catastrophe Reinsurance Business
As quantified in the table above, since our Lloyd's segment commenced writing business in mid-2009, we have experienced $5.1 million of net favorable development on the run-off of our gross reserves related to catastrophe events for our property catastrophe reinsurance business within our Lloyd's segment. As described above and similar to our catastrophe unit, given the complexity in reserving for claims and claims expenses associated with catastrophe losses for property catastrophe reinsurance business, we have experienced development, both favorable and unfavorable, in any given accident year. For example, our 2011 accident year has developed favorably by $6.1 million, which is 20.2% better than our initial estimates of claims and claim expenses for the 2011 accident year as estimated as of December 31, 2011, while our 2010 accident year developed unfavorably by $1.0 million, or negative 19.6%. On a net basis our cumulative favorable or unfavorable development is generally reduced by offsetting changes in our reinsurance recoverables, as well as changes to loss related premiums such as reinstatement premiums, all of which generally move in the opposite direction to changes in our ultimate claims and claim expenses.
Actual vs. Initial Estimated Lloyd's Segment Attritional Claims and Claim Expense Reserve Analysis - Estimated Ultimate Claims and Claim Expense Ratio
Lloyd's Segment Property Catastrophe Reinsurance Claims and Claim Expense Reserve Sensitivity Analysis
Included in the Other category are the remnants of our Bermuda-based insurance operations not sold pursuant to the Stock Purchase Agreement with QBE. These operations are in run-off and no new business is being underwritten. Our outstanding claims and claim expense reserves for these operations include insurance policies and quota share reinsurance with respect to risks including: 1) commercial property, which principally included catastrophe-exposed commercial property products; 2) commercial multi-line, which included commercial property and liability coverage, such as general liability, automobile liability and physical damage, building and contents, professional liability and various specialty products; and 3) personal lines property, which principally included homeowners personal lines property coverage and catastrophe exposed personal lines property coverage.
The adverse development on prior accident years of $2.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2012 within our Other category was principally the result of a loss portfolio transfer entered into by the Company on October 1, 2012, in respect of its contractor's liability book of business within Glencoe, whereby the Company paid consideration of $36.5 million to transfer net liabilities of $29.1 million, resulting in a loss of $7.4 million which is recorded above as prior accident years attritional claims and claims expenses in the Company's Other category, partially offset by reductions in reported losses on certain attritional loss contracts and favorable development related to catastrophe events, primarily the 2008 hurricanes.
The favorable development of $15.9 million in 2010 on prior accident year claims and claim expenses within the Company's Other category was principally driven by the application of the Company's formulaic actuarial reserving methodology for this business with the reductions being due to actual paid and reported claim activity being more favorable to date than what was originally anticipated when setting the initial reserves. There were no significant changes made to the actuarial assumptions in 2010 or to the ultimate claims associated with the large catastrophe events.
The Actual vs. Initial Estimated Ultimate Claims and Claim Expense Ratio table below summarizes our key actuarial assumptions in reserving for our Other category. As noted above, the key actuarial assumptions include the estimated ultimate claims and claim expense ratios and the estimated loss reporting patterns. The table shows our initial estimates of the ultimate claims and claim expense ratios by accident year. The table shows how our initial estimates of these ratios have developed over time with the re-estimated ratios reflecting a combination of the amount and timing of paid and reported losses compared to our initial estimates. The initial estimate is based on the actuarial assumptions that were in place at the end of that year. A decrease in the ultimate claims and claim expense ratio implies that our current estimates are lower than our initial estimates while an increase in the ultimate claims and claim expense ratio implies that our
Actual vs. Initial Estimated Other Category Claims and Claim Expense Reserve Analysis - Estimated Ultimate Claims and Claim Expense Ratio
The table above shows our initial estimated ultimate claims and claim expense ratios for attritional losses for each new underwriting year within our Other category as of the end of each calendar year. Our initial estimated ultimate remained relatively constant between 2005 and 2008. This reflects the fact that management has not made significant changes to its estimated initial expected ultimate claims and claim expense ratio from one period to the next during that period. The principal reason for the changes from one year to the next, for example, the 2009 through 2010 underwriting years, is that the mix of business has changed. As each underwriting year has developed, our re-estimated ultimate claims and claim expense ratios have generally been reduced until recently. This reflects the impact of actual experience where actual paid and reported losses to date for attritional losses are less than originally expected. For the years 2008 through 2010, our re-estimated ultimate claims and claim expense ratios increased from the initial estimate due to reported losses exceeding our initial estimate within our Other category's commercial property line of business, combined with a relatively low level of net premiums earned during those periods for our commercial property line of business. As described above, under the Bornhuetter-Ferguson actuarial method less weight is placed on initial estimates and more weight is placed on actual experience as our claims and claim expense reserves age.
We believe that ultimate claims and claim expense ratios 25.0 percentage points above or below our estimated assumptions constitute reasonably likely outcomes based on our experience to date and our future expectations. In addition, we believe that the adjustments that we made to speed up or slow down our estimated loss reporting patterns are reasonably likely changes. While we believe these are reasonably likely changes, we do not believe the reader should consider the above sensitivity analysis an actuarial reserve range. In addition, we caution the reader that the above sensitivity analysis only reflects reasonably likely changes. It is possible that our initial estimated claims and claim expense ratios and loss reporting patterns could be significantly different from the sensitivity analysis described above. For example, we could be liable for events which we have not estimated reserves for or for exposures we do not currently think are covered under our contracts. These changes could result in significantly larger changes to our reserves for claims and claim expenses, net income and shareholders' equity than those noted above. We also caution the reader that the above sensitivity analysis is not used by management in developing our reserve estimates and is also not used by management in managing the business.
The estimate of reinsurance recoverable can be more subjective than estimating the underlying claims and claim expense reserves as discussed under the heading "Claims and Claim Expense Reserves" above. In particular, reinsurance recoverable may be affected by deemed inuring reinsurance, industry losses reported by various statistical reporting services, and other factors. Reinsurance recoverable on dual trigger reinsurance contracts require us to estimate our ultimate losses applicable to these contracts as well as estimate the ultimate amount of insured losses for the industry as a whole that will be reported by the applicable statistical reporting agency, as per the contract terms. In addition, the level of our additional case
reserves and IBNR reserves has a significant impact on reinsurance recoverable. These factors can impact the amount and timing of the reinsurance recoverable to be recorded.
We estimate our valuation allowance by applying specific percentages against each recovery based on our counterparty's credit rating. The percentages applied are based on historical industry default statistics developed by major rating agencies and are then adjusted by us based on industry knowledge and our judgment and estimates. We also apply case-specific valuation allowances against certain recoveries that we deem unlikely to be collected in full. We then evaluate the overall adequacy of the valuation allowance based on other qualitative and judgmental factors. The valuation allowance recorded against reinsurance recoverable was $4.5 million at December 31, 2012 (2011 - $7.3 million). The reinsurers with the three largest balances accounted for 14.3%, 14.3% and 12.6%, respectively, of our reinsurance recoverable balance at December 31, 2012 (2011 - 27.3%, 14.9% and 12.4%, respectively). The three largest company-specific components of the valuation allowance represented 44.1%, 26.7% and 6.1%, respectively, of our total valuation allowance at December 31, 2012 (2011 - 34.2%, 27.3% and 12.0%, respectively).
See "Note 19. Derivative Instruments in our Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements" for additional information related to the fair value by type of contract, of derivatives entered into by us.
In assessing our intent to sell securities, our procedures may include actions such as discussing planned sales with our third party investment managers, reviewing sales that have occurred shortly after the balance sheet date, and consideration of other qualitative factors that may be indicative of our intent to sell or hold the relevant securities. We recognized a total of $Nil of other-than-temporary impairments due to our intent to sell these securities during the year ended December 31, 2012 (2011 - $Nil, 2010 - $Nil).
In evaluating credit losses, we consider a variety of factors in the assessment of a security including: (i) the time period during which there has been a significant decline below cost; (ii) the extent of the decline below cost and par; (iii) the potential for the security to recover in value; (iv) an analysis of the financial condition of the issuer; (v) the rating of the issuer; (vi) the implied rating of the issuer based on an analysis of option adjusted spreads; (vii) the absolute level of the option adjusted spread for the issuer; and (viii) an analysis of the collateral structure and credit support of the security, if applicable.
Once we determine that it is possible that a credit loss may exist for a security, we perform a detailed review of the cash flows expected to be collected from the issuer. We estimate expected cash flows by applying estimated default probabilities and recovery rates to the contractual cash flows of the issuer, with such default and recovery rates reflecting long-term historical averages adjusted to reflect current credit, economic and market conditions, giving due consideration to collateral and credit support, if applicable, and
In determining whether an equity method investment is impaired, we look at a variety of factors including the operating and financial performance of the investee, the investee's future business plans and projections, recent transactions and market valuations of publicly traded companies where available, discussions with the investee's management, and our intent and ability to hold the investment until it recovers in value. In doing this, we make assumptions and estimates in assessing whether an impairment has occurred and if, in the future, our assumptions and estimates made in assessing the fair value of these investments change, this could result in a material decrease in the carrying value of these investments. This would cause us to write-down the carrying value of these investments and could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations in the period the impairment charge is taken. During the year ended December 31, 2012, we recorded $Nil (2011 - $Nil, 2010 - $0.8 million) other-than-temporary impairment charges related to investments in other ventures, under the equity method.
Income taxes have been provided in accordance with the provisions of FASB ASC Topic Income Taxes. Deferred tax assets and liabilities result from temporary differences between the amounts recorded in our consolidated financial statements and the tax basis of the Company's assets and liabilities. Such temporary differences are primarily due to net operating loss carryforwards and GAAP versus tax basis accounting differences related to interest expense, underwriting results, accrued expenses and investments. The effect on deferred tax assets and liabilities of a change in tax rates is recognized in income in the period that includes the enactment date. A valuation allowance against deferred tax assets is recorded if it is more likely than not that all, or some portion, of the benefits related to deferred tax assets will not be realized.
The Company has unrecognized tax benefits of $Nil as of December 31, 2012 (2011 - $3.3 million). Interest and penalties related to unrecognized tax benefits, would be recognized in income tax expense. At December 31, 2012, interest and penalties accrued on unrecognized tax benefits was $Nil (2011 - $Nil). Income tax returns filed for tax years 2009 through 2011, 2008 through 2011 and 2011, are open for examination by the Internal Revenue Service, Irish tax authorities and U.K. tax authorities, respectively. The Company does not expect the resolution of these open years to have a significant impact on its consolidated statements of operations and financial condition.
Net income available to RenaissanceRe common shareholders was $566.0 million in 2012, compared to a net loss attributable to RenaissanceRe common shareholders of $92.2 million in 2011, an improvement of $658.2 million. As a result of our net income available to RenaissanceRe common shareholders in 2012, we generated an annualized return on average common equity of 17.7% and our book value per common share increased from $59.27 at December 31, 2011 to $68.14 at December 31, 2012, a 16.8% increase, after considering the change in accumulated dividends paid to our common shareholders.
The most significant events affecting our financial performance during 2012, on a comparative basis to 2011, include:
Equity in Earnings of Other Ventures - our equity in earnings of other ventures improved to earnings of $23.2 million in 2012, compared to a loss of $36.5 million in 2011. The $59.8 million improvement is primarily due to our equity investment in Top Layer Re which generated income of $20.8 million in 2012, compared to a loss of $37.5 million in 2011, an improvement of $58.3 million, principally due to the absence of large losses during 2012, compared to claims and claim expenses incurred in 2011 in Top Layer Re related to the 2011 New Zealand and Tohoku earthquakes; and partially offset by
Other Loss - our other loss deteriorated $22.2 million to a loss of $22.9 million in 2012, compared to a loss of $0.7 million in 2011, primarily the result of ceded reinsurance contracts accounted for at fair value which incurred a loss of $4.6 million in 2012, compared to income of $37.4 million in 2011, due to net recoverables on the Tohoku earthquake in the first quarter of 2011 which did not reoccur in 2012 and partially offset by $20.8 million of trading losses within the Company's weather and energy risk management operations, compared to trading losses of $45.0 million in 2011; and
Below is a discussion of the results of operations for the year ended December 31, 2011 compared to the year ended December 31, 2010.
Net loss attributable to RenaissanceRe common shareholders was $92.2 million in 2011, compared to $702.6 million of net income available to RenaissanceRe common shareholders in 2010, a decrease of $794.8 million. As a result of our net loss attributable to RenaissanceRe common shareholders in 2011, we generated a negative return on average common equity of 3.0% and our book value per common share decreased from $62.58 at December 31, 2010 to $59.27 at December 31, 2011, a 3.6% decrease, after considering the change in accumulated dividends paid to our common shareholders. In 2010, we generated returns on average common equity of 21.7%, and increased our book value per common share plus the change in accumulated dividends by 23.0%, respectively.
Significant Catastrophe Events and Corresponding Underwriting Losses - our underwriting loss of $177.2 million in 2011 deteriorated $651.7 million from underwriting income of $474.6 million in 2010, primarily due to $725.2 million of underwriting losses as a result of a number of large losses, namely the 2011 Large Losses, and resulted in $559.5 million of net negative impact, compared to $211.7 million of net negative impact from the large losses of 2010, an increase of $347.9 million, as detailed below;
Other (Loss) Income - our other (loss) income deteriorated $41.8 million to a loss of $0.7 million in 2011, compared to income of $41.1 million in 2010, primarily the result of $45.0 million of trading losses within the Company's weather and energy risk management operations due to the unusually warm weather experienced in the United Kingdom and certain parts of the the United States during the fourth quarter of 2011, compared to trading income of $8.1 million in 2010, more than offsetting our ceded reinsurance contracts accounted for at fair value which generated $37.4 million in income in 2011, compared to $5.2 million in 2010, principally as a result of net recoverables from the Tohoku earthquake;
Loss from Discontinued Operations - our loss from discontinued operations is $15.9 million in 2011, compared to income from discontinued operations of $62.7 million in 2010, and is primarily due to certain tax related adjustments and the recognition of a $10.0 million expense related to a contractually agreed obligation to pay, or otherwise reimburse, QBE for amounts up to $10.0 million in respect of net adverse development on prior accident years net claims and claims expenses for reserves that were sold to QBE. Income from discontinued operations in 2010 is primarily due to underwriting income of $57.0 million which was principally attributable to strong underwriting results for the 2010 crop year; and partially offset by
Net Loss Attributable to Redeemable Noncontrolling Interest - DaVinciRe - our net loss attributable to redeemable noncontrolling interest - DaVinciRe was $33.7 million in 2011, compared to net income attributable to redeemable noncontrolling interest - DaVinciRe of $116.5 million in 2010, a change of $150.2 million, and principally due to a significant reduction in underwriting income, due to the increase in current accident year net claims and claim expenses, combined with lower investment results, as noted above, which also impacted DaVinciRe and together resulted in a net loss for 2011, compared to net income in 2010, and consequently decreased redeemable noncontrolling interest - DaVinciRe.
Net Negative Impact of Hurricane Isaac and storm Sandy and the 2011 Large Losses
Net negative impact of hurricane Isaac and storm Sandy and the 2011 Large Losses includes the sum of estimates of net claims and claim expenses incurred, earned reinstatement premiums assumed and ceded, lost profit commissions and redeemable noncontrolling interest - DaVinci Re. Net negative impact of the 2011 Large Losses also includes equity in the net claims and claim expenses of Top Layer Re, and other income in respect of ceded reinsurance contracts accounted for at fair value. Our estimates are based on a review of our potential exposures, preliminary discussions with certain counterparties and catastrophe modeling techniques. Given the magnitude and recent occurrence of these events, delays in receiving claims data, the contingent nature of business interruption and other exposures, potential uncertainties relating to reinsurance recoveries and other uncertainties inherent in loss estimation, meaningful uncertainty remains regarding losses from these events. In addition, a significant portion of the net claims and claim expenses associated with the 2011 New Zealand and Tohoku earthquakes and storm Sandy are concentrated with a few large clients and therefore the loss estimates for these events may vary significantly based on the claims experience of those clients. Accordingly, our actual net negative impact from the these events will vary from these preliminary estimates, perhaps materially so. Changes in these estimates will be recorded in the period in which they occur.
See the financial data below for additional information detailing the net negative impact of hurricane Isaac and storm Sandy on our consolidated financial statements in 2012.
See the financial data below for additional information detailing the net negative impact of the 2011 Large Losses on our consolidated financial statements in 2011.
Our Reinsurance segment premiums are prone to significant volatility due to the timing of contract inception and also due to the business being characterized by a relatively small number of relatively large transactions. In addition, our property catastrophe reinsurance gross premiums written continue to be characterized by a large percentage of U.S. and Caribbean premium as we have found business derived from exposures in Europe and the rest of the world to be, in general, less attractive on a risk-adjusted basis during recent periods. A significant amount of our U.S. and Caribbean premium provides coverage against windstorms, mainly U.S. Atlantic hurricanes, as well as earthquakes and other natural and man-made catastrophes.
Ceded premiums written increased by $95.8 million in 2011, compared to 2010, principally due to our decision to purchase additional reinsurance protection, combined with $28.0 million of reinstatement premiums related to recoveries on certain programs impacted by the 2011 New Zealand and Tohoku earthquakes.
To the extent that appropriately priced coverage is available, we anticipate continued use of reinsurance to reduce the impact of large losses on our financial results and to manage our portfolio of risk; however, the buying of ceded reinsurance in our Reinsurance segment is based on market opportunities and is not based on placing a specific reinsurance program each year. In addition, in future periods we may utilize the growing market for insurance-linked securities to expand our ceded reinsurance buying if we find the pricing and terms of such coverages attractive.
Reinsurance Segment Underwriting Results - Our Reinsurance segment generated underwriting income of $481.0 million in 2012, compared to incurring an underwriting loss of $124.8 million in 2011, an improvement of $605.8 million. In 2012, our Reinsurance segment generated a net claims and claim expense ratio of 25.6%, an underwriting expense ratio of 23.6% and a combined ratio of 49.2%, compared to 89.8%, 24.5% and 114.3%, respectively, in 2011.
See the financial data below for additional information detailing the net negative impact of hurricane Isaac and storm Sandy on our Reinsurance segment in 2012.
Our Reinsurance segment incurred an underwriting loss of $124.8 million in 2011, compared to $517.0 million of underwriting income in 2010, a decrease of $641.9 million. In 2011, our Reinsurance segment generated a net claims and claim expense ratio of 89.8%, an underwriting expense ratio of 24.5% and a combined ratio of 114.3%, compared to 13.6%, 24.8% and 38.4%, respectively, in 2010.
The $641.9 million decrease in the Reinsurance segment's underwriting result and 75.9 percentage point increase in the combined ratio was principally due to a $520.8 million increase in current accident year losses and a $149.1 million decrease in favorable development on prior years reserves in 2011, compared to 2010. The increase in current accident year losses was primarily due to the 2011 Large Losses, which negatively impacted the Reinsurance segment's underwriting result and combined ratio by $695.5 million and 91.3 percentage points, respectively, after considering the impact of net reinstatement premiums earned and net lost profit commission related to these events, as detailed in the table below.
Our Reinsurance segment prior year reserves experienced $136.9 million of net favorable development in 2011. The favorable development on prior year reserves in 2011 included $59.1 million related to our catastrophe reinsurance unit and $77.8 million related to our specialty reinsurance unit. The favorable development on prior year reserves in 2011 within the catastrophe reinsurance unit of $59.1 million was due to $27.0 million related to reductions in the estimated ultimate losses of smaller catastrophe events, $32.1 million arising from net reductions to the estimated ultimate losses of large catastrophe events, including $13.9 million, $10.0 million, $8.5 million and $4.7 million related to tropical cyclone Tasha, the 2005 hurricanes, the Chilean earthquake and the World Trade Center, respectively, and partially offset by $15.2 million of adverse development related to the 2010 New Zealand earthquake. The favorable development within the specialty reinsurance unit included $37.1 million due to reported losses developing more favorably than expected during 2011 on prior accident years events, $26.8 million associated with actuarial assumption changes, principally in our workers' compensation quota share and risk, property risk and energy risk lines of business, and primarily as a result of revised initial expected claims ratios and claim development factors due to actual experience coming in better than expected, and $13.9 million related to a decrease in case reserves and additional case reserves, which are established at the contract level for specific loss or large events.
Our underwriting expenses consist of acquisition expenses and operational expenses. Acquisition expenses consist of the costs to acquire premiums and are principally comprised of broker commissions and excise taxes. Acquisition expenses are driven by contract terms and are normally a set percentage of premiums and, accordingly, these costs will normally move in line with the fluctuation in gross premiums earned. Our acquisition expense ratio has remained relatively constant at 9.6%, 9.5% and 9.3% in 2012, 2011 and 2010, respectively.
In 2011, our catastrophe reinsurance gross premiums written increased by $183.1 million, or 18.4%, to $1,177.3 million, compared to $994.2 million in 2010. The increase is due in part to reinstatement premiums written on 2011 Large Losses, and the improving market conditions in our core markets during the June and July 2011 renewals, partially offset by the then softer market conditions in our core markets during the January 2011 renewals. Excluding the impact of $159.8 million and $28.0 million of
Our property catastrophe reinsurance gross premiums written continue to be characterized by a large percentage of U.S. and Caribbean premium, as we have found business derived from exposures in Europe or the rest of the world to be, in general, less attractive on a risk-adjusted basis during recent periods. A significant amount of our U.S. and Caribbean premium provides coverage against windstorms, mainly U.S. Atlantic hurricanes, as well as earthquakes and other natural and man-made catastrophes.
During 2012, we experienced $110.6 million of favorable development on prior year reserves, compared to $59.1 million of favorable development on prior years reserves in 2011. The favorable development on prior year reserves in 2012 was primarily due to reductions in estimated ultimate losses on the 2010 Chilean earthquake of $24.6 million, the 2008 hurricanes of $17.5 million, the June 2007 U.K. floods of $17.3 million, the 2005 hurricanes of $6.4 million, hurricane Irene of $4.6 million, the Tohoku earthquake of $3.9 million and a number of other catastrophes totaling $57.7 million, and partially offset by adverse development related to the 2010 and 2011 New Zealand earthquakes of $21.5 million primarily due to increase in estimated ultimate losses.
During 2011, we experienced $59.1 million of favorable development on prior year reserves, compared to $157.5 million of favorable development on prior years reserves in 2010. The favorable development on prior year reserves in 2011 within the catastrophe reinsurance unit of $59.1 million was due to $27.0 million related to reductions in the estimated ultimate losses of smaller catastrophe events, $32.1 million arising from net reductions to the estimated ultimate losses of large catastrophe events, including $13.9 million, $10.0 million, $8.5 million and $4.7 million related to tropical cyclone Tasha, the 2005 hurricanes, the Chilean earthquake and the World Trade Center, respectively, and partially offset by $15.2 million of adverse development related to the 2010 New Zealand earthquake.
Specialty Reinsurance Gross Premiums Written - In 2012, our specialty reinsurance gross premiums written increased $64.0 million, or 43.9%, to $209.9 million, compared to $145.9 million in 2011, primarily due to the inception of a number of new contracts during 2012 which met our risk-adjusted return thresholds. During 2012, we experienced growth in a number of our specialty lines of business within Glencoe and will continue to seek to expand our specialty reinsurance operations through this platform, although we cannot assure you that we will do so. Our specialty reinsurance premiums are prone to significant volatility as this business is characterized by a relatively small number of comparably large transactions.
In 2011, our specialty reinsurance gross premiums written increased $16.5 million, or 12.8%, to $145.9 million, compared to $129.4 million in 2010, primarily due to the inception of new contracts during 2011 which met our risk-adjusted return thresholds.
Specialty Reinsurance Underwriting Results - Our specialty unit generated $34.9 million of underwriting income in 2012, compared to $71.8 million in 2011, a decrease of $36.9 million, principally due to a $63.5 million increase in net claims and claim expenses, partially offset by a $29.1 million increase in net premiums earned due to the increase in gross premiums written noted above. The $63.5 million increase in net claims and claim expenses is driven by a $43.6 million decrease in favorable development on prior accident year net claims and claim expenses and a $19.8 million increase in current accident year net claims and claim expenses, both as discussed below.
The favorable development of $34.1 million within our specialty reinsurance unit in 2012 included $14.4 million associated with actuarial assumption changes, principally in our casualty and medical malpractice lines of business, and primarily as a result of revised initial expected claims ratios and claim development factors due to actual experience coming in better than expected, $3.0 million of favorable development on the 2005 hurricanes and $16.7 million of reported losses developing more favorably than expected during 2012 on prior accident years events.
Below is a summary of the underwriting results and ratios for our Lloyd's segment:
Includes gross premiums written of $Nil and $0.5 million assumed from the Other category and Reinsurance segment, respectively, for the year ended December 31, 2012 (2011 - $Nil and $0.1 million, 2010 - $17.4 million and $0.2 million, respectively).
In 2011 our Other category experienced an underwriting loss of $4.7 million in 2011, compared to $31.4 million in 2010, due primarily to adverse development on prior accident years of $4.4 million. The adverse development in 2011 was principally due to the contractor's liability book of business, which experienced higher than expected reported losses of $11.5 million, and was subsequently subject to a comprehensive
Commencing in the first quarter of 2011, we established a portfolio of certain publicly traded equities which are reflected in our consolidated balance sheet as equity investments trading. This portfolio of equity investments is carried at fair value with dividend income included in net investment income, and realized and unrealized gains included in net realized and unrealized gains on investments, in our consolidated statements of operations and generated $1.1 million of net investment income in 2012, compared to $0.5
Our investment portfolio is structured to preserve capital and provide us with a high level of liquidity. A large majority of our investments are invested in the fixed income markets and, therefore, our realized and unrealized holding gains and losses on investments are highly correlated to fluctuations in interest rates. Therefore, as interest rates decline, we will tend to have realized and unrealized gains from our investment portfolio, and as interest rates rise, we will tend to have realized and unrealized losses from our investment portfolio. We experienced net realized and unrealized gains on investments of $164.0 million during 2012, the majority of which were derived from our portfolio of fixed maturity investments. However, the trend towards historically low interest rates (as compared to recent years) may reverse, resulting in a rising interest rate environment which would tend to diminish our ability to generate net realized gains on our portfolio of fixed maturity investments, and may result in significant realized and unrealized losses on our investments in the future.
the absence in 2012 of a mark-to-market adjustment on the Platinum warrant due to its sale during the first quarter of 2011 and the sale of NBIC in the third quarter of 2011; and partially offset by
a relatively lower level of losses from our weather and energy risk management operations of $20.8 million due to the unusually warm weather experienced in parts of the United Kingdom and parts of the United States during the first quarter of 2012, compared to losses from these operations of $45.0 million in 2011.
In 2011, we incurred an other loss of $0.7 million, compared to generating $41.1 million of other income in 2010. The $41.8 million decrease is primarily due to losses from our weather and energy risk management operations of $45.0 million due to the unusually warm weather experienced in the United Kingdom and certain parts of the United States during the fourth quarter of 2011, compared to income of $8.1 million in 2010, combined with two nonrecurring items: a decrease in the mark-to-market adjustment on the Platinum warrant due to its sale during the first quarter of 2011, and the absence of a gain of $15.8 million which occurred in the third quarter of 2010 on the sale of our entire ownership in ChannelRe Holdings Ltd. ("ChannelRe"), as noted below. Offsetting the items noted above, was other income of $37.4 million generated by our assumed and ceded reinsurance contracts accounted for at fair value, compared to $5.2 million in 2010, principally as a result of net recoverables from the Tohoku earthquake and a gain on sale of NBIC of $4.8 million, as noted above.
Certain contracts we enter into in our weather and energy risk operations are informed in part on proprietary weather forecasts provided by our Weather Predict subsidiary. The weather and energy risk operations in which we engage are both seasonal and volatile, and there is no assurance that our performance to date will be indicative of future periods. We continue to allocate capital to our weather and energy risk management operations. This operation continually seeks new markets and relationships for its weather and energy risk products, including leveraging strategic affiliations and ceding risk where appropriate. Given current market opportunities, we have ceded a substantial portion of this operation's risk portfolio under a master swap agreement with a highly rated counterparty. Our results from these activities will therefore fluctuate on an absolute or relative basis over time. We have expanded our weather and energy risk management operations in the last several years to include weather contingent energy products and by increasing the size and volume of transactions with respect to our previously existing weather and energy risk management operations. The weather and energy risk management operations results include net realized and unrealized gains and losses on agreements with end users and net realized and unrealized gains and losses on hedging and trading activities. These activities present certain operational as well as financial risks, which we seek to mitigate, although there can be no assurance that we will be able to successfully mitigate such risks.
Corporate expenses include certain executive, director, legal and consulting expenses, costs for research and development, impairment charges related to goodwill and other intangible assets, and other miscellaneous costs, including those associated with operating as a publicly traded company. Corporate expenses were $16.7 million in 2012, compared to $18.3 million in 2011, with the decrease driven by the absence of certain goodwill and intangible asset impairments of $5.2 million which were incurred in 2011, and partially offset by a corporate insurance recovery of $1.7 million, recorded in 2011, which did not reoccur in 2012. Corporate expenses were $18.3 million in 2011, compared to $20.1 million in 2010, with the decrease primarily due to a decrease in legal and consulting expenses. Included in corporate expenses during 2011, was $5.2 million of impairment charges related to goodwill and intangible assets and a corporate insurance recovery of $1.7 million which reduced our corporate expenses by a like amount.
Interest expense was relatively flat at $23.1 million in 2012, compared to $23.4 million in 2011. In addition, our preferred share dividends were also relatively flat at $34.9 million in 2012, compared to $35.0 million in 2011; however with the redemption of 6.0 million of our outstanding Series D Preference Shares as noted in the table above, and in the absence of issuing new preference shares, we expect our future preference share dividends to decrease in 2013.
Losses incurred within our U.S. tax-paying subsidiaries in the fourth quarter of 2011 were significant enough to result in a cumulative GAAP taxable loss for the three year period ended December 31, 2011. We reassess our valuation allowance on a quarterly basis and commencing with our reassessment effective December 31, 2011, we determined that it was more likely than not that we would not be able to recover our U.S. net deferred tax asset and increased our valuation allowance in the fourth quarter of 2011 to reduce our net deferred tax asset to $Nil. At December 31, 2012, our U.S. tax-paying subsidiaries had a net deferred tax asset of $37.7 million, for which a full valuation allowance has been provided. The remaining valuation allowance as of December 31, 2012 relates exclusively to our operations in Ireland and the U.K. Our Ireland and U.K. operations have produced GAAP taxable losses and we currently do not believe it is
Our effective income tax rate, which we calculate as income tax expense divided by net income before taxes, may fluctuate significantly from period to period depending on the geographic distribution of pre-tax net income in any given period between different jurisdictions with comparatively higher tax rates and those with comparatively lower tax rates. The geographic distribution of pre-tax net income can vary significantly between periods due to, but not limited to, the following factors: the business mix of net premiums written and earned; the size and nature of net claims and claim expenses incurred; the amount and geographic location of operating expenses, net investment income, net realized and unrealized gains (losses) on investments; outstanding debt and related interest expense; and the amount of specific adjustments to determine the income tax basis in each of our operating jurisdictions. In addition, a significant portion of our gross and net premiums are currently written and earned in Bermuda, a non-taxable jurisdiction, including the majority of our catastrophe business, which can result in significant volatility to our pre-tax net income (loss) in any given period. We expect our consolidated effective tax rate to increase in the future, as our global operations outside of Bermuda expand. In addition, it is possible that we could be adversely affected by changes in tax laws, regulation, or enforcement, any of which could increase our effective tax rate more rapidly or steeply than we currently anticipate.
Our net loss attributable to the noncontrolling interests was $33.2 million in 2011, compared to net income attributable to noncontrolling interests of $116.4 million in 2010. The change is primarily due to net losses of DaVinciRe as DaVinciRe incurred an underwriting loss in 2011, compared to underwriting income in 2010, principally due to the 2011 Large Losses, as discussed above.
Income (loss) from discontinued operations includes the financial results of substantially all of our U.S.-based insurance operations sold to QBE. Income from discontinued operations of $2.3 million in 2012 is primarily due to recognizing a gain of $1.0 million on the settlement of the Reserve Collar, as noted below, compared to a loss from discontinued operations of $15.9 million in 2011 which was primarily due to the recognition of a $10.0 million expense related to the contractually agreed obligation to pay, or otherwise reimburse, QBE for amounts potentially up to $10.0 million in respect of net adverse development on prior accident years net claims and claim expenses. Effective May 23, 2012, RenaissanceRe and QBE reached an agreement in respect of the Reserve Collar, and RenaissanceRe paid QBE the sum of $9.0 million on June 1, 2012, representing full and final settlement of the Reserve Collar. We had recognized a $10.0 million liability and corresponding expense related to the Reserve Collar due to purported net adverse development on prior accident years net claims and claim expenses. The $10.0 million represented the maximum amount payable under the Reserve Collar.
capital model to determine regulatory capital. In either case, the ECR shall at all times equal or exceed the Class 4 insurer's Minimum Solvency Margin and may be adjusted in circumstances where the BMA concludes that the insurer's risk profile deviates significantly from the assumptions underlying its ECR or the insurer's assessment of its risk management policies and practices used to calculate the ECR applicable to it. While not specifically referred to in the Insurance Act, the BMA has also established a Target Capital Level ("TCL") for each Class 4 insurer equal to 120% of its ECR. While a Class 4 insurer is not currently required to maintain its statutory capital and surplus at this level, the TCL serves as an early warning tool for the BMA and failure to maintain statutory capital at least equal to the TCL will likely result in increased BMA regulatory oversight. The 2012 BSCR for Renaissance Reinsurance and DaVinci must be filed with the BMA on or before April 30, 2013; at this time, we believe both companies will exceed the target level of required capital.
RenaissanceRe Corporate Capital (UK) Limited and Syndicate 1458 are subject to oversight by the Council of Lloyd's. RenaissanceRe Syndicate Management Limited is subject to regulation by the Financial Services Authority ("FSA") under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000. Underwriting capacity of a member of Lloyd's must be supported by providing a deposit in the form of cash, securities or letters of credit, which are referred to as Funds at Lloyd's ("FAL"). This amount is determined by Lloyd's and is based on Syndicate 1458's solvency and capital requirement as calculated through its internal model. In addition, if the FAL are not sufficient to cover all losses, the Lloyd's Central Fund provides an additional level of security for policyholders. At December 31, 2012, the FAL requirement set by Lloyd's for Syndicate 1458 is £183.2 million based on its business plan, approved in November 2012 (2011 - £93.8 million based on its business plan, approved November 2011). Actual FAL posted for Syndicate 1458 at December 31, 2012 by RenaissanceRe CCL is $222.0 million and £45.5 million supported 100% by letters of credit (2011 - $118.5 million and £24.5 million).
RenaissanceRe's principal uses of liquidity are common share related transactions including dividend payments to holders of its common shareholders as well as share buybacks, preference share related transactions including dividend payments to its preference shareholders as well as preference share buybacks from time to time, interest and principal payments on debt, capital investments in its subsidiaries and certain corporate operating expenses.
As a result of the combination of current market conditions, lower investment yields, and a large portion of the coverages we provide can produce losses of high severity and low frequency, it is not possible to accurately predict our future cash flows from operating activities. As a consequence, cash flows from operating activities may fluctuate, perhaps significantly, between individual quarters and years. Due to the magnitude and relatively recent occurrence of certain large loss events, meaningful uncertainty remains regarding losses from these events and our actual ultimate net losses from these events may vary from preliminary estimates, perhaps materially. As a result, our cash flows from operations would be impacted accordingly.
In addition we maintain letter of credit facilities which provide liquidity. Refer to "Item 7. Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations, Liquidity and Capital Resources, Capital Resources" for details of these facilities.
During 2012, our cash and cash equivalents increased $108.4 million, to $325.4 million at December 31, 2012, compared to $217.0 million at December 31, 2011.
Cash flows used in investing activities. During 2012, our cash flows used in investing activities were $71.7 million, principally reflecting our net investment in fixed maturity investments trading of $343.4 million, which was funded primarily by cash provided by our operating activities and net sales of other investments, short term investments and fixed maturity investments available for sale of $150.8 million, $68.8 million and $65.2 million, respectively.
Cash flows used in financing activities. Our cash flows used in financing activities in 2011 were $542.2 million, principally comprised of the repurchase of $191.6 million of our common shares, the payment of $53.5 million and $35.0 million in dividends to our common and preferred shareholders, respectively, the repurchase of $132.2 million of DaVinciRe shares and the repayment of the outstanding principal of the DaVinciRe revolving credit facility of $200.0 million, as discussed below in the "Capital Resources" section. Partially offsetting the above cash flows used in financing activities was a $70.0 million cash inflow attributable to redeemable noncontrolling interest related to the DaVinciRe equity capital raise executed during the second quarter of 2011.
Our estimates of losses from large events are based on factors including currently available information derived from the Company's claims information from certain customers and brokers, industry assessments of losses from the events, proprietary models, and the terms and conditions of our contracts. The
uncertainty of our estimates for certain of these large events is additionally impacted by the preliminary nature of the information available, the magnitude and relative infrequency of the events, the expected duration of the respective claims development period, inadequacies in the data provided thus far by industry participants and the potential for further reporting lags or insufficiencies (particularly in respect of the Chilean, 2010 New Zealand, 2011 New Zealand and Tohoku earthquakes); and in the case of storm Sandy and the Thailand flooding, significant uncertainty as to the form of the claims and legal issues, under the relevant terms of insurance contracts and reinsurance treaties. In addition, a significant portion of the net claims and claim expenses associated with storm Sandy and the New Zealand and Tohoku earthquakes are concentrated with a few large clients and therefore the loss estimates for these events may vary significantly based on the claims experience of those clients. Loss reserve estimation in respect of our retrocessional contracts poses further challenges compared to directly assumed reinsurance. A significant portion of our reinsurance recoverable relates to the New Zealand and Tohoku earthquakes. There is inherent uncertainty and complexity in evaluating loss reserve levels and reinsurance recoverable amounts, due to the nature of the losses relating to earthquake events, including that loss development time frames tend to take longer with respect to earthquake events. The contingent nature of business interruption and other exposures will also impact losses in a meaningful way, especially with regard to storm Sandy, the Tohoku earthquake and Thailand flooding, which we believe may give rise to significant complexity in respect of claims handling, claims adjustment and other coverage issues, over time. Given the magnitude and relatively recent occurrence of these large events, meaningful uncertainty remains regarding total covered losses for the insurance industry and, accordingly, several of the key assumptions underlying our loss estimates. In addition, our actual net losses from these events may increase if our reinsurers or other obligors fail to meet their obligations.
Our reserving techniques, assumptions and processes differ between our property catastrophe reinsurance and specialty reinsurance units within our Reinsurance segment and within our Lloyd's segment. Refer to "Item 7. Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations, Summary of Critical Accounting Estimates, Claims and Claim Expense Reserves" for more information on the risks we insure and reinsure, the reserving techniques, assumptions and processes we follow to estimate our claims and claim expense reserves, and our current estimates versus our initial estimates of our claims reserves, for each of these units.
On March 17, 2010, RRNAH issued $250.0 million of 5.75% Senior Notes due March 15, 2020, with interest on the notes payable on March 15 and September 15 of each year. The notes, which are senior obligations, are guaranteed by RenaissanceRe and can be redeemed by RRNAH prior to maturity, subject to the payment of a "make-whole" premium. The Notes were issued pursuant to an Indenture, dated as of March 17, 2010, by and among RenaissanceRe, RRNAH, and Deutsche Bank Trust Company Americas, as trustee (the "Trustee"), as supplemented by the First Supplemental Indenture, dated as of March 17, 2010 (as so supplemented, the "Indenture").
The Credit Agreement provides for a revolving commitment to RenaissanceRe of $150.0 million, including the issuance of letters of credit for the account of RenaissanceRe and RenaissanceRe's insurance subsidiaries of up to $150.0 million and the issuance of letters of credit for the account of RenaissanceRe's non-insurance subsidiaries of up to $50.0 million. RenaissanceRe has the right, subject to satisfying certain conditions, to increase the size of the facility to $250.0 million. Amounts borrowed under the Credit
Agreement bear interest at a rate selected by RenaissanceRe equal to the Base Rate or LIBOR (each as defined in the Credit Agreement) plus a margin, all as more fully set forth in the Credit Agreement.
The Credit Agreement contains representations, warranties and covenants customary for bank loan facilities of this type. In addition to customary covenants which limit RenaissanceRe and its subsidiaries' ability to merge, consolidate, enter into negative pledge agreements, sell a substantial amount of assets, incur liens and declare or pay dividends under certain circumstances, the Credit Agreement also contains certain financial covenants. These financial covenants generally provide that consolidated debt to capital shall not exceed the ratio of 0.35:1 and that the consolidated net worth of RenaissanceRe and Renaissance Reinsurance shall equal or exceed approximately $2.1 billion and $1.1 billion, respectively (the "Net Worth Requirements"). The Net Worth Requirements are recalculated effective as of the end of each fiscal year, all as more fully set forth in the Credit Agreement. The scheduled commitment maturity date of the Credit Agreement is May 17, 2015.
In the event of the occurrence and continuation of certain events of default, the administrative agent shall, at the request of the Required Lenders (as defined in the Credit Agreement), or may, with the consent of the Required Lenders, among other things, take any or all of the following actions: terminate the Lenders' obligations to make loans or issue letters of credit, accelerate the outstanding obligations of RenaissanceRe under the Credit Agreement and require RenaissanceRe to cash collateralize the outstanding letter of credit obligations in an amount equal to 103% thereof.
DaVinciRe was a party to a Third Amended and Restated Credit Agreement, dated as of April 5, 2006 (the "DaVinciRe Credit Agreement"), which provided for a revolving credit facility in an aggregate amount of up to $200.0 million and was scheduled to mature on April 5, 2011. On April 1, 2011, DaVinciRe repaid in full the $200.0 million borrowed under the DaVinciRe Credit Agreement and terminated the lenders' lending commitment thereunder. In connection with such repayment and termination, on March 30, 2011, DaVinciRe entered into a loan agreement with RenaissanceRe (the "Loan Agreement") under which RenaissanceRe made a loan to DaVinciRe in the principal amount of $200.0 million on April 1, 2011. The loan matures on March 31, 2021 and interest on the loan is payable at a rate of three month LIBOR plus 3.5% and is due at the end of each March, June, September and December, commencing on June 30, 2011. Under the terms of the Loan Agreement, DaVinciRe is required to maintain a debt to capital ratio of no greater than 0.40:1 and a net worth of no less than $500.0 million. On December 21, 2012, DaVinciRe repaid $100.0 million of principal under the Loan Agreement and at December 31, 2012, $100.0 million remained outstanding under the Loan Agreement. No additional amounts may be borrowed by DaVinciRe under the Loan Agreement.
The Reimbursement Agreement continues to serve as RenaissanceRe's principal secured letter of credit facility and the commitments thereunder expire on May 17, 2015. The Reimbursement Agreement provides a commitment from the Banks in an aggregate amount of $450.0 million, which may be increased up to an amount not to exceed $800.0 million, subject to RenaissanceRe satisfying certain conditions. The Reimbursement Agreement contains representations, warranties and covenants in respect of RenaissanceRe, the Account Parties and their respective subsidiaries that are customary for facilities of this type, including customary covenants limiting the ability to merge, consolidate and sell a substantial amount of assets. The Reimbursement Agreement contains certain financial covenants requiring RenaissanceRe and DaVinci to maintain a minimum net worth of approximately $1.8 billion and $749.1 million, respectively,
which requirements are recalculated effective as of the end of each fiscal year, all as more fully set forth in the Reimbursement Agreement.
Under the Reimbursement Agreement, redeemable preference shares of Renaissance Investment Holdings Ltd. are no longer eligible collateral. Therefore, the Second Amended and Restated RIHL Undertaking and Agreement, dated as of April 22, 2010, entered into in connection with the Prior Reimbursement Agreement, was terminated concurrently with the execution of the Reimbursement Agreement.
At December 31, 2012, we had $204.6 million of letters of credit with effective dates on or before December 31, 2012 outstanding under the Reimbursement Agreement.
Effective September 17, 2010, each of Renaissance Reinsurance, DaVinci and Glencoe (collectively, the "Bilateral Facility Participants"), entered into a secured letter of credit facility with Citibank Europe plc ("CEP"). The Bilateral Facility provides a commitment from CEP to issue letters of credit for the account of one or more of the Bilateral Facility Participants and their respective subsidiaries in multiple currencies and in an aggregate amount of up to $300.0 million. The Bilateral Facility expires on December 31, 2013 and is evidenced by a Facility Letter (as amended) and three separate Master Agreements between CEP and each of the Bilateral Facility Participants, as well as certain ancillary agreements. At December 31, 2012, $292.9 million remained unused and available to the Bilateral Facility Participants under the Bilateral Facility.
On April 26, 2010, Renaissance Reinsurance and CEP entered into an Amended and Restated Pledge Agreement (the "Pledge Agreement") in respect of its letter of credit facility with CEP which is evidenced by the Master Reimbursement Agreement, dated as of April 29, 2009, which provides for the issuance and renewal of letters of credit used to support business written by Syndicate 1458. At December 31, 2012, two letters of credit issued by CEP under the Reimbursement Agreement were outstanding, in the amount of $222.0 million and £45.5 million, respectively. Pursuant to the Pledge Agreement, Renaissance Reinsurance has agreed to pledge to CEP at all times during the term of the Reimbursement Agreement certain securities with a collateral value equal to 100% of the aggregate amount of the then-outstanding letters of credit issued under the Reimbursement Agreement.
Renaissance Trading maintains a brokerage facility with a prime broker, which has an associated margin facility of $20.0 million. This margin facility, which allows Renaissance Trading to manage its cash position related to its exchange traded products, is supported by a $25.0 million guarantee issued by RenaissanceRe. Interest on amounts outstanding under this facility is at overnight LIBOR plus 200 basis points. At December 31, 2012, $2.4 million was outstanding under the facility.
At December 31, 2012, RenaissanceRe had provided guarantees in the aggregate amount of $304.3 million to certain counterparties of the weather and energy risk operations of Renaissance Trading. In the future, RenaissanceRe may issue guarantees for other purposes or increase the amount of guarantees issued to counterparties of Renaissance Trading.
DaVinciRe shareholders are party to a shareholders agreement (the "Shareholders Agreement") which provides DaVinciRe shareholders, excluding us, with certain redemption rights that enable each shareholder to notify DaVinciRe of such shareholder's desire for DaVinciRe to repurchase up to half of such shareholder's aggregate number of shares held, subject to certain limitations, such as limiting the aggregate
Effective January 1, 2012, an existing third party shareholder sold a portion of its shares in DaVinciRe to a new third party shareholder. In connection with the sale by the existing third party shareholder, DaVinciRe retained a $4.9 million holdback. In addition, effective January 1, 2012, we sold a portion of our shares of DaVinci Re to a separate new third party shareholder. We sold these shares for $98.9 million, net of a $10.0 million reserve holdback due from DaVinciRe.
On October 1, 2012, the Company sold a portion of its shares of DaVinciRe to a new third party shareholder for $9.8 million. The Company's ownership in DaVinciRe decreased to 30.8% effective October 1, 2012 as a result of this sale.
During January 2013 DaVinciRe redeemed shares from certain DaVinciRe shareholders, including the Company, while certain other existing DaVinciRe shareholders purchased additional shares in DaVinciRe. The net redemption as a result of these transactions was $150.0 million. In connection with the redemptions, DaVinciRe retained a $20.5 million holdback. Our ownership in DaVinciRe was 30.8% at December 31, 2012 and subsequent to the above transactions, our ownership in DaVinciRe increased to 32.9% effective January 1, 2013. We expect our ownership in DaVinciRe to fluctuate over time.
The A.M. Best, S&P and Fitch ratings for the Lloyd's Overall Market Rating represent its financial strength rating.
The S&P ratings for the companies in the Reinsurance segment reflect, in addition to the insurer's financial strength rating, the insurer's issuer credit rating.
On May 21, 2012, A.M. Best affirmed the financial strength rating ("FSR") of "A+" (Superior) of each of Renaissance Reinsurance and ROE. Concurrently, A.M. Best affirmed the FSR of "A" (Excellent) of each of DaVinci and Glencoe. The outlook is stable for these ratings.
On May 17, 2011, following the sale of substantially all of our U.S.-based insurance operations, S&P lowered Glencoe's ICR to "A" from "A+". The outlook is stable for this rating.
Fitch. Fitch's Issuer Financial Strength ("IFS") ratings provide an assessment of the financial strength of an insurance organization. Fitch believes that insurance companies rated "A+", such as Renaissance Reinsurance, have "Strong" capacity to meet policyholders and contract obligations on a timely basis with a low expectation of ceased or interrupted payments.
A.M. Best, S&P and Fitch have each assigned an FSR to the Lloyd's overall market. The financial risks to policy holders of syndicates within the Lloyd's market are partially mutualized through the Lloyd's Central Fund, to which all underwriting members contribute. Because of the presence of the Lloyd's Central Fund, and the current legal and regulatory structure of the Lloyd's market, FSRs on individual syndicates would not be particularly meaningful and in any event would not be lower than the FSR of the Lloyd's overall market.
While the ratings of our principal operating subsidiaries and joint ventures remain among the highest in our business, adverse ratings actions could have a negative effect on our ability to fully realize current or future market opportunities. In addition, it is common for our reinsurance contracts to contain provisions permitting our customers to cancel coverage pro-rata if our relevant operating subsidiary is downgraded below a certain rating level. Whether a client would exercise this right would depend, among other factors, on the reason for such a downgrade, the extent of the downgrade, the prevailing market conditions and the pricing and availability of replacement reinsurance coverage. Therefore, in the event of a downgrade, it is not possible to predict in advance the extent to which this cancellation right would be exercised, if at all, or what effect such cancellations would have on our financial condition or future operations, but such effect potentially could be material. To date we are not aware that we have experienced such a cancellation. Our ratings are subject to periodic review and may be revised or revoked by the agencies which issue them. None of our operating subsidiaries which conduct the trading activities of REAL are currently rated by any of the nationally recognized rating agencies.
At December 31, 2012, we held fixed maturity and short term investments with a fair value of $619.6 million and weighted average credit rating of AA in European issuers, including holdings of $67.5 million, $239.4 million and $312.7 million related to non-U.S. government (Sovereign debt), non-U.S. government backed corporates and corporates, respectively. Our holdings of fixed maturity investment and short term investments in Ireland, Italy, Spain, Greece and Portugal was comprised entirely of corporate securities and had a fair value of $6.1 million at December 31, 2012.
At December 31, 2012, we had European foreign currency forward contracts outstanding, primarily related to the Euro, British pound sterling and Norwegian krone, with $103.5 million in notional long positions, $130.7 million in notional short positions and fair value liability position of $0.1 million. From time to time, we enter into foreign currency forward contracts to economically hedge our exposure to currency fluctuations from certain non-U.S. denominated investments. We typically use these hedges to hedge fixed maturity investments with exposure to European currencies. In certain instances, we may assume foreign exchange risk as part of our investment strategy.
In circumstances where there is a reporting lag between the current period end reporting date and the reporting date of the latest fund valuation, we estimate the fair value of these funds by starting with the prior month or quarter-end fund valuations, adjusting these valuations for actual capital calls, redemptions or distributions, as well as the impact of changes in foreign currency exchange rates, and then estimating the
Interest income, income distributions and realized and unrealized gains (losses) on other investments are included in net investment income and resulted in $74.4 million of net investment income for the year ended December 31, 2012 (2011 - $36.0 million, 2010 - $103.7 million). Of this amount, $38.2 million relates to net unrealized gains (2011 - unrealized gains of $12.7 million, 2010 - unrealized gains of $57.5 million).
We have committed capital to private equity partnerships and other entities of $708.9 million, of which $655.5 million has been contributed at December 31, 2012. Our remaining commitments to these investments at December 31, 2012 totaled $133.2 million. In the future, we may enter into additional commitments in respect of private equity partnerships or individual portfolio company investment opportunities.
Private equity partnerships - Included in our investments in private equity partnerships are alternative asset limited partnerships (or similar corporate structures) that invest in certain private equity asset classes including U.S. and global leveraged buyouts; mezzanine investments; distressed securities; real estate; and oil, gas and power. The fair values of the investments in this category have been estimated using the net asset value of the investments, as discussed in detail above. We generally have no right to redeem our interest in any of these private equity partnerships in advance of dissolution of the applicable partnership. Instead, the nature of these investments is that distributions are received by us in connection with the liquidation of the underlying assets of the applicable limited partnership. It is estimated that the majority of the underlying assets of the limited partnerships would liquidate over 7 to 10 years from inception of the limited partnership.
We also have $30.6 million invested in closed end funds which invest in loans. We have no right to require redemption of our investment in these funds.
Top Layer Re incurred net claims and claims expenses from the 2011 New Zealand and Tohoku earthquakes; subsequently, the Company contributed $38.5 million of additional paid-in capital to Top Layer Re to replenish its capital position.
Our equity in earnings of the Tower Hill Companies are reported one quarter in arrears.
Notwithstanding the severe global catastrophic losses during 2011, the advent in late 2012 of storm Sandy, one of the most significant insured losses on record, and the increased frequency of severe weather events during this period in many high-insurance-penetration regions, the global insurance and reinsurance markets entered 2013 with near-record levels of industry wide capital held by private market insurers and reinsurers, and diminished growth of demand for many coverages and solutions, outside of the impacted regions and in respect of certain products and lines. During the January 2013 and June and July 2012 reinsurance renewals, we believe that supply, principally from traditional market participants and complemented by alternative capital providers, more than offset market demand, resulting in a dampening of overall market pricing on a risk-adjusted basis, except for, in general, loss impacted treaties and contracts. Moreover, we believe that many of the positive factors that had previously impacted market conditions have now been absorbed by the market and, we believe, are unlikely to drive further improvement in our core catastrophe-exposed markets absent new developments. Moreover, we believe that supply of capital remains at historically high levels, from both traditional and alternative market
Moreover, we continue to monitor the risk that our principal markets will experience increased inflationary conditions, which would, among other things, cause costs related to our claims and claim expenses to increase, and impact the performance of our investment portfolio. The onset, duration and severity of an inflationary period cannot be estimated with precision. The sovereign debt crisis in Europe and the related financial restructuring efforts has, among other factors, made it more difficult to predict the inflationary environment.
Our catastrophe-exposed operations are subject to the ever-present potential for significant volatility in capital due primarily to our exposure to severe catastrophic events. Our specialty reinsurance portfolio is also exposed to emerging risks arising from the ongoing relative economic weakness, including with respect to a potential increase of claims in directors and officers, errors and omissions, surety, casualty clash and other lines of business.
Historically low interest rates and lower spreads have lowered the yields at which we invest our assets relative to historical levels. We expect these developments, combined with the current composition of our investment portfolio and other factors, to continue to put substantial downward pressure on our net investment income for the near term. In addition to impacting our reported net income, potential future losses on our investment portfolio, including potential future mark-to-market results, would adversely impact our equity capital. Moreover, as we invest cash from new premiums written or reinvest the proceeds of
Leading global intermediaries and other sources have generally reported that the U.S. casualty reinsurance market continues to reflect a relatively soft pricing environment, with pockets of niche or specialty casualty renewals providing more attractive opportunities for stronger or well-positioned reinsurers. We anticipate that persistent low investment returns and, to a degree, balance sheet issues in the broader market may favorably impact demand for coverages on terms that we find attractive. However, we cannot assure you that any increased demand will indeed materialize or that we will be successful in consummating new or expanded transactions.
We currently anticipate a continued level of demand for our catastrophe coverages over coming periods, offset by ample and likely increasing supplies of private market capital. Even in the aftermath of storm Sandy and continued capital return initiatives by many market participants, the primary insurance and reinsurance sectors each continue to hold historically high levels of capital. While we do not anticipate industry capital to diminish, or the impairment of meaningful market participants, as a result of storm Sandy, it is possible that storm Sandy will contribute to enhanced perceptions of risk, particularly of mid-Atlantic and Northeastern windstorm exposure, the risks which arise from business interruption and commercial interruption exposure, and the penetration of U.S. flood risk in the private insurance market. Moreover, it is possible consumer demand will increase compared to market expectations prior to storm Sandy. However, it is possible that none of these factors may be borne out or influence the market in any meaningful way; moreover, the relatively attractive prevailing market conditions for many of the products in which we specialize could in any case also be offset by adverse or unforeseen factors, including the availability of alternative capital and the high levels of capital held by traditional reinsurers. Renewal terms vary widely by insured account and our ability to shape our portfolio to improve its risk and return characteristics as estimated by us is subject to a range of competitive and commercial factors. While we believe that our strong relationships, and track record of superior claims paying ability and other client service will enable us to compete for the business we find attractive, we may not succeed in doing so; moreover, our relationships in emerging markets are not as developed as they are in our current core markets.
If enacted, any of these bills, or legislation similar to these proposals, would, we believe, likely contribute to the growth of state entities offering below market priced insurance and reinsurance in a manner adverse to us and market participants more generally. While none of this legislation has been enacted to date, and although we believe such legislation will continue to be vigorously opposed, if adopted these bills would likely diminish the role of private market catastrophe reinsurers and could adversely impact our financial results, perhaps materially.
On February 16, 2012, the Florida Senate Banking and Insurance Committee approved, with one dissenting vote, legislation to reform the FHCF and solidify its financial fund. The bill provided for incremental reductions in the FHCF limit which admitted carriers are mandated to buy from the FHCF from an industry aggregate of $17.0 billion to $12.0 billion by 2015; would have reduced the 90% purchase option (the percentage of the FHCF mandatory coverage layer a company purchases) which is selected by most insurers to 75% by 2015; and would have increased the industry wide "retention", or deductible, from $7.3 to $8.0 billion. While the bill did not pass the full legislature in 2012, its sponsor has announced an intention to reintroduce the legislation in 2013. We cannot estimate the likelihood of enactment, or the possible final form of this or similar legislation.
On February 11, 2013, U.S. Senators Carl Levin and Sheldon Whitehouse introduced legislation in the U.S. Senate entitled the "Cut Unjustified Tax Loopholes Act". Similar legislation was also proposed earlier in 2013 as well as in 2012, 2011 and 2010. If enacted, this legislation would, among other things, cause to be treated as a U.S. corporation for U.S. tax purposes generally, certain corporate entities if the “management and control” of such a corporation is, directly or indirectly, treated as occurring primarily within the U.S. The proposed legislation provides that a corporation will be so treated if substantially all of the executive officers and senior management of the corporation who exercise day-to-day responsibility for making decisions involving strategic, financial, and operational policies of the corporation are located primarily within the U.S. To date, this legislation has not been approved by either the House of Representatives or the Senate. However, we can provide no assurance that this legislation or similar legislation will not ultimately be adopted. While we do not believe that the legislation would negatively impact us, it is possible that an adopted bill would include additional or expanded provisions which could negatively impact us, or that the interpretation or enforcement of the current proposal, if enacted, would be more expansive or adverse than we currently estimate.