In 2014, we strengthened our position in the healthcare liability space by acquiring Eastern, a provider of workers' compensation insurance. We have also been a consistent acquirer of other physician insurers, completing four acquisitions between 2009 and 2013 as well as acquiring an agency largely focused on the professional liability needs of allied healthcare providers, an insurer focused on the legal professional liability market and a mutual company that focused on medical technology liability insurance for companies that manufacture or distribute medical products. We continue to see new opportunities from each of the acquisitions and believe each will provide organic growth through expansion in their existing markets and relationships.
Workers' Compensation Segment. Many factors affect the ultimate losses incurred for our workers' compensation coverages (12% of our consolidated gross reserve for losses and loss adjustment expenses for the year ended December 31, 2016) including but not limited to the type and severity of the injury, the age and occupation of the injured worker, the estimated length of disability, medical treatment and related costs, and the jurisdiction and workers' compensation laws of the injury occurrence. We use various actuarial methodologies, described below, in developing our workers’ compensation reserve, combined with a review of the exposure base generally based upon payroll of the insured. For the current accident year, given the lack of seasoned information, the different actuarial methodologies produce results with significant variability; therefore, more emphasis is placed on supplementing results from the actuarial methodologies with trends in exposure base, medical expense inflation, general inflation, severity, and claim counts, among other things, to select an expected loss ratio.
For our Workers' Compensation segment, our annual impairment test was performed using a quantitative approach. The first step of the quantitative approach involved determining whether the estimated fair value of the reporting unit exceeds its carrying amount. In performing this step, we estimated the fair value of our reporting units using an equal weighting of fair values derived from general accepted valuation techniques - the income approach and the market approach.
The Syndicate may still be exposed to losses that exceed the level of reinsurance purchased as well as to reinstatement premiums triggered by losses exceeding specified levels.
Our funding commitments are primarily related to non-public investment entities but also include the unused commitments under our Syndicate Credit Agreement as well as the line of credit associated with a strategic business partnership entered into during the third quarter of 2016. For more information regarding these agreements see Note 9 of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements.
Our consolidated current accident year net loss ratio decreased 2.3 percentage points for the year ended December 31, 2016 as compared to 2015 driven by a lower net loss ratio in our Specialty P&C segment primarily due to changes in expected loss costs related to mass tort litigation and, to a lesser extent, changes in the mix of business. The decrease in the consolidated current accident year net loss ratio was somewhat offset by a change in expense allocations, as discussed below.
Our Lloyd's Syndicate segment results include both our 58% participation in the operating results of Syndicate 1729 and 100% of the operating results of our wholly owned subsidiaries that support Syndicate 1729. We report results from our Syndicate 1729 involvement on a quarter delay, except that investment results associated with our FAL investments and certain U.S. paid administrative expenses are reported concurrently as that information is available on an earlier time frame.
Our workers’ compensation premium volume is driven by four primary factors: 1) the amount of new business written, 2) audit premium, 3) retention of our existing book of business, and 4) premium rates charged on our renewal book of business.
Per the reinsurance agreements, we cede premiums related to our traditional business on an earned premium basis, whereas alternative market premiums are ceded on a written premium basis. The decrease in the traditional ceded premiums ratio for 2015 when compared to 2014 reflected the reduction in reinsurance rates.
we did not recognize a tax benefit related to the operating loss or the U.K. tax expense associated with our Lloyd's Syndicate segment.