Tower Group International (TWGP) 10-Q 19 Jun 14 2014 Q1 Quarterly report Financial data

Document_and_Entity_Informatio

Document and Entity Information	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2014	Jun. 16, 2014
Document Information [Line Items]	'	'
Document Type	'10-Q	'
Amendment Flag	'false	'
Document Period End Date	31-Mar-14	'
Document Fiscal Year Focus	'2014	'
Document Fiscal Period Focus	'Q1	'
Trading Symbol	'TWGP	'
Entity Registrant Name	'Tower Group International, Ltd.	'
Entity Central Index Key	'0001289592	'
Current Fiscal Year End Date	'--12-31	'
Entity Filer Category	'Large Accelerated Filer	'
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding	'	57,297,589

Consolidated_Balance_Sheets

Consolidated Balance Sheets (USD $)	Mar. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2013
In Thousands, unless otherwise specified
Available-for-sale investments, at fair value:	'	'
Fixed-maturity securities	$1,451,401	$1,642,695
Total investments	1,571,215	1,851,377
Cash and cash equivalents	454,876	293,898
Investment income receivable	12,106	17,493
Premiums receivable	274,151	309,499
Reinsurance recoverable on paid losses	36,833	68,963
Reinsurance recoverable on unpaid losses	388,639	570,860
Prepaid reinsurance premiums	481,172	186,476
Deferred acquisition costs, net	22,167	95,096
Intangible assets	79,684	79,936
Funds held by reinsured companies	88,349	98,816
Other assets	309,421	383,131
Total assets	3,718,613	3,955,545
Liabilities	'	'
Loss and loss adjustment expenses	2,044,287	2,081,285
Unearned premium	685,619	763,112
Reinsurance balances payable	202,564	89,820
Funds held under reinsurance agreements	81,370	222,159
Other liabilities	257,476	286,171
Deferred income taxes	29,688	29,508
Debt	383,564	382,770
Total liabilities	3,684,568	3,854,825
Contingencies (Note 16)	'	'
Shareholders' equity	'	'
Common stock ($0.01 par value; 150,000,000 shares authorized, 57,437,157 and 57,437,157 shares issued, and 57,311,488 and 57,381,686 shares outstanding)	574	574
Treasury stock (125,669 and 55,471 shares)	-88	-39
Paid-in-capital	814,899	815,119
Accumulated other comprehensive loss	-32,198	-19,507
Retained earnings (accumulated deficit)	-747,074	-700,596
Tower Group International, Ltd. shareholders' equity	36,113	95,551
Noncontrolling interests	-2,068	5,169
Total shareholders' equity	34,045	100,720
Total liabilities and shareholders' equity	3,718,613	3,955,545
Tower	'	'
Available-for-sale investments, at fair value:	'	'
Fixed-maturity securities	1,244,495	1,390,146
Equity securities	60,483	104,107
Short-term investments	2,000	5,897
Other invested assets	54,607	96,155
Liabilities	'	'
Loss and loss adjustment expenses	1,943,782	1,973,972
Reciprocal Exchanges	'	'
Available-for-sale investments, at fair value:	'	'
Fixed-maturity securities	206,906	252,549
Equity securities	2,724	2,523
Cash and cash equivalents	44,290	5,684
Investment income receivable	1,826	2,325
Premiums receivable	44,292	42,348
Reinsurance recoverable on paid losses	514	1,989
Reinsurance recoverable on unpaid losses	15,025	15,392
Prepaid reinsurance premiums	21,684	22,226
Deferred acquisition costs, net	8,312	9,611
Intangible assets	6,221	6,337
Other assets	2,088	1,395
Liabilities	'	'
Loss and loss adjustment expenses	100,505	107,313
Unearned premium	105,000	106,067
Reinsurance balances payable	4,595	4,872
Funds held under reinsurance agreements	23	22
Other liabilities	17,447	17,234
Deferred income taxes	$19,181	$19,181

Consolidated_Balance_Sheets_Pa

Consolidated Balance Sheets (Parenthetical) (USD $)	Mar. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2013
In Thousands, except Share data, unless otherwise specified
Fixed-maturity securities, amortized cost	$1,433,674	$1,613,634
Cash and cash equivalents	454,876	293,898
Investment income receivable	12,106	17,493
Premiums receivable	274,151	309,499
Reinsurance recoverable on paid losses	36,833	68,963
Reinsurance recoverable on unpaid losses	388,639	570,860
Prepaid reinsurance premiums	481,172	186,476
Deferred acquisition costs, net	22,167	95,096
Intangible assets	79,684	79,936
Other assets	309,421	383,131
Loss and loss adjustment expenses	2,044,287	2,081,285
Unearned premium	685,619	763,112
Reinsurance balances payable	202,564	89,820
Funds held under reinsurance agreements	81,370	222,159
Other liabilities	257,476	286,171
Deferred income taxes	29,688	29,508
Common stock, par value	$0.01	$0.01
Common stock, shares authorized	150,000,000	150,000,000
Common stock, shares issued	57,437,157	57,437,157
Common stock, shares outstanding	57,311,488	57,381,686
Treasury stock, shares	125,669	55,471
Tower	'	'
Fixed-maturity securities, amortized cost	1,230,568	1,364,157
Equity securities, cost	52,140	94,957
Short-term investments, cost	2,000	5,925
Loss and loss adjustment expenses	1,943,782	1,973,972
Reciprocal Exchanges	'	'
Fixed-maturity securities, amortized cost	203,106	249,477
Equity securities, cost	2,751	2,751
Cash and cash equivalents	44,290	5,684
Investment income receivable	1,826	2,325
Premiums receivable	44,292	42,348
Reinsurance recoverable on paid losses	514	1,989
Reinsurance recoverable on unpaid losses	15,025	15,392
Prepaid reinsurance premiums	21,684	22,226
Deferred acquisition costs, net	8,312	9,611
Intangible assets	6,221	6,337
Other assets	2,088	1,395
Loss and loss adjustment expenses	100,505	107,313
Unearned premium	105,000	106,067
Reinsurance balances payable	4,595	4,872
Funds held under reinsurance agreements	23	22
Other liabilities	17,447	17,234
Deferred income taxes	$19,181	$19,181

Consolidated_Statements_of_Ope

Consolidated Statements of Operations (USD $)	3 Months Ended
In Thousands, except Per Share data, unless otherwise specified	Mar. 31, 2014	Mar. 31, 2013
Revenues	'	'
Net premiums earned	$111,544	$421,886
Ceding commission revenue	10,802	5,439
Insurance services revenue	565	128
Policy billing fees	2,676	3,150
Net investment income	15,358	30,317
Net realized investment gains (losses):	'	'
Other-than-temporary impairments	-1,258	-689
Portion of loss recognized in accumulated other comprehensive income (loss)	351	'
Other net realized investment gains	23,170	7,540
Total net realized investment gains (losses)	22,263	6,851
Total revenues	163,208	467,771
Expenses	'	'
Loss and loss adjustment expenses	102,561	275,732
Commission expense	25,049	82,521
Other operating expenses	78,877	82,736
Acquisition-related transaction costs	646	19,056
Interest expense	7,010	7,808
Total expenses	214,143	467,853
Other income (expense)	'	'
Equity income in unconsolidated affiliate	'	128
Income (loss) before income taxes	-50,935	46
Income tax expense (benefit)	963	-1,590
Net income (loss)	-51,898	1,636
Less: Net income (loss) attributable to Noncontrolling interests	-5,420	-11,281
Net income (loss) attributable to Tower Group International, Ltd.	($46,478)	$12,917
Earnings (loss) per share attributable to Tower Group International, Ltd. shareholders:	'	'
Basic	($0.81)	$0.28
Diluted	($0.81)	$0.28
Weighted average common shares outstanding:	'	'
Basic	57,150	45,614
Diluted	57,150	45,688
Dividends declared and paid per common share	'	$0.17

Consolidated_Statements_of_Com

Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income (USD $)	3 Months Ended
In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	Mar. 31, 2014	Mar. 31, 2013
Net income (loss)	($51,898)	$1,636
Other comprehensive income (loss) before tax	'	'
Gross unrealized investment holding gains (losses) arising during periods	9,853	-371
Less: Reclassification adjustment for investment (gains) losses included in net income	-20,970	-6,467
Portion of other-than-temporary impairment losses recognized in other comprehensive income	-351	'
Cumulative translation adjustment	'	-3,611
Deferred gain on cash flow hedge	428	1,598
Other comprehensive income (loss) before tax	-11,040	-8,851
Income tax benefit (expense) related to items of other comprehensive income (loss)	'	2,721
Other comprehensive income (loss), net of income tax	-11,040	-6,130
Comprehensive income (loss)	-62,938	-4,494
Less: Comprehensive income (loss) attributable to Noncontrolling interests	-3,769	-12,966
Comprehensive income (loss) attributable to Tower Group International, Ltd.	($59,169)	$8,472

Consolidated_Statements_of_Cha

Consolidated Statements of Changes in Shareholders' Equity (USD $)	Total	Common Stock	Treasury Stock	Paid-in Capital	Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income (Loss)	Retained Earnings (Accumulated Deficit)	Noncontrolling Interests
In Thousands
Balance at beginning of period at Dec. 31, 2012	$984,218	$530	($181,435)	$780,036	$82,756	$268,171	$34,160
Balance at beginning of period (in shares) at Dec. 31, 2012	'	53,048	'	'	'	'	'
Dividends declared	-7,201	'	'	'	'	-7,201	'
Stock based compensation (in shares)	'	240	'	'	'	'	'
Stock based compensation	5,711	3	-5,853	11,561	'	'	'
Merger Transaction with Canopius Bermuda (in shares)	'	14,026	'	'	'	'	'
Merger Transaction with Canopius Bermuda	207,347	140	'	207,207	'	'	'
Extinguishment of treasury stock in connection with Merger Transaction (in shares)	'	-9,882	'	'	'	'	'
Extinguishment of treasury stock in connection with Canopius Merger Transaction	'	-99	187,288	-187,189	'	'	'
Termination of convertible senior notes hedge and warrants	541	'	'	541	'	'	'
Net income (loss)	1,636	'	'	'	'	12,917	-11,281
Other comprehensive income (loss)	-6,130	'	'	'	-4,445	'	-1,685
Balance at end of period at Mar. 31, 2013	1,186,122	574	'	812,156	78,311	273,887	21,194
Balance at end of period (in shares) at Mar. 31, 2013	'	57,432	'	'	'	'	'
Balance at beginning of period at Dec. 31, 2013	100,720	574	-39	815,119	-19,507	-700,596	5,169
Balance at beginning of period (in shares) at Dec. 31, 2013	'	57,437	'	'	'	'	'
Stock based compensation	-269	'	-49	-220	'	'	'
Net income (loss)	-51,898	'	'	'	'	-46,478	-5,420
Other comprehensive income (loss)	-11,040	'	'	'	-12,691	'	1,651
Ownership change in noncontrolling interest in consolidated partnerships	-3,468	'	'	'	'	'	-3,468
Balance at end of period at Mar. 31, 2014	$34,045	$574	($88)	$814,899	($32,198)	($747,074)	($2,068)
Balance at end of period (in shares) at Mar. 31, 2014	'	57,437	'	'	'	'	'

Consolidated_Statements_of_Cas

Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows (USD $)	3 Months Ended
In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	Mar. 31, 2014	Mar. 31, 2013
Cash flows provided by (used in) operating activities:	'	'
Net income (loss)	($51,898)	$1,636
Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash provided by (used in) operations:	'	'
Gain on investment in acquired unconsolidated affiliate	'	-128
Net realized investment (gains) losses	-22,263	-6,851
Depreciation and amortization	1,288	9,493
Amortization of bond premium or discount	1,499	3,262
Amortization of debt issuance costs	-362	-467
Amortization of restricted stock	8	12,281
Deferred income taxes	180	-5,433
Changes in operating assets and liabilities:	'	'
Investment income receivable	5,387	-4,158
Premiums receivable	35,348	3,756
Reinsurance recoverable	214,351	45,937
Prepaid reinsurance premiums	-294,696	-17,827
Deferred acquisition costs, net	72,929	-12,076
Funds held by reinsured companies	12,363	6,705
Other assets	34,858	35,148
Loss and loss adjustment expenses	-36,998	-95,042
Unearned premium	-77,493	31,194
Reinsurance balances payable	112,744	-1,342
Funds held under reinsurance agreements	-140,789	-25,215
Other liabilities	-58,357	-35,956
Net cash flows provided by (used in) operations	-191,901	-55,083
Cash flows provided by (used in) investing activities:	'	'
Cash acquired in Canopius Merger Transaction	'	134,741
Purchase of fixed assets	'	-5,866
Purchase of fixed-maturity securities	-415,207	-124,322
Purchase of equity securities	-57,794	-366,141
Change in short-term investments	3,947	2,746
Net sales (purchases) of other invested assets	38,397	-1,155
Sale of fixed-maturity securities	635,091	123,684
Maturity of fixed-maturity securities	14,546	52,233
Sale of equity securities	100,940	375,180
Change in restricted cash	1,325	1,929
Net cash flows provided by (used in) investing activities	321,245	193,029
Cash flows provided by (used in) financing activities:	'	'
Decrease in deposit assets	35,151	'
Noncontrolling interests - change in ownership interest	-3,468	'
Proceeds from convertible senior notes hedge termination	'	2,380
Payment for warrants termination	'	-1,000
Issuance of common stock under stock-based compensation programs	'	2
Excess tax benefits from share-based payment arrangements	'	1,111
Treasury stock acquired-net employee share-based compensation	-49	-5,852
Dividends paid	'	-7,201
Net cash flows provided by (used in) financing activities	31,634	-10,560
Increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents	160,978	127,386
Cash and cash equivalents, beginning of period	293,898	83,800
Cash and cash equivalents, end of period	$454,876	$211,186

Nature_of_Business

Nature of Business	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2014
Nature of Business	'
	Note 1—Nature of Business
	Tower Group International, Ltd. (“TGIL”, the Company” or “Tower”) offers a range of commercial, assumed reinsurance and personal property and casualty insurance products and services through its subsidiaries to businesses and to individuals. The Company’s common stock is publicly traded on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol “TWGP”.
	Significant Business Developments and Risks and Uncertainties
	Proposed Merger with ACP Re
	On January 3, 2014, Tower entered into an Agreement and Plan of Merger (the “Original ACP Re Merger Agreement”) with ACP Re Ltd. (“ACP Re”), and a wholly-owned subsidiary of ACP Re (“Merger Sub”). Subject to the satisfaction or waiver of the conditions therein, it is expected Merger Sub would merge with and into Tower (the “Merger”), with Tower as the surviving corporation in the Merger and a wholly owned subsidiary of ACP Re. ACP Re is a Bermuda based reinsurance company. The controlling shareholder of ACP Re is a trust established by the founder of AmTrust Financial Services, Inc. (“AmTrust”), National General Holdings Corporation (“NGHC”) and Maiden Holdings, Ltd.
	On May 8, 2014, Tower entered into Amendment No. 1 to the Agreement and Plan of Merger (the “ACP Re Amendment”, and, together with the Original ACP Re Merger Agreement, the “ACP Re Merger Agreement”) with ACP Re and Merger Sub. The ACP Re Amendment, among other things, (1) reduces the per share consideration to be received by holders of Tower’s common shares in the Merger from $3.00 per share to $2.50 per share, (2) reduces the termination fee that Tower would, under certain circumstances, be required to pay to ACP Re in the event of a termination of the merger agreement, (3) extends to November 15, 2014 both the date by which Tower must hold its shareholders meeting to vote on the Merger and the deadline for completing the merger before either party can terminate the ACP Re Merger Agreement, (4) excludes from the material adverse effect closing condition any continued adverse results of Tower’s operations or deterioration of its financial condition resulting from (a) losses and loss adjustment expenses incurred under new, renewal or in-force insurance and reinsurance related policies, insurance and reinsurance related contracts, and insurance and reinsurance related binders, (b) operating expenses, including acquisition expenses, associated with the maintenance by Tower of its agency relationships, employees and facilities to operate its business in the ordinary course or (c) the insufficiency of Tower’s loss reserves (including IBNR reserves), (5) also excludes from the material adverse effect closing condition any effect resulting from facts or circumstances disclosed in any of Tower’s previous SEC filings, (6) eliminates the condition in the Original ACP Re Merger Agreement that holders of shares representing more than 15% of Tower’s share capital shall not have exercised dissenter’s rights, (7) provides that the closing condition in the Original ACP Re Merger Agreement requiring that each of Tower’s U.S. insurance subsidiaries shall have risk based capital that is equal to or exceeds its relevant company action level risk based capital will be deemed to have been satisfied if Tower and its subsidiaries have, on a consolidated basis, sufficient capital that could be reallocated among Tower’s insurance subsidiaries so that such condition could be satisfied and (8) provides that all of Tower’s representations and warranties in the ACP Re Merger Agreement will be qualified by disclosures made in Tower’s previous SEC filings.
	Notwithstanding any other statement in this Form 10-Q or any other document, many of the conditions for closing the ACP Re Merger Agreement remain outstanding and there can be no assurance that they will be satisfied or that the transaction will be consummated or when it may close.
	Pursuant to the terms of the ACP Re Merger Agreement, at the effective time of the merger, each outstanding share of Tower's common stock, par value $0.01 per share (the “Common Shares”), following the settlement of all outstanding equity awards, will be converted into the right to receive $2.50 in cash, with an aggregate value of approximately $143.3 million.
	Each of the parties has made representations and warranties in the ACP Re Merger Agreement. Tower has agreed to certain covenants and agreements, including, among others, (i) to conduct its business in the ordinary course of business, consistent with past practice, during the period between the execution of the ACP Re Merger Agreement and the closing of the merger, (ii) not to solicit alternate transactions, subject to a customary "fiduciary out" provision which allows Tower under certain circumstances to provide information to and participate in discussions with third parties with respect to unsolicited alternative acquisition proposals that Tower's Board of Directors has determined, in its good faith judgment, is appropriate in furtherance of the best interests of Tower, and (iii) to call and hold a special shareholders' meeting and recommend adoption of the ACP Re Merger Agreement.
	On the same day as the execution of the Original ACP Re Merger Agreement, the controlling shareholder of ACP Re provided to Tower a guarantee for the payment of the merger consideration, effective upon the closing of the merger.
	The ACP Re Merger Agreement was unanimously approved by the respective Boards of Directors of ACP Re and Tower, and is conditioned, among other things, on: (i) the approval of Tower's shareholders, (ii) receipt of governmental approvals, including antitrust and insurance regulatory approvals (on January 30, 2014, the Company was granted early termination of the Hart-Scott-Rodino waiting period which requires persons contemplating certain mergers or acquisitions to give the Federal Trade Commission and the Assistant Attorney General advanced notice and to wait designated periods before consummation of such plans), (iii) the absence of any law, order or injunction prohibiting the merger, (iv) the accuracy of each party's representations and warranties (subject to customary materiality qualifiers), and (v) each party's compliance with its covenants and agreements contained in the ACP Re Merger Agreement. In addition, ACP Re's obligation to consummate the merger is subject to the non-occurrence of any material adverse effect on Tower, as well as the absence of any insolvency-related event affecting Tower.
	There is no financing condition to consummation of the transactions contemplated by the ACP Re Merger Agreement.
	The ACP Re Merger Agreement provides certain termination rights for each of Tower and ACP Re, and further provides that upon termination of the ACP Re Merger Agreement, under certain circumstances, Tower will be obligated to reimburse ACP Re for certain of its transaction expenses, subject to a cap of $2 million, and to pay ACP Re a termination fee of $6.8 million, net of any transaction expenses it has reimbursed.
	Cut-Through Reinsurance Agreements
	On the same day as the execution of the Original ACP Re Merger Agreement, several subsidiaries of Tower entered into two Cut-Through Reinsurance Agreements, pursuant to which a subsidiary of AmTrust and a subsidiary of NGHC provide 100% quota share reinsurance and a cut-through endorsement to cover all eligible new and renewal commercial and personal lines business, respectively, and at their option, losses incurred on or after January 1, 2014 on not less than 60% of the in-force business. Tower received confirmation on January 16, 2014 from AmTrust and NGHC that they would exercise such option to reinsure on a cut-through basis losses incurred on or after January 1, 2014 under in-force policies with respect to (1) in the case of AmTrust, approximately 65.7% of Tower’s unearned premium reserves as of December 31, 2013 with respect to its ongoing commercial lines business, and (2) in the case of NGHC, 100% of Tower’s unearned premium reserves as of December 31, 2013 with respect to its personal lines segment business. Tower receives a 20% ceding commission from AmTrust or NGHC on all Tower unearned premiums that are subject to the Cut-Through Reinsurance Agreements and a 22% ceding commission on 2014 ceded premiums.
	As a result of the Cut-Through Reinsurance Agreements, unearned premiums net of reinsurance aggregating $327.7 million at December 31, 2013 (of which $194.0 million and $133.7 million were from the commercial insurance and personal insurance segments, respectively) were transferred to AmTrust and NGHC. The transfer of the unearned premium reserves at December 31, 2013 are recorded as negative written premiums in the first quarter 2014. In the first quarter 2014, net written premiums of $168.1 million were transferred to AmTrust and NGHC for renewal business and new policies issued with policy effective dates in 2014 (of which $114.6 million and $53.5 million were from the commercial insurance and personal insurance segments, respectively).
	The accompanying financial statements for 2014 reflect the impact of the Cut-Through Reinsurance Agreements, and therefore the trends and relationships of net premiums written, premiums earned, acquisition expenses and losses incurred will differ materially from the same period in 2013.
	Managing General Agent Agreements
	On April 1, 2014, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company, Tower Risk Management (“TRM”), entered into managing general agent agreements (the “MGA Agreements”), dated as of January 3, 2014, with AmTrust and NGHC pursuant to which TRM serves as underwriting manager on behalf of AmTrust and NGHC with respect to the commercial lines business and personal lines business covered by the Cut-Through Reinsurance Agreements.
	Under the MGA Agreements, TRM solicits, receives, underwrites, accepts, non-renews and cancels insurance risks for certain commercial lines business and personal lines business of AmTrust and NGHC in return for commissions.
	The MGA Agreements will terminate on January 2, 2015 unless terminated earlier by TRM, AmTrust or NGHC by mutual agreement or by either of the parties under certain circumstances. With respect to AmTrust and NGHC, they may terminate their respective MGA Agreements if, among other things, the merger as contemplated by the merger agreement is consummated, if TRM or any of its affiliates, including the Company, becomes insolvent or if all or a controlling portion of TRM’s capital stock or all or any portion of its business is sold, transferred or merged into a third party and AmTrust or NGHC believes that such sale, transfer or merger has, or could have, a material adverse impact on AmTrust’s or NGHC’s interests.
	Other Reinsurance Agreements
	In the third quarter of 2013, Tower entered into agreements with three reinsurers, Arch Reinsurance Ltd. (“Arch”), Hannover Re (Ireland) Plc. (“Hannover”) and Southport Re (Cayman), Ltd. (“Southport Re”). These agreements provided for surplus enhancement and improved certain financial leverage ratios, while increasing the Company's financial flexibility. The agreements with Arch and Hannover each consisted of one reinsurance agreement while the arrangement with Southport Re consisted of several agreements. The agreements with Arch and Hannover covered business written from July 1, 2013 to December 31, 2013, as well as unearned premiums at June 30, 2013.
	As a result of the announced merger agreement with ACP Re, it was decided that the Southport treaties should be commuted. As a result of a negotiation between the Company and Southport, the treaties were commuted effective as of February 19, 2014, with the result of the commutation being that all premiums paid to Southport by the Company were returned to the Company, and all liabilities assumed by Southport were cancelled, and such liabilities became the obligation of the Company.
	A.M. Best, Fitch and Demotech Downgrade the Company’s Financial Strength and Issuer Credit Ratings
	On May 9, 2014, A.M. Best lowered the financial strength ratings of each of Tower’s insurance subsidiaries from “B” (Fair) to “C++” (Marginal), as well as the issuer credit ratings of each of Tower’s insurance subsidiaries from “bb” to “b”. In addition, on May 9, 2014, A.M. Best downgraded the issuer credit rating of Tower Group, Inc. (“TGI”) as well as the debt rating on its $150 million 5.00% senior convertible notes due 2014 (the “Notes”) to “cc” from “b-”. On the same date, A.M. Best also downgraded the financial strength rating of CastlePoint Reinsurance Company, Ltd. (Bermuda) to “C++” (Marginal) from “B-” (Fair) and its issuer credit rating to “b” from “bb” and downgraded the issuer credit rating of Tower Group International, Ltd. to “cc” from “b-”. TGI and each of its insurance subsidiaries currently are and will continue to be under review with developing implications. In downgrading Tower’s ratings, A.M. Best stated that its actions took “into consideration Tower’s most recent Securities and Exchange Commission 10K filing, which included an additional $63 million of prior year reserve development, further reductions in GAAP shareholders’ equity as well as ongoing declines in statutory policyholders’ surplus and risk-adjusted capitalization, as measured by Best’s Capital Adequacy Ratio (BCAR). These ratings factors are in addition to the diminished shareholder’s equity and reserves actions already taken by Tower during the year. These rating actions also consider the material adverse impact these changes had on all of Tower’s entities in terms of their ability to operate as going concerns. This action also contemplates the amended merger agreement announced by Tower.”
	On May 13, 2014, Fitch withdrew all ratings on Tower and its operating subsidiaries due to a lack of robust data to maintain the ratings. Previously, on January 6, 2014, Fitch revised Tower’s rating watch status to “evolving” from “negative” following the ACP Re merger announcement, and stated that “[t]he Evolving Watch reflects that the ratings could go up if the merger closes; however, ratings could be lowered if the merger does not occur and [the Company] is unsuccessful in addressing upcoming debt maturity or if additional reserve deficiencies develop.” On January 2, 2014, Fitch downgraded Tower’s issuer default rating from “B” to “CC” and the insurer strength ratings of its insurance subsidiaries from “BB” to “B”. On October 7, 2013, Fitch downgraded Tower’s issuer default rating to “B” (the sixth highest of 11 such ratings) from “BBB” and the insurer strength ratings of its insurance subsidiaries to “B” (the fifth highest of Fitch Ratings’ nine such ratings) from “A-”. In downgrading such ratings, Fitch stated that it “is concerned that Tower’s competitive position has been materially damaged, negatively impacting the Company’s financial flexibility and ability to write new business” and that “the magnitude of the second quarter charges was large enough to cause several key ratios to fall well outside of previously established ratings downgrade triggers, which resulted in the multi-notch downgrade.”
	On December 24, 2013, Demotech, Inc. (“Demotech”) announced the withdrawal of its Financial Stability Ratings® (FSRs) assigned to the following insurance subsidiaries: Kodiak Insurance Company, Massachusetts Homeland Insurance Company, Tower Insurance Company of New York and York Insurance Company of Maine. Concurrently, Demotech advised that the FSRs assigned to Adirondack Insurance Exchange, Mountain Valley Indemnity Company, New Jersey Skylands Insurance Association and New Jersey Skylands Insurance Company remain under review.
	Previously, on October 7, 2013, Demotech had lowered its rating on Tower Insurance Company of New York (“TICNY”) and three other U.S. based insurance subsidiaries (Kodiak Insurance Company, Massachusetts Homeland Insurance Company and York Insurance Company of Maine) from A’ (A prime) to A (A exceptional). In addition, Demotech removed its previous A’ (A prime) rating on six other U.S. based insurance subsidiaries (CastlePoint Florida Insurance Company, CastlePoint Insurance Company, CastlePoint National Insurance Company, Hermitage Insurance Company, North East Insurance Company and Preserver Insurance Company). Demotech also affirmed its A ratings on Adirondack Insurance Exchange, New Jersey Skylands Insurance Association, New Jersey Skylands Insurance Company and Mountain Valley Indemnity Company.
	Management expects these rating actions, in combination with other items that have impacted the Company in 2013, to result in a significant decrease in the amount of premiums the insurance subsidiaries are able to write. The Company had gross written premiums of $302.7 million and $551.2 million in the three months ended March 31, 2014 and 2013, respectively. The majority of the 2014 written premiums were transferred to AmTrust and NGHC pursuant to the Cut-Through Reinsurance Agreements.
	In January 2014, Tower’s Board of Directors approved the Merger with ACP Re. In light of the adverse ratings actions, concurrent with entering into the Original ACP Re Merger Agreement Tower entered into cut-through reinsurance treaties with affiliates of ACP Re. As a result of the Merger, and the execution of the cut-through reinsurance treaties, Tower believes its insurance subsidiaries will retain significant portions of their business.
	Statutory Capital
	The Company is required to maintain minimum capital and surplus for each of its insurance subsidiaries.
	U.S. based insurance companies are required to maintain capital and surplus above Company Action Level, which is a calculated capital and surplus number using a risk-based formula adopted by the state insurance regulators. The basis for this formula is the National Association of Insurance Commissioners’ (“NAIC’s”) risk-based capital (“RBC”) system and is designed to measure the adequacy of a U.S. regulated insurer’s statutory capital and surplus compared to risks inherent in its business. If an insurance entity falls into Company Action Level, its management is required to submit a comprehensive financial plan that identifies the conditions that contributed to the financial condition. This plan must contain proposals to correct the financial problems and provide projections of the financial condition, both with and without the proposed corrections. The plan must also outline the key assumptions underlying the projections and identify the quality of, and problems associated with, the underlying business. Depending on the level of actual capital and surplus in comparison to the Company Action Level, the state insurance regulators could increase their regulatory oversight, restrict the placement of new business, or place the company under regulatory control. Bermuda based insurance entities’ minimum capital and surplus requirements are calculated from a solvency formula prescribed by the Bermuda Monetary Authority (the “BMA”).
	Tower has in place several intercompany reinsurance transactions between its U.S. based insurance subsidiaries and its Bermuda based insurance subsidiaries. The U.S. based insurance subsidiaries have historically reinsured on a quota share basis obligations to CastlePoint Reinsurance Company (“CastlePoint Re”), one of its Bermuda based insurance subsidiaries. The obligations that CastlePoint Re assumes from the U.S. based insurance subsidiaries are then retroceded to Tower Reinsurance, Ltd. (“TRL”), Tower’s other Bermuda based insurance subsidiary. On February 5, 2014, the BMA approved the transfer of $167.3 million in unencumbered liquid assets from TRL to CastlePoint Re, allowing CastlePoint Re to increase the funding in the reinsurance trust for the benefit of TICNY. As of March 31, 2014, CastlePoint Re is required to collateralize $603.5 million of its assumed reserves in a reinsurance trust for the benefit of TICNY, the lead pool company of the U.S. insurance companies. As of March 31, 2014, CastlePoint Re held $555.4 million in its reinsurance trust.
	Based on RBC calculations as of December 31, 2013, six of Tower’s ten U.S. based insurance subsidiaries had capital and surplus below Company Action Level and did not meet the minimum capital and surplus requirements of their respective state regulators. As a result, management has discussed the ACP Re Merger Agreement and the Cut-Through Reinsurance Agreements and provided its 2014 RBC forecasts to the regulators to document the Company’s business plan to bring two of these U.S based insurance subsidiaries’ capital and surplus levels above Company Action Level.
	As a result of the recognition of the ceding commission relating to the Cut-Through Reinsurance Agreements executed with AmTrust and NGHC in January 2014, the U.S. based insurance subsidiaries’ capital and surplus increased significantly from December 31, 2013 to January 1, 2014, as the U.S. based subsidiaries transferred a significant portion of their commercial lines unearned premium to a subsidiary of AmTrust and all of their personal lines unearned premiums to a subsidiary of NGHC. Accordingly, as of January 1, 2014, the effect of the Cut-Through Reinsurance Agreements increased the surplus of two of the U.S. based insurance subsidiaries such that their capital and surplus levels exceeded Company Action Level.
	In 2013, the New York State Department of Financial Services (“NYDFS”) issued orders for seven of Tower’s insurance subsidiaries, subjecting them to heightened regulatory oversight, which includes providing the NYDFS with increased information with respect to the insurance subsidiaries’ business, operations and financial condition. In addition, the NYDFS has placed limitations on payments and transactions outside the ordinary course of business and material changes in the insurance subsidiaries’ management and related matters. Tower’s management and Board of Directors have held discussions with the NYDFS, and Tower has been complying with the orders and oversight.
	On April 21, 2014, the NYDFS issued additional orders for two of Tower’s insurance subsidiaries instructing them to provide plans to address weaknesses in such insurance subsidiaries’ risk based capital levels as shown in their statutory annual financial statements, and imposing further enhanced reporting and prior approval requirements and limitations on writings of new business. On the same date, the NYDFS issued a letter pertaining to one of Tower’s insurance subsidiaries requiring the submission of a plan to address weaknesses in risk based capital levels.
	On May 7, 2014, the Illinois Department of Insurance (the “IDI”) sent a letter to the Company’s Illinois insurance subsidiary instructing such subsidiary to provide a plan to strengthen its risk based capital level as shown in its statutory annual financial statement. The subsidiary expects to submit such plan to the IDI by June 20, 2014 in accordance with the letter.
	On May 20, 2014, the Massachusetts Department of Insurance (the “MDOI”) entered an amended order of administrative supervision with respect to two of Tower’s insurance subsidiaries (collectively, the “Massachusetts Insurers”). Under the terms of the order, the Massachusetts Insurers are subject to enhanced reporting requirements to the MDOI and are restricted from selling or encumbering assets or incurring debt, making material changes in management, entering into employment agreements, writing any new business other than policies that are 100% reinsured to affiliates of AmTrust and NGHC pursuant to the Cut-Through Reinsurance Agreements that are currently in effect with such entities, declaring or paying dividends, making new investments or changing investment practices, entering into new reinsurance agreements and increasing the compensation of officers or directors, in each case without the consent of the MDOI. Given that substantially all of the new business production of the Massachusetts Insurers is reinsured pursuant to the Cut-Through Reinsurance Agreements referenced above, the Company believes that the order will not have a material impact on the ability of the Massachusetts Insurers to continue to write new business. Also, under the terms of the order, the Company must prepare and submit to the MDOI a preliminary operations plan no later than June 1, 2014. The plan must include detailed information describing the steps the Company is taking to enable it to repay its convertible senior debt holders and continue operations as a going concern in the event its pending merger with ACP Re does not occur. Accordingly, the Company has engaged Greenhill & Co., LLC to advise it in connection with its 5.00% convertible senior notes due September 2014. The Company submitted such plan on May 29, 2014.
	The Maine Bureau of Insurance entered a Corrective Order imposing certain conditions on Maine domestic insurers York Insurance Company of Maine (“YICM”) and North East Insurance Company (“NEIC”). The Corrective Order imposes increased reporting obligations on YICM and NEIC with respect to business operations and financial condition and imposes restrictions on payments or other transfers of assets from YICM and NEIC outside the ordinary course of business.
	On April 11, 2014, the New Jersey Department of Banking and Insurance imposed an enhanced reporting requirement on the intercompany transactions involving Tower’s two New Jersey domiciled insurance subsidiaries and Tower’s New Jersey managed insurer. Such companies are now required to submit for prior approval any transactions with affiliates, even transactions that would otherwise not be reportable under the applicable holding company act.
	On June 4, 2014, Tower National Insurance Company (“TNIC”), a Massachusetts domiciled insurance subsidiary of the Company, received notice from the Ohio Department of Insurance (“ODOI”) in respect of the decrease in TNIC’s statutory capital below Ohio’s minimum capital requirements. Subsequently, TNIC agreed to enter into a consent order with the ODOI on June 11, 2014, the terms of which are still being finalized. The Company expects that the consent order will require TNIC to cease writing any new or renewal insurance business in Ohio until TNIC’s statutory capital deficiency has been resolved to the satisfaction of the ODOI. For the year ended December 31, 2013, TNIC wrote $843 thousand of business in Ohio. TICNY has a license to write business in Ohio, and there have been no restrictions placed against this license.
	As of December 31, 2013, TRL and CastlePoint Re had capital and surplus that did not meet the minimum solvency requirements of the BMA. Management has discussed the ACP Re Merger Agreement and provided 2014 solvency forecasts to the BMA.
	The BMA has issued directives for TRL and CastlePoint Re, subjecting them to heightened regulatory oversight and requiring BMA approval before certain transactions can be executed. Tower has been complying with the directives issued by the BMA.
	Liquidity
	TGI is the obligor under the $150 million Convertible Senior Notes due September 15, 2014. The indebtedness of TGI is guaranteed by TGIL.
	The Company’s plan to repay the Notes is related to the closing of the ACP Re Merger Agreement. The Company has engaged Greenhill & Co., LLC to advise it in the event that the ACP Re Merger Agreement does not close. The Company would evaluate the use of proceeds from the potential sale of certain assets held at TGI to repay the Notes. The Company can provide no assurance that it would be successful in finalizing the liquidation of the assets held at TGI or that, if it is successful, the proceeds of such liquidation would be sufficient to repay the Notes.
	As of March 31, 2014, there were $235.1 million of subordinated debentures outstanding. The subordinated debentures do not have financial covenants that would cause an acceleration of their stated maturities. The earliest stated maturity date is on a $10 million debenture, which matures in May 2033. If an event of default occurs and is continuing, the entire principal and the interest accrued on the affected subordinated indenture may be declared to be due and payable immediately. Pursuant to a notice sent to the applicable holders of the subordinated debentures on June 18, 2014, four indirect wholly-owned non-insurance subsidiaries (the “Issuers”) of Tower Group International, Ltd. exercised their respective contractual rights pursuant to an indenture, dated as of December 1, 2006, by and between CastlePoint Management Corp. and Wilmington Trust Company, an indenture, dated as of December 14, 2006, by and between CastlePoint Management Corp. and Wilmington Trust Company, an indenture, dated as of September 27, 2007, by and between CastlePoint Bermuda Holdings, Ltd. and Wilmington Trust Company, an indenture, dated as of January 25, 2007, by and between Tower Group, Inc. and Wilmington Trust Company, an indenture, dated as of May 15, 2003, by and between Tower Group, Inc. and U.S. Bank, an indenture, dated as of December 21, 2004, by and between Tower Group, Inc. and JPMorgan Chase Bank, National Association, an indenture, dated as of December 15, 2004, by and between Tower Group, Inc. and Wilmington Trust Company, an indenture, dated as of March 31, 2006, by and between Tower Group, Inc. and Wells Fargo Bank, National Association, and an indenture, dated as of May 26, 2004, by and between Preserver Group, Inc. and Wilmington Trust Company, to defer the payment of regularly scheduled interest payments on their outstanding junior subordinated debentures issued in connection with outstanding trust preferred securities. Under the terms of such indentures, the Issuers may defer interest payments for twenty consecutive quarterly periods without default or penalty. The interest on these debentures will continue to accrue.
	The merger with ACP Re is expected to close in the summer of 2014, and there are contractual termination rights available to each of Tower and ACP Re under various circumstances. There can be no assurance that the merger will close, or that it will close under the same terms and conditions contained in the ACP Re Merger Agreement, or as to when it may close.
	Dividends
	U.S. state insurance regulations restrict the ability of our insurance subsidiaries to pay dividends to Tower Group International, Ltd. as their ultimate parent (the “Holding Company”). Generally dividends may only be paid out of earned surplus, and the amount of an insurer’s surplus following payment of any dividends must be reasonable in relation to the insurer’s outstanding liabilities and adequate to meet its financial needs. As of March 31, 2014, no dividends may be paid to the Holding Company without the approval of the state regulators or BMA, as appropriate.
	Going Concern
	There can be no guarantee that the Company will be able to remedy current statutory capital deficiencies in certain of its insurance subsidiaries, maintain adequate levels of statutory capital in the future, or generate sufficient liquidity to repay the Notes due in 2014. Consequently, there is substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern. Should the Company be unable to successfully execute the merger with ACP Re or generate sufficient funds to repay the Notes and remedy the capital deficiencies, these conditions would have a material adverse effect on its business, results of operations and financial position.
	Resignation of Tower’s Chairman of the Board, President and Chief Executive Officer and Appointment of new Chairman of the Board and new President and Chief Executive Officer
	On February 6, 2014, Tower and Michael H. Lee entered into a Separation and Release Agreement in connection with the resignation of Mr. Lee from his positions as Chairman of the Board of Directors, President and Chief Executive Officer, effective as of February 6, 2014. Mr. Lee’s employment with the Company was terminated effective as of February 6, 2014. In connection with his resignation, Mr. Lee received on March 31, 2014 a severance payment of approximately $3.3 million calculated pursuant to terms of his employment agreement.
	Jan R. Van Gorder, who is the lead independent director of the Board and a member of the Board’s Audit Committee, Compensation Committee and Corporate Governance and Nominating Committee, was appointed on February 9, 2014 to succeed Mr. Lee as Chairman of the Board. William W. Fox, Jr., who had served as a member of the Board and of the Board’s Audit Committee and Corporate Governance and Nominating Committee until his resignation from the Board on December 31, 2013, succeeded Mr. Lee as President and Chief Executive Officer of Tower, effective as of February 14, 2014.
	Other
	Tower received a document request from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) dated January 13, 2014, as part of an informal inquiry (the “SEC Request”). The SEC Request asks for documents related to Tower’s financial statements, accounting policies, and analysis. Tower is cooperating with the SEC’s inquiry and has provided the requested information.
	The Company and certain of its current and former senior officers have been named as defendants in several class action lawsuits instituted against them by certain shareholders. In addition, the Company and certain of its current and former directors, along with certain other parties, have been named as defendants in a putative class action lawsuit instituted against them by another purported shareholder. See “Note 16 – Contingencies” for additional detail on such litigation.

Accounting_Policies_and_Basis_

Accounting Policies and Basis of Presentation	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2014
Accounting Policies and Basis of Presentation	'
	Note 2—Accounting Policies and Basis of Presentation
	Basis of Presentation
	The 2013 Canopius Merger Transaction (see “Note 3 – Canopius Merger Transaction” in the Notes to the consolidated financial statements in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2013 filed on May 2, 2014 (“the 2013 Form 10-K”)) was accounted for as a reverse acquisition, under which TGI was identified and treated as the accounting acquirer. As such, the Company’s 2013 unaudited consolidated financial statements include the accounts and operations of TGI and its insurance subsidiaries, managing general agencies and management companies as its historical financial statements, with the results of Tower Group International, Ltd., as accounting acquiree, being included from March 13, 2013, the effective date of the Canopius Merger Transaction. The unaudited consolidated financial statements also include the accounts of Adirondack Insurance Exchange, a New York reciprocal insurer, and New Jersey Skylands Insurance Association, a New Jersey reciprocal insurer (together, the “Reciprocal Exchanges”). The Company does not own the Reciprocal Exchanges but manages their business operations through its wholly-owned management companies.
	The unaudited consolidated financial statements included in this report have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”) for interim financial information and with the instructions to Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) Form 10-Q and Article 10 of SEC Regulation S-X. The principles for condensed interim financial information do not require the inclusion of all the information and footnotes required by GAAP for complete financial statements. Therefore, these financial statements should be read in conjunction with the Company’s consolidated financial statements as of and for the year ended December 31, 2013 and notes thereto included in the Company’s 2013 Form 10-K. The accompanying consolidated financial statements have not been audited by an independent registered public accounting firm in accordance with standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) but, in the opinion of management, such financial statements include all adjustments, consisting only of normal recurring adjustments, necessary for a fair statement of the Company’s financial position, results of operations and cash flows. All intercompany transactions have been eliminated in consolidation.
	Use of Estimates
	The preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, the disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from those estimates.
	Reclassifications
	Certain reclassifications have been made to prior year’s financial information to conform to the current year presentation.
	Accounting Pronouncements
	Accounting guidance adopted in 2014
	In March 2013, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued an Accounting Standard Codification (“ASC”) update addressing whether consolidation guidance or foreign currency guidance applies to the release of the cumulative translation adjustment into net income when a parent sells all or a part of its investment in a foreign entity or no longer holds a controlling financial interest in a subsidiary or net assets that are a business (other than a sale of in-substance real estate) within a foreign entity. The guidance also resolves the diversity in practice for the cumulative translation adjustment treatment in business combinations achieved in stages involving foreign entities.
	Under this standard, the entire amount of the cumulative translation adjustment associated with the foreign entity should be released into earnings when there has been: (i) a sale of a subsidiary or group of net assets within a foreign entity and the sale represents a complete or substantially complete liquidation of the foreign entity in which the subsidiary or the net assets had resided; (ii) a loss of a controlling financial interest in an investment in a foreign entity; or (iii) a change in accounting method from applying the equity method to an investment in a foreign entity to consolidating the foreign entity. The standard is effective for fiscal years and interim periods beginning after December 15, 2013, and will be applied prospectively. We adopted the standard effective January 1, 2014 with no material effect on our consolidated financial condition, results of operations or cash flows.
	In July 2013, the FASB clarified the applicable guidance for the presentation of an unrecognized tax benefit when a net operating loss carryforward, a similar tax loss, or a tax credit carryforward exists. An unrecognized tax benefit, or a portion of an unrecognized tax benefit, should be presented in the financial statements as a reduction to a deferred tax asset for a net operating loss carryforward, a similar tax loss, or a tax credit carryforward as long as it is available, at the reporting date under the tax law of the applicable jurisdiction, to settle any additional income taxes that would result from the disallowance of a tax position (with certain exceptions). The assessment of whether a deferred tax asset is available is based on the unrecognized tax benefit and deferred tax asset that exist at the reporting date and should be made presuming disallowance of the tax position at the reporting date. This ASC update is effective for annual and interim periods beginning after December 15, 2013, with early adoption permitted, and is to be applied prospectively to all unrecognized tax benefits that exist at the effective date. Retrospective application is permitted. We adopted the standard effective January 1, 2014 with no material effect on our consolidated financial condition, results of operations or cash flows.
	In July 2013, the FASB issued an accounting standard that permits the Federal Funds Effective Swap Rate (or Overnight Index Swap Rate) to be used as a U.S. benchmark interest rate for hedge accounting purposes in addition to U.S. Treasury rates and LIBOR. The standard also removes the prohibition on the use of differing benchmark rates when entering into similar hedging relationships. The standard became effective on a prospective basis for qualifying new or redesignated hedging relationships entered into on or after July 17, 2013 to the extent the Federal Funds Effective Swap Rate is used as a U.S. benchmark interest rate for hedge accounting purposes. The Company will apply this guidance if and when it enters into any new hedging relationships.
	Accounting guidance not yet effective
	In April 2014, the FASB issued updated guidance on reporting discontinued operations. Under this updated guidance, a discontinued operation will include a disposal of a major part of an entity’s operations and financial results such as a separate major line of business or a separate major geographical area of operations. The guidance raises the threshold to be a major operation but no longer precludes discontinued operations presentation where there is significant continuing involvement or cash flows with a disposed component of an entity. The guidance expands disclosures to include cash flows where there is significant continuing involvement with a discontinued operation and the pre-tax profit or loss of disposal transactions not reported as discontinued operations. The updated guidance is effective prospectively for years beginning on or after December 15, 2014, with early application permitted. The Company will apply this new guidance in any future disposals and the impacts, if any, on the Company’s consolidated financial condition, results of operations or cash flows will be dependent on the nature of such disposals.
	In May 2014, the FASB issued accounting guidance on the recognition of revenue from customers. The FASB notes that the core principle of the guidance is that an entity should recognize revenue to depict the transfer of promised goods or services to customers in an amount that reflects the consideration to which the entity expects to be entitled in exchange for those goods or services.
	The guidance sets out five steps an entity should undertake to fulfill the core principle of the guidance as follows:
		•	Identify the contract(s) with a customer.
		•	Identify the performance obligations in the contract.
		•	Determine the transaction price.
		•	Allocate the transaction price to the performance obligations in the contract.
		•	Recognize revenue when (or as) the entity satisfies a performance obligation.
	For a public entity, the amendments in this Update are effective for annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2016, including interim periods within that reporting period. Early application is not permitted. While the guidance specifically excludes revenues from insurance contracts, investments and financial instruments from the scope of the new guidance, the guidance will be applicable to the Company’s other forms of revenue not specifically exempted from the guidance. The Company is currently evaluating the impact this guidance will have on its consolidated financial condition, results of operations, cash flows and disclosures and is currently unable to estimate the impact of adopting this guidance.

Investment_in_Canopius_Group_L

Investment in Canopius Group Limited ("Canopius Group")	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2014
Investment in Canopius Group Limited ("Canopius Group")	'
	Note 3—Investment in Canopius Group Limited (“Canopius Group”)
	See “Note 3 – Canopius Merger Transaction” in the Notes to the consolidated financial statements in the Company’s 2013 Form 10-K for further discussion on the March 13, 2013 Canopius Merger transaction.
	On December 13, 2013, Tower closed a sale to an investment fund managed by Bregal Capital LLP (“Bregal”) of all of the shares of the capital stock of Canopius Group owned by Tower. The initial purchase price for the Canopius shares was $69.7 million (£42.5 million), which has been paid in full to Tower. In addition, if Bregal subsequently entered into a legally binding contract for the sale or other transfer of shares representing a majority of the voting power of Canopius Group within six months after the date of Tower’s sale of such stock to Bregal, a further cash payment would be made by Bregal to Tower. This additional cash payment would be equivalent to the excess, if any, of (1) one-third of the difference between the amount in British pound sterling paid for the shares previously owned by Tower in such sale and £40.6 million (plus Tower’s share of expenses of such sale), minus (2) £1.95 million (the “Additional Payment”). On May 1, 2014, NKSJ Holdings closed on its acquisition, through its insurance subsidiary Sompo Japan Insurance, Inc. of 100% of the shares of Canopius Group from Bregal. The Additional Payment meets the definition of a derivative. As of March 31, 2014 and December 31, 2013, the fair value of this derivative recorded in other assets was $7.8 million and $9.3 million, respectively. The change in fair value has been recorded in net realized losses on the statement of operations for the three months ended March 31, 2014. In May 2014, Tower received $5.8 million of the estimated $7.8 million. Tower expects to receive additional consideration in the second or third quarter of 2014, as the closing balance sheet associated with the sale transaction is completed.

Variable_Interest_Entities_VIE

Variable Interest Entities ("VIEs")	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2014
Variable Interest Entities ("VIEs")	'
	Note 4—Variable Interest Entities (“VIEs”)
	Through its management companies, Tower is the attorney-in-fact for the Reciprocal Exchanges and has the ability to direct their activities. The Reciprocal Exchanges are policyholder-owned insurance carriers organized as unincorporated associations. Each policyholder insured by the Reciprocal Exchanges shares risk with the other policyholders.
	In the event of dissolution, policyholders would share any residual unassigned surplus in the same proportion as the amount of insurance purchased but are not subject to assessment for any deficit in unassigned surplus of the Reciprocal Exchanges. Tower receives management fee income for the services provided to the Reciprocal Exchanges. The assets of the Reciprocal Exchanges can be used only to settle the obligations of the Reciprocal Exchanges and general creditors to their liabilities have no recourse to Tower as the primary beneficiary.
	In addition, Tower holds the surplus notes issued by the Reciprocal Exchanges when they were originally capitalized. The obligation to repay principal and interest on the surplus notes is subordinated to the Reciprocal Exchanges’ other liabilities including obligations to policyholders and claimants for benefits under insurance policies. Principal and interest on the surplus notes are payable only with regulatory approval. The Company has no ownership interest in the Reciprocal Exchanges.
	The Company determined that each of the Reciprocal Exchanges qualifies as a VIE and that the Company is the primary beneficiary as it has both the power to direct the activities of the Reciprocal Exchanges that most significantly impact their economic performance and the risk of economic loss through its ownership of the surplus notes. Accordingly, the Company consolidates these Reciprocal Exchanges and eliminates all intercompany balances and transactions with Tower.
	For the three months ended March 31, 2014, the Reciprocal Exchanges recognized total revenues, total expenses and net income (loss) of $49.2 million, $55.0 million and $(5.8) million, respectively. For the three months ended March 31, 2013, the Reciprocal Exchanges recognized total revenues, total expenses and net income (loss) of $47.3 million, $58.6 million and $(11.3) million, respectively.

Investments

Investments	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2014
Investments	'
	Note 5—Investments
	The cost or amortized cost and fair value of the Company’s investments in fixed maturity and equity securities, gross unrealized gains and losses, and other-than-temporary impairment losses (“OTTI”) as of March 31, 2014 and December 31, 2013 are summarized as follows:
	($ in thousands)		Cost or			Gross			Gross			Fair Value			Unrealized
			Amortized			Unrealized			Unrealized						OTTI
			Cost			Gains			Losses						Losses (1)
	March 31, 2014
	U.S. Treasury securities		$	474,654		$	723		$	(6,272	)	$	469,105		$	-
	U.S. Agency securities			107,940			1,557			(258	)		109,239			-
	Municipal bonds			255,653			10,035			(2,083	)		263,605			1
	Corporate and other bonds
	Finance			102,801			4,532			(439	)		106,894			-
	Industrial			191,901			4,585			(1,023	)		195,463			-
	Utilities			30,321			325			(736	)		29,910			(1	)
	Commercial mortgage-backed securities			100,807			6,245			(948	)		106,104			(351	)
	Residential mortgage-backed securities
	Agency backed securities			70,033			376			(681	)		69,728			-
	Non-agency backed securities			18,325			1,989			(28	)		20,286			(3	)
	Asset-backed securities			81,239			20			(192	)		81,067			-
	Total fixed-maturity securities			1,433,674			30,387			(12,660	)		1,451,401			(354	)
	Preferred stocks, principally financial sector			16,120			211			(1,192	)		15,139			-
	Common stocks, principally financial and industrial sectors			38,771			9,537			(240	)		48,068			-
	Short-term investments			2,000			-			-			2,000			-
	Total, March 31, 2014		$	1,490,565		$	40,135		$	(14,092	)	$	1,516,608		$	(354	)
	Tower		$	1,284,708		$	34,181		$	(11,911	)	$	1,306,978		$	(353	)
	Reciprocal Exchanges			205,857			5,954			(2,181	)		209,630			(1	)
	Total, March 31, 2014		$	1,490,565		$	40,135		$	(14,092	)	$	1,516,608		$	(354	)
	December 31, 2013
	U.S. Treasury securities		$	370,959		$	729		$	(7,726	)	$	363,962		$	-
	U.S. Agency securities			110,362			1,420			(561	)		111,221			-
	Municipal bonds			277,382			7,981			(6,257	)		279,106			-
	Corporate and other bonds
	Finance			148,132			9,797			(1,028	)		156,901			-
	Industrial			316,474			8,286			(3,008	)		321,752			-
	Utilities			47,838			1,341			(1,890	)		47,289			(17	)
	Commercial mortgage-backed securities			189,808			16,852			(1,754	)		204,906			(634	)
	Residential mortgage-backed securities
	Agency backed securities			63,668			891			(1,218	)		63,341			-
	Non-agency backed securities			30,228			4,659			(31	)		34,856			(13	)
	Asset-backed securities			58,783			681			(103	)		59,361			-
	Total fixed-maturity securities			1,613,634			52,637			(23,576	)		1,642,695			(664	)
	Preferred stocks, principally financial sector			21,330			54			(2,536	)		18,848			-
	Common stocks, principally industrial and financial sectors			76,378			11,432			(28	)		87,782			-
	Short-term investments			5,925			-			(28	)		5,897			-
	Total, December 31, 2013		$	1,717,267		$	64,123		$	(26,168	)	$	1,755,222		$	(664	)
	Tower		$	1,465,039		$	56,480		$	(21,369	)	$	1,500,150		$	(664	)
	Reciprocal Exchanges			252,228			7,643			(4,799	)		255,072			-
	Total, December 31, 2013		$	1,717,267		$	64,123		$	(26,168	)	$	1,755,222		$	(664	)
	-1	Represents the gross unrealized loss on other-than-temporarily impaired securities recognized in accumulated other comprehensive income (loss).
	In accordance with Lloyd’s operating guidelines, the Company deposits funds at Lloyd’s to support underwriting operations. These funds are available only to fund claims obligations. These restricted assets consisted of approximately $ 106.6 million of cash and cash equivalents as of March 31, 2014 and December 31, 2013, respectively. In addition, the Company had $203.9 million and $248.9 million of cash and cash equivalents and investments as of March 31, 2014 and December 31, 2013, respectively, held by counterparties as collateral or in trusts to support letters of credit issued on the Company’s behalf, reinsurance liabilities on certain assumed reinsurance treaties, collateral posted for certain leases and other purposes.
	The Company also deposits funds with various state and governmental authorities in the U.S. For a discussion of the Company’s deposits with state and governmental authorities, see “Note 5 – Investments” of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2013.
	Major categories of net investment income are summarized as follows:
			Three Months Ended
			March 31,
	($ in thousands)		2014			2013
	Income
	Fixed-maturity securities		$	12,577		$	20,973
	Equity securities			1,311			6,484
	Cash and cash equivalents			50			51
	Other invested assets			2,382			4,256
	Other			81			327
	Total			16,401			32,091
	Expenses
	Investment expenses			(1,043	)		(1,774	)
Net investment income		$	15,358		$	30,317
Tower			14,697			29,980
Reciprocal Exchanges			2,315			2,380
Elimination of interest on Reciprocal Exchange surplus notes			(1,654	)		(2,043	)
Net investment income		$	15,358		$	30,317
Proceeds from the sale of fixed-maturity securities were $635.1 million and $123.7 million for the three months ended March 31, 2014 and 2013, respectively. Proceeds from the sale of equity securities were $100.9 million and $375.2 million for the three months ended March 31, 2014 and 2013, respectively.
Gross realized gains, losses and impairment write-downs on investments are summarized as follows:
		Three Months Ended
		March 31,
($ in thousands)		2014			2013
Fixed-maturity securities
Gross realized gains		$	28,568		$	7,364
Gross realized losses			(1,564	)		(190	)
			27,004			7,174
Equity securities
Gross realized gains			3,318			4,236
Gross realized losses			(3,033	)		(4,813	)
			285			(577	)
Other
Gross realized gains			547			1,755
Gross realized losses			(4,666	)		(812	)
			(4,119	)		943
Net realized gains (losses) on investments			23,170			7,540
Other-than-temporary impairment losses:
Fixed-maturity securities			(907	)		(164	)
Equity securities			-			(525	)
Total other-than-temporary impairment losses recognized in earnings			(907	)		(689	)
Total net realized investment gains (losses)		$	22,263		$	6,851
Tower		$	18,800		$	6,233
Reciprocal Exchanges			3,463			618
Total net realized investment gains (losses)		$	22,263		$	6,851
Management may dispose of a particular security due to changes in facts and circumstances related to the invested asset that have arisen since the last analysis supporting management’s determination whether or not it intended to sell the security, and if not, whether it is more likely than not that the Company would be required to sell the security before recovery of its amortized cost basis.
Impairment Review
Management regularly reviews the Company’s fixed-maturity and equity portfolios to evaluate the necessity of recording impairment losses for OTTI in accordance with its impairment policy. The determination of OTTI is a subjective process and different judgments and assumptions could affect the timing of loss realization.
Management, in conjunction with its outside portfolio managers, analyzes its non-agency residential mortgage-backed securities (“RMBS”) using default loss models based on the performance of the underlying loans. Performance metrics include delinquencies, defaults, foreclosures, anticipated cash flow prepayments and cumulative losses incurred. The expected losses for a mortgage pool are compared to the break-even loss, which represents the point at which the Company’s tranche begins to experience losses.
The commercial mortgage-backed securities (“CMBS”) holdings are evaluated using analytical techniques and various metrics including the level of subordination, debt-service-coverage ratios, loan-to-value ratios, delinquencies, defaults and foreclosures.
For the non-structured fixed-maturity securities (U.S. Treasury and Agency securities, municipal bonds, and corporate debt), unrealized losses are reviewed to determine whether full recovery of principal and interest will be received. The estimate of expected cash flows is determined by projecting a recovery value and a recovery time frame and assessing whether further principal and interest will be received. The determination of recovery value incorporates an issuer valuation assumption utilizing one or a combination of valuation methods as deemed appropriate by management. The present value of the cash flows is determined by applying the effective yield of the security at the date of acquisition (or the most recent implied rate used to accrete the security if the implied rate has changed as a result of a previous impairment) and an estimated recovery time frame. For securities for which the issuer is financially troubled but not in bankruptcy, that time frame is generally longer. Included in the present value calculation are expected principal and interest payments; however, for securities for which the issuer is classified as bankrupt or in default, the present value calculation assumes no interest payments and a single recovery amount. In situations for which a present value of cash flows cannot be estimated, a write-down to fair value is recorded.
In estimating the recovery value, significant judgment is involved in the development of assumptions related to the issuer including, but not limited to, revenue, margin and earnings projections, the likely market or liquidation values of assets, potential additional debt to be incurred pre- or post- bankruptcy/restructuring, the ability to shift existing or new debt to different priority layers, the amount of restructuring/bankruptcy expenses, the size and priority of unfunded pension obligations, litigation or other contingent claims, the treatment of intercompany claims and the likely outcome with respect to inter-creditor conflicts.
The evaluation of equity securities includes management’s intent and ability to hold the security to recovery. Management will record OTTI in situations where it does not intend to hold the security to recovery or if the security is not expected to recover in value in the near term.
The following table shows the fixed-maturity and equity securities OTTI amounts for the three months ended March 31, 2014 and 2013:
		Three Months Ended
		March 31,
($ in thousands)		2014			2013
Municipal bonds		$	(672	)	$	-
Corporate and other bonds			(99	)		-
Commercial mortgage-backed securities			(364	)		(24	)
Residential mortgage-backed securities			(123	)		(140	)
Equities			-			(525	)
Other-than-temporary-impairments			(1,258	)		(689	)
Portion of loss recognized in accumulated other comprehensive income (loss)			351			-
Impairment losses recognized in earnings		$	(907	)	$	(689	)
Tower		$	(662	)	$	(689	)
Reciprocal Exchanges			(245	)		-
Impairment losses recognized in earnings		$	(907	)	$	(689	)
The following table provides a rollforward of the cumulative amounts of credit OTTI for securities held as of March 31, 2014 and 2013 showing the amounts that have been included in earnings on a pretax basis for the three months ended March 31, 2014 and 2013:
		Three Months Ended
		March 31,
($ in thousands)		2014			2013
Balance, January 1,		$	7,817		$	4,492
Additional credit losses recognized during the period, related to securities for which:
No OTTI has been previously recognized			772			164
OTTI has been previously recognized			135			-
Reductions due to:
Securities sold during the period (realized)			(1,209	)		(140	)
Balance, March 31,		$	7,515		$	4,516
Unrealized Losses
There are 313 securities at March 31, 2014, including fixed maturities and equity securities, which account for the gross unrealized loss, none of which is deemed by management to be OTTI. Temporary losses on corporate and other bonds result from purchases made in a lower yield spread environment. In addition, there have been some ratings downgrades on certain of these securities. After analyzing the credit quality, balance sheet strength and company outlook, management believes these securities will recover in value. To the extent projected cash flows on structured securities change adversely, they would be considered OTTI, and an impairment loss would be recognized in the current period. Management considered all relevant factors, including expected recoverability of cash flows, in assessing whether a loss was other-than-temporary. The gross unrealized loss position associated with the fixed-maturity portfolio was $12.7 million as of March 31, 2014, consisting primarily of municipal bonds, corporate and other bonds and U.S. Treasury securities of $10.6 million. The total fixed-maturity portfolio of gross unrealized losses included 302 securities which were, in aggregate, approximately 1.0% below amortized cost. Of the 302 fixed maturity investments identified, 37 have been in an unrealized loss position for more than 12 months. The total unrealized loss on these investments at March 31, 2014 was $2.0 million. Management does not consider these investments to be other-than-temporarily impaired.
In the equity portfolio, there were 11 securities in a loss position at March 31, 2014 totaling $1.4 million. Management evaluated the financial condition of the common stock issuers, the severity and duration of the impairment, and the Company’s ability and intent to hold to recovery. The evaluation consisted of a detailed review, including but not limited to some or all of the following factors for each security: the current S&P rating, analysts’ reports, past earnings trends and analysts’ earnings expectations for the next 12 months, liquidity, near-term financing risk, and whether the company was currently paying dividends on its equity securities. Management does not consider these investments to be other-than-temporarily impaired.
The following table presents information regarding invested assets that were in an unrealized loss position at March 31, 2014 and December 31, 2013 by amount of time in a continuous unrealized loss position:
		Less than 12 Months						12 Months or Longer						Total
($ in thousands)		Fair			Unrealized			Fair			Unrealized			Aggregate			Unrealized
		Value			Losses			Value			Losses			Fair Value			Losses
March 31, 2014
U.S. Treasury securities		$	343,335		$	(6,272	)	$	-		$	-		$	343,335		$	(6,272	)
U.S. Agency securities			51,843			(258	)		-			-			51,843			(258	)
Municipal bonds			61,758			(1,836	)		5,996			(247	)		67,754			(2,083	)
Corporate and other bonds
Finance			28,227			(425	)		345			(14	)		28,572			(439	)
Industrial			72,945			(841	)		7,078			(182	)		80,023			(1,023	)
Utilities			13,983			(149	)		7,954			(587	)		21,937			(736	)
Commercial mortgage-backed securities			12,097			(238	)		24,744			(710	)		36,841			(948	)
Residential mortgage-backed securities
Agency backed			48,130			(450	)		5,050			(231	)		53,180			(681	)
Non-agency backed			162			(28	)		-			-			162			(28	)
Asset-backed securities			71,452			(192	)		-			-			71,452			(192	)
Total fixed-maturity securities			703,932			(10,689	)		51,167			(1,971	)		755,099			(12,660	)
Preferred stocks			8,285			(1,007	)		2,219			(185	)		10,504			(1,192	)
Common stocks			6,661			(240	)		-			-			6,661			(240	)
Short-term investments			-			-			-			-			-			-
Total, March 31, 2014		$	718,878		$	(11,936	)	$	53,386		$	(2,156	)	$	772,264		$	(14,092	)
Tower		$	676,838		$	(10,995	)	$	22,062		$	(916	)	$	698,900		$	(11,911	)
Reciprocal Exchanges			42,040			(941	)		31,324			(1,240	)		73,364			(2,181	)
Total, March 31, 2014		$	718,878		$	(11,936	)	$	53,386		$	(2,156	)	$	772,264		$	(14,092	)
December 31, 2013
U.S. Treasury securities		$	273,217		$	(7,726	)	$	-		$	-		$	273,217		$	(7,726	)
U.S. Agency securities			51,808			(561	)		-			-			51,808			(561	)
Municipal bonds			109,345			(5,056	)		4,268			(1,201	)		113,613			(6,257	)
Corporate and other bonds
Finance			37,811			(1,005	)		335			(23	)		38,146			(1,028	)
Industrial			124,869			(2,550	)		10,023			(458	)		134,892			(3,008	)
Utilities			27,698			(805	)		7,292			(1,085	)		34,990			(1,890	)
Commercial mortgage-backed securities			26,469			(597	)		20,397			(1,157	)		46,866			(1,754	)
Residential mortgage-backed securities
Agency backed			37,660			(925	)		5,166			(293	)		42,826			(1,218	)
Non-agency backed			1,027			(19	)		182			(12	)		1,209			(31	)
Asset-backed securities			32,461			(103	)		-			-			32,461			(103	)
Total fixed-maturity securities			722,365			(19,347	)		47,663			(4,229	)		770,028			(23,576	)
Preferred stocks			10,538			(2,285	)		6,154			(251	)		16,692			(2,536	)
Common stocks			7,125			(28	)		-			-			7,125			(28	)
Short-term investments			3,897			(28	)		-			-			3,897			(28	)
Total, December 31, 2013		$	743,925		$	(21,688	)	$	53,817		$	(4,480	)	$	797,742		$	(26,168	)
Tower		$	663,127		$	(19,335	)	$	23,096		$	(2,034	)	$	686,223		$	(21,369	)
Reciprocal Exchanges			80,798			(2,353	)		30,721			(2,446	)		111,519			(4,799	)
Total, December 31, 2013		$	743,925		$	(21,688	)	$	53,817		$	(4,480	)	$	797,742		$	(26,168	)
Management evaluated the severity of the impairment in relation to the carrying values for the securities referred to above and considered all relevant factors in assessing whether the loss was other-than-temporary.
Fixed-Maturity Investment—Time to Maturity
The following table shows the amortized cost and fair value of the fixed-maturity portfolio by contractual time to maturity at March 31, 2014 and December 31, 2013:
		Tower						Reciprocal Exchanges						Total
($ in thousands)		Amortized			Fair Value			Amortized			Fair Value			Amortized			Fair Value
		Cost						Cost						Cost
March 31, 2014
Remaining Time to Maturity
Less than one year		$	29,834		$	30,223		$	7,762		$	7,850		$	37,596		$	38,073
One to five years			587,613			591,857			24,245			24,615			611,858			616,472
Five to ten years			338,210			342,185			64,639			65,442			402,849			407,627
More than 10 years			72,583			73,697			38,384			38,347			110,967			112,044
Mortgage and asset-backed securities			202,328			206,533			68,076			70,652			270,404			277,185
Total, March 31, 2014		$	1,230,568		$	1,244,495		$	203,106		$	206,906		$	1,433,674		$	1,451,401
December 31, 2013
Remaining Time to Maturity
Less than one year		$	33,305		$	33,727		$	7,866		$	8,021		$	41,171		$	41,748
One to five years			507,388			513,841			39,469			41,381			546,857			555,222
Five to ten years			459,070			459,251			82,003			81,515			541,073			540,766
More than 10 years			100,977			102,801			41,069			39,693			142,046			142,494
Mortgage and asset-backed securities			263,417			280,526			79,070			81,939			342,487			362,465
Total, December 31, 2013		$	1,364,157		$	1,390,146		$	249,477		$	252,549		$	1,613,634		$	1,642,695
Other Invested Assets
The following table shows the composition of the other invested assets as of March 31, 2014 and December 31, 2013:
($ in thousands)		March 31,			December 31,
		2014			2013
Limited partnerships, equity method		$	35,829		$	46,521
Real estate, amortized cost			-			6,054
Securities reported under the fair value option			18,778			43,580
Other			-			-
Total		$	54,607		$	96,155
Other invested assets reported under the fair value option include six securities, which contain embedded derivatives and other features. The significant inputs used to determine fair value are considered Level 3 pursuant to the fair value hierarchy. See “Note 6 – Fair Value Measurements” below.
As of March 31, 2014, the Company and its insurance companies had future funding commitments of $44.6 million including but not limited to the limited partnerships.

Fair_Value_Measurements

Fair Value Measurements	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2014
Fair Value Measurements	'
	Note 6—Fair Value Measurements
	GAAP establishes a three-level hierarchy that prioritizes the inputs to valuation techniques used to measure fair value. The fair value hierarchy gives the highest priority to quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities (Level 1) and the lowest priority to unobservable inputs (Level 3). If the inputs used to measure the assets or liabilities fall within different levels of the hierarchy, the classification is based on the lowest level input that is significant to the fair value measurement of the asset or liability. Classification of assets and liabilities within the hierarchy considers the markets in which the assets and liabilities are traded, including during periods of market disruption, and the reliability and transparency of the assumptions used to determine fair value. The hierarchy requires the use of observable market data when available. The levels of the hierarchy are as follows:
	Level 1 — Inputs to the valuation methodology are quoted prices (unadjusted) for identical assets or liabilities traded in active markets. Included are those equity securities that are traded on active exchanges, such as the NASDAQ Global Select Market.
	Level 2 — Inputs to the valuation methodology include quoted prices for similar assets or liabilities in active markets, quoted prices for identical or similar assets or liabilities in markets that are not active, inputs other than quoted prices that are observable for the asset or liability and market-corroborated inputs. Included are investments in U.S. Treasury and Agency securities and, together with municipal bonds, corporate debt securities, commercial mortgages, residential mortgage-backed securities and asset-backed securities. Additionally, interest-rate swap contracts utilize Level 2 inputs in deriving fair values.
	Level 3 — Inputs to the valuation methodology are unobservable in the market for the asset or liability and are significant to the fair value measurement. Material assumptions and factors considered in pricing investment securities may include projected cash flows, collateral performance including delinquencies, defaults and recoveries, and any market clearing activity or liquidity circumstances in the security or similar securities that may have occurred since the prior pricing period.
	The availability of observable inputs varies and is affected by a wide variety of factors. When the valuation is based on models or inputs that are less observable or unobservable in the market, the determination of fair value requires significantly more judgment. The degree of judgment exercised by management in determining fair value is greatest for investments categorized as Level 3. For investments in this category, management considers prices and inputs that are current as of the measurement date. In periods of market dislocation, as characterized by current market conditions, the ability to observe stable prices and inputs may be reduced for many instruments. This condition could cause a security to be reclassified between levels.
	As at March 31, 2014 and December 31, 2013, the Company’s financial instruments carried at fair value are allocated among levels as follows:
	($ in thousands)	Level 1			Level 2			Level 3			Total
	March 31, 2014
	Fixed-maturity securities
	U.S. Treasury securities	$	-		$	469,105		$	-		$	469,105
	U.S. Agency securities		-			109,239			-			109,239
	Municipal bonds		-			263,605			-			263,605
	Corporate and other bonds		-			328,841			3,426			332,267
	Commercial mortgage-backed securities		-			106,104			-			106,104
	Residential mortgage-backed securities
	Agency		-			69,728			-			69,728
	Non-agency		-			20,286			-			20,286
	Asset-backed securities		-			81,067			-			81,067
	Total fixed-maturities		-			1,447,975			3,426			1,451,401
	Equity securities		63,207			-			-			63,207
	Short-term investments		-			2,000			-			2,000
	Total investments at fair value		63,207			1,449,975			3,426			1,516,608
	Other invested assets (1)		-			-			18,778			18,778
	Other assets											-
	Additional Payment derivative		-			-			7,843			7,843
	Other liabilities											-
	Interest rate swap contracts		-			(5,408	)		-			(5,408	)
	Debt and equity securities sold, not yet purchased		-			(11,033	)		-			(11,033	)
	Total, March 31, 2014	$	63,207		$	1,433,534		$	30,047		$	1,526,788
	Tower	$	60,483		$	1,226,628		$	30,047		$	1,317,158
	Reciprocal Exchanges		2,724			206,906			-			209,630
	Total, March 31, 2014	$	63,207		$	1,433,534		$	30,047		$	1,526,788
	December 31, 2013
	Fixed-maturity securities
	U.S. Treasury securities	$	-		$	363,962		$	-		$	363,962
	U.S. Agency securities		-			111,221			-			111,221
	Municipal bonds		-			279,106			-			279,106
	Corporate and other bonds		-			522,516			3,426			525,942
	Commercial mortgage-backed securities		-			204,906			-			204,906
	Residential mortgage-backed securities		-			-			-			-
	Agency		-			63,341			-			63,341
	Non-agency		-			34,856			-			34,856
	Asset-backed securities		-			59,361			-			59,361
	Total fixed-maturities		-			1,639,269			3,426			1,642,695
	Equity securities		106,630			-			-			106,630
	Short-term investments		-			5,897			-			5,897
	Total investments at fair value		106,630			1,645,166			3,426			1,755,222
	Other invested assets (2)		-			-			43,580			43,580
	Other assets
	Additional Payment derivative		-			-			9,343			9,343
	Other liabilities
	Interest rate swap contracts		-			(6,066	)		-			(6,066	)
	Debt and equity securities sold, not yet purchased		-			(11,099	)		-			(11,099	)
	Total, December 31, 2013	$	106,630		$	1,628,001		$	56,349		$	1,790,980
	Tower	$	104,107		$	1,375,452		$	56,349		$	1,535,908
	Reciprocal Exchanges		2,523			252,549			-			255,072
	Total, December 31, 2013	$	106,630		$	1,628,001		$	56,349		$	1,790,980
	(1) $18.8 million of the $54.6 million Other invested assets reported on the consolidated balance sheet at March 31, 2014 is reported at fair value. The remaining $35.8 million of Other invested assets is reported under the equity method of accounting or at amortized cost.
	(2) $43.6 million of the $96.2 million Other invested assets reported on the consolidated balance sheet at December 31, 2013 is reported at fair value. The remaining $52.6 million of Other invested assets is reported under the equity method of accounting or at amortized cost.
	As of March 31, 2014, substantially all of the investment portfolio recorded at fair value was priced based upon quoted market prices or other observable inputs. For investments in active markets, the Company used the quoted market prices provided by the outside pricing services to determine fair value. In circumstances where quoted market prices were unavailable, the Company used fair value estimates based upon other observable inputs including matrix pricing, benchmark interest rates, market comparables and other relevant inputs. When observable inputs were adjusted to reflect management’s best estimate of fair value, such fair value measurements are considered a lower level measurement in the GAAP fair value hierarchy.
	The Company’s process to validate the market prices obtained from the outside pricing sources includes, but is not limited to, periodic evaluation of model pricing methodologies and analytical reviews of certain prices. The Company also periodically performs testing of the market to determine trading activity, or lack of trading activity, as well as market prices. Several securities sold during the quarter were “back-tested” (i.e., the sales price is compared to the previous month end reported market price to determine reasonableness of the reported market price). If management believes that the price provided from the pricing source is distressed, management will use a valuation method that reflects an orderly transaction between market participants, generally a discounted cash flow method that incorporates relevant interest rate, risk and liquidity factors.
	The ability to observe stable prices and inputs may be reduced for highly-customized and illiquid instruments which had been the case for certain non-agency residential and commercial mortgage-backed securities and asset-backed securities in previous periods.
Substantially all of the portfolio valuations at March 31, 2014, classified as Level 1 or Level 2 in the above table are determined utilizing several independent pricing services that provide a price quote for each security. There were no adjustments made to the prices obtained from the independent pricing sources and dealers on securities classified as Level 1 or Level 2.
In 2014 and 2013, there were no transfers of investments between Level 1 and Level 2 or between Level 2 and Level 3.
The fair values of the interest rate swaps were derived using an industry standard swap valuation model with market based inputs for swaps having similar characteristics.
The fair values of the debt and equity securities sold, not yet purchased were derived using quoted prices for similar securities in active markets. These instruments resulted in gross realized gains and losses of $0.2 million and $0.1 million for the three months ended March 31, 2014, respectively.
The Company holds six securities which are reported in other invested assets and have been classified as Level 3 of the fair value hierarchy. Management utilizes a discounted cash flow analysis to derive the fair values. One of the six securities is an investment in a credit linked note which matures in 2017, and whose cash flows are supported by underlying short-term loans. The significant unobservable inputs include the underlying short-term loans’ probability of default and loss severity, and a discount for the security’s lack of marketability. Increases in the probability of default and loss severity assumptions (which generally move directionally with each other) would have the effect of decreasing the fair value of this security. The Company obtains credit ratings on the underlying short-term loans quarterly and considers these ratings when updating its assumptions.
Four securities are preferred equity interests in limited partnerships that invest in leisure hotels. The preferred interests pay a stated quarterly dividend with residual equity incentives payable after the General Partner’s minimum return thresholds are met. The significant unobservable inputs include the market discount rate and the instruments’ lack of marketability. These four preferred equity interest investments are carried at fair value and are modeled quarterly using discounted market yields from similar hotel properties.
The Company has one fixed-maturity security classified as Level 3. This security, a privately placed corporate convertible bond, is valued by management using a liquidation pricing methodology.
Management is responsible for the determination of the value of the investments carried at fair value and the supporting methodologies and assumptions. Management has reviewed the pricing techniques and methodologies of the independent pricing sources and believes that their policies adequately consider market activity, either based on specific transactions for the issue valued or based on modeling of securities with similar credit quality, duration, yield and structure that were recently traded. Management monitors security-specific valuation trends and discusses material changes or the absence of expected changes with the portfolio managers to understand the underlying factors and inputs and to validate the reasonableness of pricing. Management also back-tests the prices on numerous sales of securities during the year to validate the previous pricing provided as well as utilizes other pricing sources to validate the pricing provided by the Company’s primary provider of the majority of the non-U.S. Treasury securities and non-agency securities included in Level 2.
The following table summarizes activity in Level 3 assets measured at fair value for the three months ended March 31, 2014 and 2013 for Tower (the Reciprocal Exchanges have no Level 3 assets):
	Three Months Ended March 31,
	2014												2013
($ in thousands)	Other			Fixed			Additional			Total			Other
	Invested			Maturity			Payment						Invested
	Assets			Securities  (1)			Derivative						Assets
Beginning balance, January 1	$	43,580		$	3,426		$	9,343		$	56,349		$	25,000
Total gains (losses)-realized / unrealized
Included in net income		58			-			(1,500	)		(1,442	)		-
Settlements		(24,860	)		-			-			(24,860	)		-
Ending balance, March 31,	$	18,778		$	3,426		$	7,843		$	30,047		$	25,000
(1) Comprised of corporate and other bonds

Reinsurance

Reinsurance	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2014
Reinsurance	'
	Note 7—Reinsurance
	The Company utilizes various excess of loss, quota share and catastrophe reinsurance programs to limit its exposure to a maximum loss on any one risk.
	In addition, as disclosed in “Note 1 – Nature of the Business,” as a result of the 2013 significant business developments and the execution of the ACP Re Merger Agreement, Tower had entered into two Cut-Through Reinsurance Agreements, pursuant to which a subsidiary of AmTrust and a subsidiary of NGHC agreed to provide 100% quota share reinsurance and a cut-through endorsement to cover all eligible new and renewal commercial and personal lines business, respectively, and at their option, losses incurred on or after January 1, 2014 of not less than 60% of the in-force business. Tower received confirmation on January 16, 2014 from AmTrust and NGHC that they would exercise such option to reinsure on a cut -through basis losses incurred on or after January 1, 2014 under in-force policies with respect to (1) in the case of AmTrust, 65.7% of Tower’s unearned premium reserves as of December 31, 2013 with respect to its ongoing commercial lines business, and (2) in the case of NGHC, 100% of Tower’s unearned premium reserves as of December 31, 2013 with respect to its personal lines segment business. Tower received a 20% ceding commission from AmTrust and NGHC on all Tower unearned premiums that were subject to the Cut-Through Reinsurance Agreements and a 22% ceding commission on 2014 ceded premiums.
	Impact of Reinsurance on Premiums
	The table below shows direct, assumed and ceded premiums for the three months ended March 31, 2014 and 2013:
		Three Months Ended March 31,
	($ in thousands)	Direct			Assumed			Ceded -			Ceded - Cut-			Net
								Other			Through
	2014
	Premiums written	$	281,202		$	21,459		$	67,528		$	495,778	(1)	$	(260,645	)
	Change in unearned premiums		82,946			(5,453	)		38,212			(332,908	)		372,189
	Premiums earned	$	364,148		$	16,006		$	105,740		$	162,870		$	111,544
	2013
	Premiums written	$	445,715		$	105,514		$	98,032		$	-		$	453,197
	Change in unearned premiums		(16,128	)		(44,389	)		(29,206	)		-			(31,311	)
	Premiums earned	$	429,587		$	61,125		$	68,826		$	-		$	421,886
	(1) Includes $327.7 million of unearned premiums transferred on January 1, 2014 under the Cut-Through Reinsurance Agreements.

Loss_and_Loss_Adjustment_Expen

Loss and Loss Adjustment Expense	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2014
Loss and Loss Adjustment Expense	'
	Note 8—Loss and Loss Adjustment Expense
	The following table provides a reconciliation of the beginning and ending consolidated balances for unpaid losses and loss adjustment expense (“LAE”) for the three months ended March 31, 2014 and 2013:
		Three Months Ended March 31,
		2014									2013
					Reciprocal									Reciprocal
	($ in thousands)	Tower			Exchanges			Total			Tower			Exchanges			Total
	Balance at January 1,	$	1,973,972		$	107,313		$	2,081,285		$	1,759,888		$	135,791		$	1,895,679
	Less reinsurance recoverables on unpaid losses		(555,468	)		(15,392	)		(570,860	)		(407,068	)		(52,389	)		(459,457	)
			1,418,504			91,921			1,510,425			1,352,820			83,402			1,436,222
	Net reserves, at fair value, of acquired entities		-			-			-			161,886			-			161,886
	Change in net reserves for ADC (i)		313,229			-			313,229			-			-			-
	Incurred related to:
	Current year		64,674			30,872			95,546			239,210			28,827			268,037
	Prior years unfavorable/(favorable) development		7,955			(940	)		7,015			1,124			6,571			7,695
	Total incurred		72,629			29,932			102,561			240,334			35,398			275,732
	Paid related to:
	Current year		85,130			23,403			108,533			103,324			17,721			121,045
	Prior years		149,064			12,970			162,034			171,026			707			171,733
	Total paid		234,194			36,373			270,567			274,350			18,428			292,778
	Net balance at end of period		1,570,168			85,480			1,655,648			1,480,690			100,372			1,581,062
	Add reinsurance recoverables on unpaid losses		373,614			15,025			388,639			822,634			27,554			850,188
	Balance at March 31,	$	1,943,782		$	100,505		$	2,044,287		$	2,303,324		$	127,926		$	2,431,250
	(i) In the first quarter of 2014, Tower terminated the Southport Re ADCs (see "Note 1 - Nature of the Business" for further description). The termination of the Southport Re ADCs resulted in a direct increase to net loss reserves.
	The consolidated net loss ratio, which includes the Reciprocal Exchanges, was 91.9% and 65.4% for the three months ended March 31, 2014 and 2013, respectively. Excluding the Reciprocal Exchanges, the net loss ratio was 99.9% and 63.1% for the three months ended March 31, 2014, and 2013, respectively.
	Incurred losses and LAE for the three months ended March 31, 2014 attributable to events of prior years were $7.0 million including the Reciprocal Exchanges and $8.0 million excluding the Reciprocal Exchanges.
	Prior year development is based upon numerous estimates by line of business and accident year. The Company’s management continually monitors claims activity to assess the appropriateness of carried case and incurred but not reported (“IBNR”) reserves, giving consideration to Company and industry trends.

Shareholders_Equity

Shareholders' Equity	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2014
Shareholders' Equity	'
	Note 9—Shareholders’ Equity
	Shares of Common Stock Issued
	For the three months ended March 31, 2014 and 2013, 0 and 240,293 new common shares, respectively, were issued as the result of the Company’s restricted stock grants. For the three months ended March 31, 2014 and 2013, no new common shares were issued as the result of employee stock option exercises.
	For the three months ended March 31, 2014 and 2013, 17,364 and 340,707 shares, respectively, of common stock were purchased from employees in connection with the vesting of restricted stock issued under the Company’s equity compensation plans. The shares were withheld at the direction of employees as permitted under the equity compensation plans in order to pay the expected amount of tax liability owed by the employees from the vesting of those shares. In addition, for the three months ended March 31, 2014 and 2013, 52,834 and 6,848 shares, respectively, of common stock were surrendered as a result of restricted stock forfeitures.
	Share Repurchase Program
	As part of Tower’s capital management strategy, Tower’s Board of Directors approved a $50 million share repurchase program on May 7, 2013. Purchases under this program can be made from time to time in the open market or in privately negotiated transactions in accordance with applicable laws and regulations. In the three months ended March 31, 2014 and 2013, no shares of common stock were purchased under this program.
	Dividends Declared
	On November 14, 2013, the Company announced that its Board of Directors determined that it would not declare and pay a dividend to shareholders beginning in the fourth quarter of 2013. For the three months ended March 31, 2014, no dividends were declared or paid. There can be no assurance that we will resume paying dividends in the future even if the necessary financial conditions are met and if sufficient cash is available for distribution.
	Dividends on common stock and participating unvested restricted stock of $7.2 million for the three months ended March 31, 2013 were declared and paid.

Accumulated_Other_Comprehensiv

Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income (Loss)	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2014
Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income (Loss)	'
	Note 10—Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income (Loss)
	The following table provides a summary of changes in accumulated other comprehensive income, by component, for the three months ended March 31, 2014 and 2013, with all amounts reflected net of income taxes and noncontrolling interest:
	($ in thousands)	Unrealized			Gains			Cumulative			Total
		gains (losses)			(losses) on			translation
		on available for			cash flow			adjustments
		sale securities			hedges
	Balance at December 31, 2012	$	87,412		$	(5,860	)	$	1,204		$	82,756
	Other comprehensive income before reclassifications, net of tax		906			514			(2,347	)		(927	)
	Amounts reclassified from accumulated other comprehensive income, net of tax		(4,051	)		533			-			(3,518	)
	Net current period other comprehensive income		(3,145	)		1,047			(2,347	)		(4,445	)
	Balance at March 31, 2013	$	84,267		$	(4,813	)	$	(1,143	)	$	78,311
	Balance at December 31, 2013	$	(15,528	)	$	(3,979	)	$	-		$	(19,507	)
	Other comprehensive income before reclassifications, net of tax		5,697			(425	)		-			5,272
	Amounts reclassified from accumulated other comprehensive income, net of tax		(18,816	)		853			-			(17,963	)
	Net current period other comprehensive income		(13,119	)		428			-			(12,691	)
	Balance at March 31, 2014	$	(28,647	)	$	(3,551	)	$	-		$	(32,198	)
	The following provides a summary of the items that have been reclassified from accumulated other comprehensive income to net income in their entirety during the three months ended March 31, 2014 and 2013, including the line item on the consolidated statement of operations on which the impact is reflected. Unrealized gains (losses) on available for sale securities are reclassified from accumulated other comprehensive income when a security is sold or when a non-credit impairment is recorded. Gains (losses) on cash flow hedges are reclassified from accumulated other comprehensive income when the related hedged item (subordinated debentures floating rate interest payments) are recorded in the statement of operations.
	($ in thousands)
	Accumulated other comprehensive income components	Amounts reclassified						Affected line item in the consolidated statement of
		from accumulated other						operations
		comprehensive income
		Three Months Ended March 31,
		2014			2013
	Unrealized gains (losses) on available for sale securities	$	(18,816	)	$	(6,232	)	Other net realized investment gains
			-			2,181		Income tax expense
		$	(18,816	)	$	(4,051	)	Total net of income taxes
	Gains (losses) on cash flow hedges interest rate swaps	$	853		$	820		Interest expense
			-			-287		Income tax expense
		$	853		$	533		Total net of income taxes

Debt

Debt	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2014
Debt	'
	Note 11—Debt
	The Company’s borrowings consisted of the following at March 31, 2014 and December 31, 2013:
		March 31, 2014						December 31, 2013
		Carrying			Fair			Carrying		Fair
	($ in thousands)	Value			Value			Value		Value
	Convertible senior notes	$	148,506		$	142,875		$	147,712	$	129,525
	Subordinated debentures		235,058			116,991			235,058		114,900
	Total	$	383,564		$	259,866		$	382,770	$	244,425
	The fair value of the convertible senior notes is determined utilizing recent transaction prices for these securities between third-party market participants. The fair value of the subordinated debentures is based on discounted cash flow analysis. The significant inputs used for fair value are considered Level 2 in the fair value hierarchy.
	Total interest expense incurred, including interest expense on the funds held liabilities, was $7.0 million and $7.8 million for the three months ended March 31, 2014 and 2013, respectively.
	Subordinated Debentures
	The Company and its wholly-owned subsidiaries have issued trust preferred securities through wholly-owned Delaware statutory business trusts. The trusts use the proceeds of the sale of the trust preferred securities and common securities that the Company acquired from the trusts to purchase junior subordinated debentures from the Company with terms that match the terms of the trust preferred securities. Interest on the junior subordinated debentures and the trust preferred securities is payable quarterly. In some cases, the interest rate is fixed for an initial period of five years after issuance and then floats with changes in the London Interbank Offered Rate (“LIBOR”) and in other cases the interest rate floats with LIBOR without any initial fixed-rate period. As of March 31, 2014, the Company had outstanding par of $ 235.1million relating to the subordinated debentures.
	Interest Rate Swaps
	In October 2010, the Company entered into interest rate swap contracts (the “Swaps”) with $190 million notional value to manage interest costs and cash flows associated with the floating rate subordinated debentures. The Swaps have terms of five years. The Swaps convert the subordinated debentures to rates ranging from 5.1% to 5.9%. As of March 31, 2014 and December 31, 2013, the Swaps had a fair value of $5.4 million and $6.1million in a liability position, respectively, and are reported in Other Liabilities.
	The Company has designated and accounts for the Swaps as cash flow hedges. The Swaps are considered to have no ineffectiveness and changes in their fair values are recorded in accumulated other comprehensive income (“AOCI”), net of tax. For the three months ended March 31, 2014 and 2013, $0.9 million and $0.5 million, respectively, were reclassified from AOCI to interest expense for the effects of the hedges. As of March 31, 2014, the Company had collateral on deposit with the counterparty amounting to $5.5 million pursuant to a Credit Support Annex.
	Convertible Senior Notes
	In September 2010, TGI issued $150.0 million principal amount of 5.0% convertible senior notes (“the Notes”), which mature on September 15, 2014. Interest on the Notes is payable semi-annually in arrears on March 15 and September 15 of each year, commencing March 15, 2011. The original terms of the Notes allowed Holders to convert their Notes into cash or common shares, at TGI’s option, at any time on or after March 15, 2014 or earlier under certain circumstances determined by: (i) the market price of TGI’s stock, (ii) the trading price of the Notes, or (iii) the occurrence of specified corporate transactions. Upon conversion, TGI intends to settle its obligation either entirely or partially in cash. Upon completion of the Canopius Merger Transaction, the change in control provision of the Indenture was triggered and the Holders were allowed, at their option, to convert their notes into cash or common shares of Tower Group International, Ltd. at a make-whole exchange ratio. As required by the terms of the Indenture, TGI delivered a Fundamental Company Change Notice (“Change Notice”) to the Holders on March 23, 2013. The Change Notice provided Holders the option to convert the Notes into cash or common shares of TGIL at a fundamental make-whole exchange ratio up to and including April 26, 2013. There were no bonds tendered or converted as a result of the Change Notice delivery.
	The adjusted conversion rate at March 31, 2014 is 39.7769 shares of common stock per $1,000 principal amount of the Notes (equivalent to a conversion price of $25.14 per share), subject to further adjustment upon the occurrence of certain events, including the following: if Tower issues shares of common stock as a dividend or distribution on shares of the common stock , or if Tower effects a share split or share combination; if Tower issues to all or substantially all holders of common stock any rights, options or warrants entitling them, for a period of not more than 45 calendar days after the announcement date of such issuance, to subscribe for or purchase shares of the common stock at a price per share that is less than the average of the last reported sales price of the common stock for the ten consecutive trading day period ending on the date of announcement of such issuance; if Tower distributes shares of its capital stock, other indebtedness, other assets or property of Tower or rights, options or warrants to acquire capital stock or other securities of Tower, to all or substantially all holders of capital stock; if any cash dividend or distribution is made to all or substantially all holders of the common stock, other than a regular quarterly cash dividend that does not exceed $0.110 per share; if Tower makes a payment in respect of a tender offer or exchange offer for common stock, and the cash and value of any other consideration included in the payment per share of common stock exceeds the last reported sale price of the common stock on the trading day next succeeding the last day on which the tenders or exchange may be made.
	The proceeds from the issuance of the Notes were allocated to the liability component and the embedded conversion option, or equity component. The equity component was reported as an adjustment to paid-in-capital, net of tax, and is reflected as an original issue discount (“OID”). After considering the contractual interest payments and amortization of the original issue discount, the Notes’ effective interest rate is 7.2%. Transaction costs of $0.4 million associated with the equity component were netted with the equity component in paid-in-capital. Interest expense, including amortization of deferred origination costs, recognized on the Notes was $3.0 million for the three months ended March 31, 2014.
	The following table shows the amounts recorded for the Notes as of March 31, 2014 and December 31, 2013:
		March 31,			December 31,
	($ in thousands)	2014			2013
	Liability component
	Outstanding principal	$	150,000		$	150,000
	Unamortized OID		(1,494	)		(2,288	)
	Liability component		148,506			147,712
	Equity component, net of tax	$	7,469		$	7,469
	To the extent the market value per share of the Company’s common stock exceeds the conversion price, the Company will use the “treasury stock” method in calculating the dilutive effect on earnings per share.
	Convertible Senior Notes Hedge and Warrant Transactions
	In connection with the offering of the Notes, TGI also entered into convertible senior notes hedge transactions (the “Note Hedges” or “purchased call options”) and warrant transactions (the “Warrants”) with respect to its common stock with financial institutions. The Note Hedges and Warrants were intended generally to reduce the potential dilution of TGI’s common stock and to offset potential cash payments in excess of the principal of the Notes upon conversion. The Note Hedges and Warrants were separate transactions, entered into by TGI with the financial institutions, and were not part of the terms of the Notes.
	In March 2013, as a result of the Canopius Merger Transaction, TGI terminated the Note Hedges and Warrants. The Company received $2.4 million and paid $1.0 million to terminate the Note Hedges and Warrants, respectively. The effects of the terminations and an associated tax adjustment of $0.8 million were recorded directly to paid-in-capital in shareholders’ equity.

Stock_Based_Compensation

Stock Based Compensation	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2014
Stock Based Compensation	'
	Note 12—Stock Based Compensation
	2008 Long-Term Equity Compensation Plan (“2008 LTEP”)
	In 2008, the Company’s Board of Directors adopted and its shareholders approved the 2008 LTEP, which amended and revised the 2004 Long-Term Equity Compensation Plan.
	The 2008 LTEP provides for the granting of non-qualified stock options, incentive stock options (within the meaning of Section 422 of the Internal Revenue Code), stock appreciation rights (“SARs”), restricted stock and restricted stock unit awards, performance shares and other cash or share-based awards. The maximum amount of share-based awards authorized is 2,325,446 of which 126,275 are available for future grants as of March 31, 2014.
	2013 Long-Term Incentive Plan (“2013 LTIP”)
	The Compensation Committee of the Board of Directors established, beginning in 2013 a new Long Term Incentive Plan (the “2013 LTIP”), to replace the Company’s existing 2008 LTEP. The 2013 LTIP was approved by the shareholders in May 2013. The maximum amount of share-based awards authorized is 2,150,000 of which 2,147,531 are available for future grants as of March 31, 2014.
	Restricted Stock
	The following table provides an analysis of restricted stock activity for the three months ended March 31, 2014 and 2013 (historical share counts and fair values have been adjusted for the 1.1330 share conversion ratio, as discussed more fully in “Note 3 – Canopius Merger Transaction” in the 2013 Form 10-K):
		Three Months Ended March 31,
		2014					2013
					Weighted					Weighted
					Average					Average
		Number of			Grant Date		Number of			Grant Date
		Shares			Fair Value		Shares			Fair Value
	Outstanding, January 1		235,586		$	17.98		1,015,902		$	20.19
	Granted		-			-		240,293			18.08
	Vested		(42,670	)		18.07		(950,773	)		20.44
	Forfeitures		(52,834	)		18.12		(6,848	)		20.51
	Outstanding, March 31,		140,082		$	17.89		298,574		$	17.67
	On March 13, 2013, 525,548 shares vested as a result of the Canopius Merger Transaction.
	Stock Options
	The following table provides an analysis of stock option activity for the three months ended March 31, 2014 and 2013 (historical share counts and fair values have been adjusted for the 1.1330 share conversion ratio, as discussed more fully in “Note 3 – Canopius Merger Transaction” in the 2013 Form 10-K):
		Three Months Ended March 31,
		2014					2013
					Average					Average
		Number of			Exercise		Number of			Exercise
		Shares			Price		Shares			Price
	Outstanding, January 1		955,804		$	17.75		969,307		$	17.78
	Exercised		-			-		-			-
	Forfeitures and expirations		(691,162	)		17		-			-
	Outstanding, March 31		264,642		$	19.73		969,307		$	17.78
	Exercisable, March 31		264,642		$	19.73		969,307		$	17.78
	Stock Based Compensation Expense
	The following table provides an analysis of stock based compensation expense for the three months ended March 31, 2014 and 2013:
		Three Months Ended
		March 31,
	($ in thousands)	2014			2013
	Restricted stock
	Expense, net of tax	$	8		$	7,982
	Value of shares vested		959			9,485
	Value of unvested shares		378			5,509
	Stock options
	Intrinsic value of outstanding options		-			1,149
	Intrinsic value of vested outstanding options		-			1,149
	Unrecognized compensation expense
	Unvested restricted stock, net of tax		414			5,509
	Weighted average years over which expense will be recognized (in years)		2.9			3.9

Income_Taxes

Income Taxes	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2014
Income Taxes	'
	Note 13—Income Taxes
	Under current Bermuda Law the Company is not required to pay any taxes on Bermuda based income or capital gains. The Company has received an undertaking from the Minister of Finance in Bermuda that in the event of such taxes being imposed, the Company will be exempted from taxation until the year 2035 pursuant to the Bermuda Exempted Undertakings Tax Protection Act of 1966. The Company’s United States-based subsidiaries are subject to federal, state and local taxes, as applicable, on income and capital gains earned by those subsidiaries.
	The Company and TRL, its Bermuda reinsurance subsidiary, are deemed to have permanent establishments in Bermuda. The Bermuda companies have not and do not expect to conduct business that is through a permanent establishment in the U.S. All transactions between Tower’s U.S.-based subsidiaries and the Bermuda companies are subject to transfer pricing rules. The Company has executed certain reinsurance treaties and service agreements between its U.S.-based subsidiaries and TRL and management believes these arrangements to be conducted at current market rates and in accordance with transfer pricing rules.
	During the three months ended March 31, 2014, Tower’s U.S. taxed subsidiaries (excluding the Reciprocal Exchanges) recognized pre-tax losses of approximately $(23.0) million. This resulted in $187.7 million of net operating loss carryforwards in the deferred tax inventory and a net deferred tax asset, before any valuation allowance, of $277.7 million (excluding the Reciprocal Exchanges) as of March 31, 2014. Including the Reciprocal Exchanges, the net deferred tax asset, before any valuation allowance, was $277.8 million.
	At March 31, 2014, a full valuation allowance was recorded against the deferred tax assets. For the three months ended March 31, 2014, $5.2 million of the valuation allowance was recorded in income tax expense (benefit) in the statement of operations.
	In 2013, management in its judgment concluded that a full valuation allowance was required for Tower’s U.S. taxed subsidiaries after its consideration of the cumulative three-year pre-tax loss in its U.S. taxed subsidiaries resulting from the 2013 and 2012 pre-tax losses. Management believed that the negative evidence associated with the realizability of its net deferred tax asset, including a cumulative three-year pre-tax loss outweighed the positive evidence that the deferred tax assets, including the net operating loss carryforward, would be realized, and recorded the full valuation allowance.
	The Company’s effective tax rate of (1.9)% for the three months ended March 31, 2014 reflects the recording of the full valuation allowance in the three months ended March 31, 2014. In the first quarter of 2013, Tower calculated an estimated annual effective tax rate on its U.S. taxed subsidiaries that differed from the U.S. statutory rate due to costs associated with tax exempt interest and dividends received deductions.

Earnings_Loss_per_Share

Earnings (Loss) per Share	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2014
Earnings (Loss) per Share	'
	Note 14—Earnings (Loss) per Share
	Undistributed net earnings (net income less dividends declared during the period) are allocated to both common stock and unvested share-based payment awards (“unvested restricted stock”). Because the common shareholders and unvested restricted stock holders share in dividends on a 1:1 basis, the earnings per share on undistributed earnings is equivalent, however, undistributed losses are allocated only to common stock holders. Undistributed earnings are allocated to all outstanding share-based payment awards, including those for which the requisite service period is not expected to be rendered.
	The following table shows the computation of the earnings per share:
		Three Months Ended
		March 31,
	(in thousands, except per share amounts)	2014			2013
	Numerator
	Net income (loss) attributable to Tower Group International, Ltd.	$	(46,478	)	$	12,917
	Less: Allocation of income for unvested participating restricted stock		-			(37	)
	Less: Dividends on unvested participating restricted stock		-			(166	)
	Net income (loss) available to common shareholders - Basic		(46,478	)		12,714
	Reallocation of income for unvested participating restricted stock		-			-
	Net income (loss) available to common shareholders - Diluted		(46,478	)		12,714
	Denominator
	Basic earnings per share denominator		57,150			45,614
	Effect of dilutive securities:		-			74
	Diluted earnings per share denominator		57,150			45,688
	Earnings (loss) per share attributable to Tower Group International, Ltd. - Basic
	Common stock:
	Distributed earnings	$	-		$	0.17
	Undistributed earnings		(0.81	)		0.11
	Total - basic		(0.81	)		0.28
	Earnings (loss) per share attributable to Tower Group International, Ltd. - Diluted	$	(0.81	)	$	0.28
	The computation of diluted earnings (loss) per share excludes outstanding options and other common stock equivalents in periods where inclusion of such potential common stock instruments would be anti-dilutive. For the three months ended March 31, 2014, 268,100 options to purchase Company shares were excluded from the computation of diluted earnings (loss) per share because the exercise price of the options was greater than the average market price. For the three months ended March 31, 2013, 190,500 options to purchase Company shares were excluded from the computation of diluted earnings (loss) per share because the exercise price of the options was greater than the average market price.

Segment_Information

Segment Information	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2014
Segment Information	'
	Note 15—Segment Information
	The accounting policies of the segments are the same as those described in TGIL’s summary of significant accounting policies in the Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2013.
	As disclosed in “Note 1 – Nature of Business”, in the third quarter of 2013, the Company revised its business segments to present Commercial Insurance, Assumed Reinsurance and Personal Insurance segments. The Company has restated prior period segments to be consistent with the current presentation.
	Segment performance is evaluated based on segment profit, which excludes investment income, realized gains and losses, interest expense, income taxes, goodwill and fixed asset impairments and corporate expenses. The Company’s assets and liabilities are not allocated to segments because they are considered in total by management for decision-making purposes.
	The Personal Insurance segment, which includes the Reciprocal Exchanges and the management companies, reports the management fees earned by Tower from the Reciprocal Exchanges for underwriting, investment management and other services as a reduction to other underwriting expenses. The effects of these management fees between Tower and the Reciprocal Exchanges are eliminated in consolidation to derive consolidated net income. However, the management fee income is reported in net income attributable to Tower Group International, Ltd. and included in basic and diluted earnings (loss) per share.
	Business segment results are as follows:
		Three Months Ended
		March 31,
	($ in thousands)	2014			2013
	Commercial Insurance Segment
	Revenues
	Premiums earned	$	55,773		$	258,419
	Ceding commission revenue		2,379			449
	Policy billing fees		1,276			1,370
	Total revenues		59,428			260,238
	Expenses
	Loss and loss adjustment expenses		63,971			177,003
	Underwriting expenses		51,021			92,284
	Total expenses		114,992			269,287
	Underwriting profit (loss)	$	(55,564	)	$	(9,049	)
	Assumed Reinsurance Segment
	Revenues
	Premiums earned	$	16,033		$	49,365
	Ceding commission revenue		-			-
	Total revenues		16,033			49,365
	Expenses
	Loss and loss adjustment expenses		2,408			19,360
	Underwriting expenses		872			17,793
	Total expenses		3,280			37,153
	Underwriting profit (loss)	$	12,753		$	12,212
	Personal Insurance Segment
	Revenues
	Premiums earned	$	39,738		$	114,102
	Ceding commission revenue		8,423			4,990
	Policy billing fees		1,400			1,780
	Total revenues		49,561			120,872
	Expenses
	Loss and loss adjustment expenses		36,182			79,369
	Underwriting expenses		39,579			52,112
	Total expenses		75,761			131,481
	Underwriting profit (loss)	$	(26,200	)	$	(10,609	)
	Tower	$	(16,284	)	$	2,018
	Reciprocal Exchanges		(9,916	)		(12,627	)
	Total underwriting profit (loss)	$	(26,200	)	$	(10,609	)
	The following table reconciles revenue by segment to consolidated revenues:
		Three Months Ended
		March 31,
	($ in thousands)	2014			2013
	Commercial Insurance segment	$	59,428		$	260,238
	Assumed Reinsurance segment		16,033			49,365
	Personal Insurance segment		49,561			120,872
	Total segment revenues		125,022			430,475
	Net investment income		15,358			30,317
	Net realized gains (losses) on investments, including other-than-temporary impairments		22,263			6,851
	Insurance services revenue		565			128
	Consolidated revenues	$	163,208		$	467,771
	The following table reconciles the results of the Company's individual segments to consolidated income before income taxes:
		Three Months Ended
		March 31,
	($ in thousands)	2014			2013
	Commercial Insurance segment underwriting profit (loss)	$	(55,564	)	$	(9,049	)
	Assumed Reinsurance segment underwriting profit (loss)		12,753			12,212
	Personal Insurance segment underwriting profit (loss)		(26,200	)		(10,609	)
Net investment income		15,358			30,317
Net realized gains on investments, including other-than-temporary impairments		22,263			6,851
Corporate and other		(11,889	)		(2,940	)
Acquisition-related transaction costs		(646	)		(19,056	)
Interest expense		(7,010	)		(7,808	)
Equity income in unconsolidated affiliate		-			128
Income before income taxes	$	(50,935	)	$	46

Contingencies

Contingencies	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2014
Contingencies	'
	Note 16—Contingencies
	Legal Proceedings
	On August 20, 2013, Robert P. Lang, a purported shareholder of Tower Group International Ltd. (“Tower”), filed a purported class action complaint (the “Lang Complaint”) against Tower and certain of its current and former officers in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. The Lang Complaint purports to be asserted on behalf of a class of persons who purchased Tower stock between July 30, 2012 and August 8, 2013. The Lang Complaint alleges that Tower and certain of its current and former officers violated federal securities laws and seeks unspecified damages. On September 3, 2013, a second purported shareholder class action complaint was filed by Dennis Feighay, another purported Tower shareholder, containing similar allegations to those set forth in the Lang Complaint (the “Feighay Complaint”). The Feighay Complaint purports to be asserted on behalf of a class of persons who purchased Tower stock between May 9, 2011 and August 7, 2013. On October 4, 2013, a third complaint was filed by Sanju Sharma (the “Sharma Complaint”). The Sharma Complaint names as defendants Tower and certain of its current and former officers, and purports to be asserted on behalf of a plaintiff class who purchased Tower stock between May 10, 2011 and September 17, 2013. On October 18, 2013, an amended complaint was filed in the Sharma case (the “Sharma Amended Complaint”). The Sharma Amended Complaint alleges additional false and misleading statements, and purports to be asserted on behalf of a plaintiff class who purchased Tower stock between March 1, 2011 and October 7, 2013. On October 21, 2013, a number of motions were filed seeking to consolidate the shareholder class actions into one matter and for appointment of a lead plaintiff. On June 17, 2014, the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York issued an order consolidating the Lang, Feighay, and Sharma actions (hereinafter the “Consolidated Securities Action”) and appointing Adar Enhanced Investment Fund, Ltd. and Adar Investment Fund, Ltd. (the “Adar Funds”) and Jacksonville Police and Fire Pension Fund, Oklahoma Firefighters Pension and Retirement System, and the Kansas City, Missouri Employees’ Retirement System (the “Public Pension Funds”) as co-lead plaintiffs in the Consolidated Securities Action and Bernstein Liebhard LLP, Saxena White P.A., and Bernstein Litowitz Berger & Grossmann LLP as co-lead counsel. The Company believes that it is not probable that the Consolidated Securities Action will result in a loss, and if it would result in a loss, that the amount of any such loss cannot reasonably be estimated.
	On October 18, 2013, Cinium Financial Services Corporation (“Cinium”) and certain other affiliated parties (collectively, “Plaintiffs”) commenced an action against, among others, Tower, CastlePoint Insurance Company (“CastlePoint”), an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Tower, and certain officers of Tower (the “New York Action”) in New York State Supreme Court. CastlePoint is a party to a Securityholders’ Agreement, dated as of June 14, 2012 (the “Securityholders’ Agreement”), among certain parties including Plaintiffs, and is also the holder of a senior note issued by Cinium dated May 15, 2012 that is convertible into shares of Cinium common stock (the “Senior Note”). On October 29, 2013, Plaintiffs filed a complaint which revised their initial pleading (the “Complaint”). Plaintiffs seek, among other things, (i) a declaratory judgment that CastlePoint has no right to exercise any control over Cinium under the Securityholders’ Agreement or to convert the Senior Note without prior regulatory approval; (ii) rescission of the Senior Note and Securityholders’ Agreement based on alleged fraudulent misrepresentations by Tower at the time these agreements were entered into; and (iii) damages of $150 million for alleged breach of fiduciary duties to Cinium and its shareholders by certain directors, and for alleged lender liability and fraudulent misrepresentation by the Company.
	On April 22, 2014, counsel for Plaintiffs notified counsel for defendants of its intent to file a stipulation of discontinuance without prejudice of the New York Action within thirty days. On June 2, 2014, counsel for Plaintiffs filed a notice of discontinuance without prejudice against all defendants in the New York Action.
	Tower received a document request from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) dated January 13, 2014, as part of an informal inquiry (the “SEC Request”). The SEC Request asks for documents related to Tower’s financial statements, accounting policies, and analysis. Tower is cooperating with the SEC’s inquiry and has provided the requested information.
	On January 14, 2014, Derek Wilson, a purported shareholder of Tower, filed a purported class action complaint (the “Wilson Complaint”) against Tower, certain of its current and former directors, ACP Re Ltd. (“ACP Re”), London Acquisition Company Limited (“Merger Sub”), and AmTrust Financial Services, Inc. (“AmTrust”) in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. The Wilson Complaint alleges that the members of the Company’s Board of Directors breached their fiduciary duties owed to the shareholders of Tower under Bermuda law by approving Tower’s entry into the ACP Re Merger Agreement and failing to take steps to maximize the value of Tower to its public shareholders, and that Tower, ACP Re, Merger Sub, and AmTrust aided and abetted such breaches of fiduciary duties. The Wilson Complaint also alleges, among other things, that the proposed transaction undervalues Tower, that the process leading up to the ACP Re Merger Agreement was flawed, and that certain provisions of the ACP Re Merger Agreement improperly favor ACP Re and discourage competing offers for the Company. The Wilson Complaint further alleges oppressive conduct by the directors against Tower’s shareholders in violation of Bermuda law. The Wilson Complaint seeks, among other things, declaratory and injunctive relief concerning the alleged fiduciary breaches, injunctive relief prohibiting the defendants from consummating the proposed transaction, rescission of the ACP Re Merger Agreement to the extent already implemented, and other forms of equitable relief. On February 27, 2014, the same purported shareholder filed an amended complaint alleging, in addition, that the Company and the directors disseminated a materially false and misleading preliminary proxy statement regarding the ACP Re Merger Agreement in violation of Sections 14(a) and 20(a) of the Exchange Act and Rule 14a-9 promulgated thereunder (the “Wilson Amended Complaint”).
	On March 3, 2014, another purported shareholder filed a purported class action complaint against the Company, certain of its current and former officers and directors, ACP Re, Merger Sub, and AmTrust, also in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (the “Raul Complaint”). The Raul Complaint alleges that the defendants disseminated a materially false and misleading preliminary proxy statement regarding the ACP Re Merger Agreement in violation of sections 14(a) and 20(a) of the Exchange Act and Rule 14a-9.
	On May 12, 2014, the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York issued an order consolidating the Wilson and Raul actions (hereinafter the “Consolidated Federal Action”). On May 22, 2014, the Court issued an order appointing Wilson and George Strum, another purported shareholder of the Company, as co-lead plaintiffs in the Consolidated Federal Action and appointing Robbins Arroyo LLP and WeissLaw LLP as co-lead counsel.
	On March 24, 2014, two purported shareholders of the Company filed a purported class action and shareholder derivative complaint against the Company, certain of its current and former officers and directors, and Tower Group, Inc., in the Supreme Court of the State of New York, County of New York (the “Bekkerman Complaint” and, together with the Wilson Amended Complaint and the Raul Complaint, the “Merger Complaints”). The Bekkerman Complaint alleges, among other things, that the members of the Company’s board of directors breached their fiduciary duties owed to the shareholders of the Company by failing to exercise appropriate oversight over the conduct of the Company’s business, awarding Michael Lee excessive compensation, approving the Company’s entry into the ACP Re Merger Agreement, failing to take steps to maximize the value of the Company to its public shareholders, and misrepresenting or omitting material information in connection with the proposed transaction, and that the Company and Tower Group, Inc. aided and abetted such breaches of fiduciary duties. The Bekkerman Complaint also alleges, among other things, that Lee was unjustly enriched as a result of the compensation he received while allegedly breaching his fiduciary duties and by selling stock while in the possession of material, adverse, non-public information. The Bekkerman Complaint seeks, among other things, an award of money damages, declaratory and injunctive relief concerning the alleged fiduciary breaches, injunctive relief prohibiting the defendants from consummating the proposed transaction, rescission of the ACP Re Merger Agreement to the extent already implemented, and other forms of equitable relief. On May 16, 2014, the defendants removed the Bekkerman action to the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, and requested that it be designated as related to the Consolidated Federal Action. On June 3, 2014, the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York accepted the designation of the Bekkerman Complaint as related to the Consolidated Federal Action.
	The Company believes that it is not probable that the Merger Complaints will result in a loss, and if they would result in a loss, that the amount of any such loss cannot reasonably be estimated.
	From time to time, the Company is involved in other various legal proceedings in the ordinary course of business. The Company does not believe that the resolution of any currently pending legal proceedings, either individually or taken as a whole, will have a material adverse effect on its business, results of operations or financial condition.

Accounting_Policies_and_Basis_1

Accounting Policies and Basis of Presentation (Policies)	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2014
Basis of Presentation	'
	Basis of Presentation
	The 2013 Canopius Merger Transaction (see “Note 3 – Canopius Merger Transaction” in the Notes to the consolidated financial statements in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2013 filed on May 2, 2014 (“the 2013 Form 10-K”)) was accounted for as a reverse acquisition, under which TGI was identified and treated as the accounting acquirer. As such, the Company’s 2013 unaudited consolidated financial statements include the accounts and operations of TGI and its insurance subsidiaries, managing general agencies and management companies as its historical financial statements, with the results of Tower Group International, Ltd., as accounting acquiree, being included from March 13, 2013, the effective date of the Canopius Merger Transaction. The unaudited consolidated financial statements also include the accounts of Adirondack Insurance Exchange, a New York reciprocal insurer, and New Jersey Skylands Insurance Association, a New Jersey reciprocal insurer (together, the “Reciprocal Exchanges”). The Company does not own the Reciprocal Exchanges but manages their business operations through its wholly-owned management companies.
	The unaudited consolidated financial statements included in this report have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”) for interim financial information and with the instructions to Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) Form 10-Q and Article 10 of SEC Regulation S-X. The principles for condensed interim financial information do not require the inclusion of all the information and footnotes required by GAAP for complete financial statements. Therefore, these financial statements should be read in conjunction with the Company’s consolidated financial statements as of and for the year ended December 31, 2013 and notes thereto included in the Company’s 2013 Form 10-K. The accompanying consolidated financial statements have not been audited by an independent registered public accounting firm in accordance with standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) but, in the opinion of management, such financial statements include all adjustments, consisting only of normal recurring adjustments, necessary for a fair statement of the Company’s financial position, results of operations and cash flows. All intercompany transactions have been eliminated in consolidation.
Use of Estimates	'
	Use of Estimates
	The preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, the disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from those estimates.
Reclassifications	'
	Reclassifications
	Certain reclassifications have been made to prior year’s financial information to conform to the current year presentation.
Accounting Pronouncements	'
	Accounting Pronouncements
	Accounting guidance adopted in 2014
	In March 2013, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued an Accounting Standard Codification (“ASC”) update addressing whether consolidation guidance or foreign currency guidance applies to the release of the cumulative translation adjustment into net income when a parent sells all or a part of its investment in a foreign entity or no longer holds a controlling financial interest in a subsidiary or net assets that are a business (other than a sale of in-substance real estate) within a foreign entity. The guidance also resolves the diversity in practice for the cumulative translation adjustment treatment in business combinations achieved in stages involving foreign entities.
	Under this standard, the entire amount of the cumulative translation adjustment associated with the foreign entity should be released into earnings when there has been: (i) a sale of a subsidiary or group of net assets within a foreign entity and the sale represents a complete or substantially complete liquidation of the foreign entity in which the subsidiary or the net assets had resided; (ii) a loss of a controlling financial interest in an investment in a foreign entity; or (iii) a change in accounting method from applying the equity method to an investment in a foreign entity to consolidating the foreign entity. The standard is effective for fiscal years and interim periods beginning after December 15, 2013, and will be applied prospectively. We adopted the standard effective January 1, 2014 with no material effect on our consolidated financial condition, results of operations or cash flows.
	In July 2013, the FASB clarified the applicable guidance for the presentation of an unrecognized tax benefit when a net operating loss carryforward, a similar tax loss, or a tax credit carryforward exists. An unrecognized tax benefit, or a portion of an unrecognized tax benefit, should be presented in the financial statements as a reduction to a deferred tax asset for a net operating loss carryforward, a similar tax loss, or a tax credit carryforward as long as it is available, at the reporting date under the tax law of the applicable jurisdiction, to settle any additional income taxes that would result from the disallowance of a tax position (with certain exceptions). The assessment of whether a deferred tax asset is available is based on the unrecognized tax benefit and deferred tax asset that exist at the reporting date and should be made presuming disallowance of the tax position at the reporting date. This ASC update is effective for annual and interim periods beginning after December 15, 2013, with early adoption permitted, and is to be applied prospectively to all unrecognized tax benefits that exist at the effective date. Retrospective application is permitted. We adopted the standard effective January 1, 2014 with no material effect on our consolidated financial condition, results of operations or cash flows.
	In July 2013, the FASB issued an accounting standard that permits the Federal Funds Effective Swap Rate (or Overnight Index Swap Rate) to be used as a U.S. benchmark interest rate for hedge accounting purposes in addition to U.S. Treasury rates and LIBOR. The standard also removes the prohibition on the use of differing benchmark rates when entering into similar hedging relationships. The standard became effective on a prospective basis for qualifying new or redesignated hedging relationships entered into on or after July 17, 2013 to the extent the Federal Funds Effective Swap Rate is used as a U.S. benchmark interest rate for hedge accounting purposes. The Company will apply this guidance if and when it enters into any new hedging relationships.
	Accounting guidance not yet effective
	In April 2014, the FASB issued updated guidance on reporting discontinued operations. Under this updated guidance, a discontinued operation will include a disposal of a major part of an entity’s operations and financial results such as a separate major line of business or a separate major geographical area of operations. The guidance raises the threshold to be a major operation but no longer precludes discontinued operations presentation where there is significant continuing involvement or cash flows with a disposed component of an entity. The guidance expands disclosures to include cash flows where there is significant continuing involvement with a discontinued operation and the pre-tax profit or loss of disposal transactions not reported as discontinued operations. The updated guidance is effective prospectively for years beginning on or after December 15, 2014, with early application permitted. The Company will apply this new guidance in any future disposals and the impacts, if any, on the Company’s consolidated financial condition, results of operations or cash flows will be dependent on the nature of such disposals.
	In May 2014, the FASB issued accounting guidance on the recognition of revenue from customers. The FASB notes that the core principle of the guidance is that an entity should recognize revenue to depict the transfer of promised goods or services to customers in an amount that reflects the consideration to which the entity expects to be entitled in exchange for those goods or services.
	The guidance sets out five steps an entity should undertake to fulfill the core principle of the guidance as follows:
		•	Identify the contract(s) with a customer.
		•	Identify the performance obligations in the contract.
		•	Determine the transaction price.
		•	Allocate the transaction price to the performance obligations in the contract.
		•	Recognize revenue when (or as) the entity satisfies a performance obligation.
	For a public entity, the amendments in this Update are effective for annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2016, including interim periods within that reporting period. Early application is not permitted. While the guidance specifically excludes revenues from insurance contracts, investments and financial instruments from the scope of the new guidance, the guidance will be applicable to the Company’s other forms of revenue not specifically exempted from the guidance. The Company is currently evaluating the impact this guidance will have on its consolidated financial condition, results of operations, cash flows and disclosures and is currently unable to estimate the impact of adopting this guidance.

Investments_Tables

Investments (Tables)	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2014
Summary of Cost or Amortized Cost and Fair Value of Investments in Fixed Maturity and Equity Securities, Gross Unrealized Gains and Losses, and Other-Than-Temporary Impairment Losses	'
	The cost or amortized cost and fair value of the Company’s investments in fixed maturity and equity securities, gross unrealized gains and losses, and other-than-temporary impairment losses (“OTTI”) as of March 31, 2014 and December 31, 2013 are summarized as follows:
	($ in thousands)		Cost or			Gross			Gross			Fair Value			Unrealized
			Amortized			Unrealized			Unrealized						OTTI
			Cost			Gains			Losses						Losses (1)
	March 31, 2014
	U.S. Treasury securities		$	474,654		$	723		$	(6,272	)	$	469,105		$	-
	U.S. Agency securities			107,940			1,557			(258	)		109,239			-
	Municipal bonds			255,653			10,035			(2,083	)		263,605			1
	Corporate and other bonds
	Finance			102,801			4,532			(439	)		106,894			-
	Industrial			191,901			4,585			(1,023	)		195,463			-
	Utilities			30,321			325			(736	)		29,910			(1	)
	Commercial mortgage-backed securities			100,807			6,245			(948	)		106,104			(351	)
	Residential mortgage-backed securities
	Agency backed securities			70,033			376			(681	)		69,728			-
	Non-agency backed securities			18,325			1,989			(28	)		20,286			(3	)
	Asset-backed securities			81,239			20			(192	)		81,067			-
	Total fixed-maturity securities			1,433,674			30,387			(12,660	)		1,451,401			(354	)
	Preferred stocks, principally financial sector			16,120			211			(1,192	)		15,139			-
	Common stocks, principally financial and industrial sectors			38,771			9,537			(240	)		48,068			-
	Short-term investments			2,000			-			-			2,000			-
	Total, March 31, 2014		$	1,490,565		$	40,135		$	(14,092	)	$	1,516,608		$	(354	)
	Tower		$	1,284,708		$	34,181		$	(11,911	)	$	1,306,978		$	(353	)
	Reciprocal Exchanges			205,857			5,954			(2,181	)		209,630			(1	)
	Total, March 31, 2014		$	1,490,565		$	40,135		$	(14,092	)	$	1,516,608		$	(354	)
	December 31, 2013
	U.S. Treasury securities		$	370,959		$	729		$	(7,726	)	$	363,962		$	-
	U.S. Agency securities			110,362			1,420			(561	)		111,221			-
	Municipal bonds			277,382			7,981			(6,257	)		279,106			-
	Corporate and other bonds
	Finance			148,132			9,797			(1,028	)		156,901			-
	Industrial			316,474			8,286			(3,008	)		321,752			-
	Utilities			47,838			1,341			(1,890	)		47,289			(17	)
	Commercial mortgage-backed securities			189,808			16,852			(1,754	)		204,906			(634	)
	Residential mortgage-backed securities
	Agency backed securities			63,668			891			(1,218	)		63,341			-
	Non-agency backed securities			30,228			4,659			(31	)		34,856			(13	)
	Asset-backed securities			58,783			681			(103	)		59,361			-
	Total fixed-maturity securities			1,613,634			52,637			(23,576	)		1,642,695			(664	)
	Preferred stocks, principally financial sector			21,330			54			(2,536	)		18,848			-
	Common stocks, principally industrial and financial sectors			76,378			11,432			(28	)		87,782			-
	Short-term investments			5,925			-			(28	)		5,897			-
	Total, December 31, 2013		$	1,717,267		$	64,123		$	(26,168	)	$	1,755,222		$	(664	)
	Tower		$	1,465,039		$	56,480		$	(21,369	)	$	1,500,150		$	(664	)
	Reciprocal Exchanges			252,228			7,643			(4,799	)		255,072			-
	Total, December 31, 2013		$	1,717,267		$	64,123		$	(26,168	)	$	1,755,222		$	(664	)
	-1	Represents the gross unrealized loss on other-than-temporarily impaired securities recognized in accumulated other comprehensive income (loss).
Summary of Major Categories of Net Investment Income	'
	Major categories of net investment income are summarized as follows:
			Three Months Ended
			March 31,
	($ in thousands)		2014			2013
	Income
	Fixed-maturity securities		$	12,577		$	20,973
	Equity securities			1,311			6,484
	Cash and cash equivalents			50			51
	Other invested assets			2,382			4,256
	Other			81			327
	Total			16,401			32,091
	Expenses
	Investment expenses			(1,043	)		(1,774	)
	Net investment income		$	15,358		$	30,317
	Tower			14,697			29,980
	Reciprocal Exchanges			2,315			2,380
	Elimination of interest on Reciprocal Exchange surplus notes			(1,654	)		(2,043	)
	Net investment income		$	15,358		$	30,317
Summary of Gross Realized Gains, Losses and Impairment Write-Downs on Investments	'
	Gross realized gains, losses and impairment write-downs on investments are summarized as follows:
			Three Months Ended
			March 31,
	($ in thousands)		2014			2013
	Fixed-maturity securities
	Gross realized gains		$	28,568		$	7,364
	Gross realized losses			(1,564	)		(190	)
				27,004			7,174
	Equity securities
	Gross realized gains			3,318			4,236
	Gross realized losses			(3,033	)		(4,813	)
				285			(577	)
	Other
	Gross realized gains			547			1,755
	Gross realized losses			(4,666	)		(812	)
				(4,119	)		943
	Net realized gains (losses) on investments			23,170			7,540
	Other-than-temporary impairment losses:
	Fixed-maturity securities			(907	)		(164	)
	Equity securities			-			(525	)
	Total other-than-temporary impairment losses recognized in earnings			(907	)		(689	)
	Total net realized investment gains (losses)		$	22,263		$	6,851
	Tower		$	18,800		$	6,233
	Reciprocal Exchanges			3,463			618
	Total net realized investment gains (losses)		$	22,263		$	6,851
Amount of Fixed-Maturity and Equity Securities that were Other-Than-Temporary Impairment	'
	The following table shows the fixed-maturity and equity securities OTTI amounts for the three months ended March 31, 2014 and 2013:
			Three Months Ended
			March 31,
	($ in thousands)		2014			2013
	Municipal bonds		$	(672	)	$	-
	Corporate and other bonds			(99	)		-
	Commercial mortgage-backed securities			(364	)		(24	)
	Residential mortgage-backed securities			(123	)		(140	)
	Equities			-			(525	)
	Other-than-temporary-impairments			(1,258	)		(689	)
	Portion of loss recognized in accumulated other comprehensive income (loss)			351			-
	Impairment losses recognized in earnings		$	(907	)	$	(689	)
	Tower		$	(662	)	$	(689	)
	Reciprocal Exchanges			(245	)		-
	Impairment losses recognized in earnings		$	(907	)	$	(689	)
Rollforward of Cumulative Amount of Other-Than-Temporary Impairment for Securities Held Showing Amounts that have been Included in Earnings on Pretax Basis	'
	The following table provides a rollforward of the cumulative amounts of credit OTTI for securities held as of March 31, 2014 and 2013 showing the amounts that have been included in earnings on a pretax basis for the three months ended March 31, 2014 and 2013:
			Three Months Ended
			March 31,
	($ in thousands)		2014			2013
	Balance, January 1,		$	7,817		$	4,492
	Additional credit losses recognized during the period, related to securities for which:
	No OTTI has been previously recognized			772			164
	OTTI has been previously recognized			135			-
	Reductions due to:
	Securities sold during the period (realized)			(1,209	)		(140	)
	Balance, March 31,		$	7,515		$	4,516
Information Regarding Invested Assets that were in Unrealized Loss Position	'
	The following table presents information regarding invested assets that were in an unrealized loss position at March 31, 2014 and December 31, 2013 by amount of time in a continuous unrealized loss position:
			Less than 12 Months						12 Months or Longer						Total
	($ in thousands)		Fair			Unrealized			Fair			Unrealized			Aggregate			Unrealized
			Value			Losses			Value			Losses			Fair Value			Losses
	March 31, 2014
	U.S. Treasury securities		$	343,335		$	(6,272	)	$	-		$	-		$	343,335		$	(6,272	)
	U.S. Agency securities			51,843			(258	)		-			-			51,843			(258	)
	Municipal bonds			61,758			(1,836	)		5,996			(247	)		67,754			(2,083	)
	Corporate and other bonds
	Finance			28,227			(425	)		345			(14	)		28,572			(439	)
	Industrial			72,945			(841	)		7,078			(182	)		80,023			(1,023	)
	Utilities			13,983			(149	)		7,954			(587	)		21,937			(736	)
	Commercial mortgage-backed securities			12,097			(238	)		24,744			(710	)		36,841			(948	)
	Residential mortgage-backed securities
	Agency backed			48,130			(450	)		5,050			(231	)		53,180			(681	)
	Non-agency backed			162			(28	)		-			-			162			(28	)
	Asset-backed securities			71,452			(192	)		-			-			71,452			(192	)
	Total fixed-maturity securities			703,932			(10,689	)		51,167			(1,971	)		755,099			(12,660	)
	Preferred stocks			8,285			(1,007	)		2,219			(185	)		10,504			(1,192	)
	Common stocks			6,661			(240	)		-			-			6,661			(240	)
	Short-term investments			-			-			-			-			-			-
	Total, March 31, 2014		$	718,878		$	(11,936	)	$	53,386		$	(2,156	)	$	772,264		$	(14,092	)
	Tower		$	676,838		$	(10,995	)	$	22,062		$	(916	)	$	698,900		$	(11,911	)
	Reciprocal Exchanges			42,040			(941	)		31,324			(1,240	)		73,364			(2,181	)
	Total, March 31, 2014		$	718,878		$	(11,936	)	$	53,386		$	(2,156	)	$	772,264		$	(14,092	)
	December 31, 2013
	U.S. Treasury securities		$	273,217		$	(7,726	)	$	-		$	-		$	273,217		$	(7,726	)
	U.S. Agency securities			51,808			(561	)		-			-			51,808			(561	)
	Municipal bonds			109,345			(5,056	)		4,268			(1,201	)		113,613			(6,257	)
	Corporate and other bonds
	Finance			37,811			(1,005	)		335			(23	)		38,146			(1,028	)
	Industrial			124,869			(2,550	)		10,023			(458	)		134,892			(3,008	)
	Utilities			27,698			(805	)		7,292			(1,085	)		34,990			(1,890	)
	Commercial mortgage-backed securities			26,469			(597	)		20,397			(1,157	)		46,866			(1,754	)
	Residential mortgage-backed securities
	Agency backed			37,660			(925	)		5,166			(293	)		42,826			(1,218	)
	Non-agency backed			1,027			(19	)		182			(12	)		1,209			(31	)
	Asset-backed securities			32,461			(103	)		-			-			32,461			(103	)
	Total fixed-maturity securities			722,365			(19,347	)		47,663			(4,229	)		770,028			(23,576	)
	Preferred stocks			10,538			(2,285	)		6,154			(251	)		16,692			(2,536	)
	Common stocks			7,125			(28	)		-			-			7,125			(28	)
	Short-term investments			3,897			(28	)		-			-			3,897			(28	)
	Total, December 31, 2013		$	743,925		$	(21,688	)	$	53,817		$	(4,480	)	$	797,742		$	(26,168	)
	Tower		$	663,127		$	(19,335	)	$	23,096		$	(2,034	)	$	686,223		$	(21,369	)
	Reciprocal Exchanges			80,798			(2,353	)		30,721			(2,446	)		111,519			(4,799	)
	Total, December 31, 2013		$	743,925		$	(21,688	)	$	53,817		$	(4,480	)	$	797,742		$	(26,168	)
Amortized Cost and Fair Value of Fixed-Maturity Portfolio by Contractual Time to Maturity	'
	The following table shows the amortized cost and fair value of the fixed-maturity portfolio by contractual time to maturity at March 31, 2014 and December 31, 2013:
			Tower						Reciprocal Exchanges						Total
	($ in thousands)		Amortized			Fair Value			Amortized			Fair Value			Amortized			Fair Value
			Cost						Cost						Cost
	March 31, 2014
	Remaining Time to Maturity
	Less than one year		$	29,834		$	30,223		$	7,762		$	7,850		$	37,596		$	38,073
	One to five years			587,613			591,857			24,245			24,615			611,858			616,472
	Five to ten years			338,210			342,185			64,639			65,442			402,849			407,627
	More than 10 years			72,583			73,697			38,384			38,347			110,967			112,044
	Mortgage and asset-backed securities			202,328			206,533			68,076			70,652			270,404			277,185
	Total, March 31, 2014		$	1,230,568		$	1,244,495		$	203,106		$	206,906		$	1,433,674		$	1,451,401
	December 31, 2013
	Remaining Time to Maturity
	Less than one year		$	33,305		$	33,727		$	7,866		$	8,021		$	41,171		$	41,748
	One to five years			507,388			513,841			39,469			41,381			546,857			555,222
	Five to ten years			459,070			459,251			82,003			81,515			541,073			540,766
	More than 10 years			100,977			102,801			41,069			39,693			142,046			142,494
	Mortgage and asset-backed securities			263,417			280,526			79,070			81,939			342,487			362,465
	Total, December 31, 2013		$	1,364,157		$	1,390,146		$	249,477		$	252,549		$	1,613,634		$	1,642,695
Composition of Other Invested Assets	'
	The following table shows the composition of the other invested assets as of March 31, 2014 and December 31, 2013:
	($ in thousands)		March 31,			December 31,
			2014			2013
	Limited partnerships, equity method		$	35,829		$	46,521
	Real estate, amortized cost			-			6,054
	Securities reported under the fair value option			18,778			43,580
	Other			-			-
	Total		$	54,607		$	96,155

Fair_Value_Measurements_Tables

Fair Value Measurements (Tables)	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2014
Financial Instruments at Fair Value among Levels	'
	As at March 31, 2014 and December 31, 2013, the Company’s financial instruments carried at fair value are allocated among levels as follows:
	($ in thousands)	Level 1			Level 2			Level 3			Total
	March 31, 2014
	Fixed-maturity securities
	U.S. Treasury securities	$	-		$	469,105		$	-		$	469,105
	U.S. Agency securities		-			109,239			-			109,239
	Municipal bonds		-			263,605			-			263,605
	Corporate and other bonds		-			328,841			3,426			332,267
	Commercial mortgage-backed securities		-			106,104			-			106,104
	Residential mortgage-backed securities
	Agency		-			69,728			-			69,728
	Non-agency		-			20,286			-			20,286
	Asset-backed securities		-			81,067			-			81,067
	Total fixed-maturities		-			1,447,975			3,426			1,451,401
	Equity securities		63,207			-			-			63,207
	Short-term investments		-			2,000			-			2,000
	Total investments at fair value		63,207			1,449,975			3,426			1,516,608
	Other invested assets (1)		-			-			18,778			18,778
	Other assets											-
	Additional Payment derivative		-			-			7,843			7,843
	Other liabilities											-
	Interest rate swap contracts		-			(5,408	)		-			(5,408	)
	Debt and equity securities sold, not yet purchased		-			(11,033	)		-			(11,033	)
	Total, March 31, 2014	$	63,207		$	1,433,534		$	30,047		$	1,526,788
	Tower	$	60,483		$	1,226,628		$	30,047		$	1,317,158
	Reciprocal Exchanges		2,724			206,906			-			209,630
	Total, March 31, 2014	$	63,207		$	1,433,534		$	30,047		$	1,526,788
	December 31, 2013
	Fixed-maturity securities
	U.S. Treasury securities	$	-		$	363,962		$	-		$	363,962
	U.S. Agency securities		-			111,221			-			111,221
	Municipal bonds		-			279,106			-			279,106
	Corporate and other bonds		-			522,516			3,426			525,942
	Commercial mortgage-backed securities		-			204,906			-			204,906
	Residential mortgage-backed securities		-			-			-			-
	Agency		-			63,341			-			63,341
	Non-agency		-			34,856			-			34,856
	Asset-backed securities		-			59,361			-			59,361
	Total fixed-maturities		-			1,639,269			3,426			1,642,695
	Equity securities		106,630			-			-			106,630
	Short-term investments		-			5,897			-			5,897
	Total investments at fair value		106,630			1,645,166			3,426			1,755,222
	Other invested assets (2)		-			-			43,580			43,580
	Other assets
	Additional Payment derivative		-			-			9,343			9,343
	Other liabilities
	Interest rate swap contracts		-			(6,066	)		-			(6,066	)
	Debt and equity securities sold, not yet purchased		-			(11,099	)		-			(11,099	)
	Total, December 31, 2013	$	106,630		$	1,628,001		$	56,349		$	1,790,980
	Tower	$	104,107		$	1,375,452		$	56,349		$	1,535,908
	Reciprocal Exchanges		2,523			252,549			-			255,072
	Total, December 31, 2013	$	106,630		$	1,628,001		$	56,349		$	1,790,980
	(1) $18.8 million of the $54.6 million Other invested assets reported on the consolidated balance sheet at March 31, 2014 is reported at fair value. The remaining $35.8 million of Other invested assets is reported under the equity method of accounting or at amortized cost.
	(2) $43.6 million of the $96.2 million Other invested assets reported on the consolidated balance sheet at December 31, 2013 is reported at fair value. The remaining $52.6 million of Other invested assets is reported under the equity method of accounting or at amortized cost.
Summary of Activity in Level Three Assets Measured at Fair Value	'
	The following table summarizes activity in Level 3 assets measured at fair value for the three months ended March 31, 2014 and 2013 for Tower (the Reciprocal Exchanges have no Level 3 assets):
		Three Months Ended March 31,
		2014												2013
	($ in thousands)	Other			Fixed			Additional			Total			Other
		Invested			Maturity			Payment						Invested
		Assets			Securities  (1)			Derivative						Assets
	Beginning balance, January 1	$	43,580		$	3,426		$	9,343		$	56,349		$	25,000
	Total gains (losses)-realized / unrealized
	Included in net income		58			-			(1,500	)		(1,442	)		-
	Settlements		(24,860	)		-			-			(24,860	)		-
	Ending balance, March 31,	$	18,778		$	3,426		$	7,843		$	30,047		$	25,000
	(1) Comprised of corporate and other bonds

Reinsurance_Tables

Reinsurance (Tables)	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2014
Premiums, Written, Ceded and Earned	'
	The table below shows direct, assumed and ceded premiums for the three months ended March 31, 2014 and 2013:
		Three Months Ended March 31,
	($ in thousands)	Direct			Assumed			Ceded -			Ceded - Cut-			Net
								Other			Through
	2014
	Premiums written	$	281,202		$	21,459		$	67,528		$	495,778	(1)	$	(260,645	)
	Change in unearned premiums		82,946			(5,453	)		38,212			(332,908	)		372,189
	Premiums earned	$	364,148		$	16,006		$	105,740		$	162,870		$	111,544
	2013
	Premiums written	$	445,715		$	105,514		$	98,032		$	-		$	453,197
	Change in unearned premiums		(16,128	)		(44,389	)		(29,206	)		-			(31,311	)
	Premiums earned	$	429,587		$	61,125		$	68,826		$	-		$	421,886
	(1) Includes $327.7 million of unearned premiums transferred on January 1, 2014 under the Cut-Through Reinsurance Agreements.

Loss_and_Loss_Adjustment_Expen1

Loss and Loss Adjustment Expense (Tables)	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2014
Reconciliation of Beginning and Ending Consolidated Balances for Unpaid Losses and Loss Adjustment Expense	'
	The following table provides a reconciliation of the beginning and ending consolidated balances for unpaid losses and loss adjustment expense (“LAE”) for the three months ended March 31, 2014 and 2013:
		Three Months Ended March 31,
		2014									2013
					Reciprocal									Reciprocal
	($ in thousands)	Tower			Exchanges			Total			Tower			Exchanges			Total
	Balance at January 1,	$	1,973,972		$	107,313		$	2,081,285		$	1,759,888		$	135,791		$	1,895,679
	Less reinsurance recoverables on unpaid losses		(555,468	)		(15,392	)		(570,860	)		(407,068	)		(52,389	)		(459,457	)
			1,418,504			91,921			1,510,425			1,352,820			83,402			1,436,222
	Net reserves, at fair value, of acquired entities		-			-			-			161,886			-			161,886
	Change in net reserves for ADC (i)		313,229			-			313,229			-			-			-
	Incurred related to:
	Current year		64,674			30,872			95,546			239,210			28,827			268,037
	Prior years unfavorable/(favorable) development		7,955			(940	)		7,015			1,124			6,571			7,695
	Total incurred		72,629			29,932			102,561			240,334			35,398			275,732
	Paid related to:
	Current year		85,130			23,403			108,533			103,324			17,721			121,045
	Prior years		149,064			12,970			162,034			171,026			707			171,733
	Total paid		234,194			36,373			270,567			274,350			18,428			292,778
	Net balance at end of period		1,570,168			85,480			1,655,648			1,480,690			100,372			1,581,062
	Add reinsurance recoverables on unpaid losses		373,614			15,025			388,639			822,634			27,554			850,188
	Balance at March 31,	$	1,943,782		$	100,505		$	2,044,287		$	2,303,324		$	127,926		$	2,431,250
	(i) In the first quarter of 2014, Tower terminated the Southport Re ADCs (see "Note 1 - Nature of the Business" for further description). The termination of the Southport Re ADCs resulted in a direct increase to net loss reserves.

Accumulated_Other_Comprehensiv1

Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income (Loss) (Tables)	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2014
Summary of Changes in Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income	'
	The following table provides a summary of changes in accumulated other comprehensive income, by component, for the three months ended March 31, 2014 and 2013, with all amounts reflected net of income taxes and noncontrolling interest:
	($ in thousands)	Unrealized			Gains			Cumulative			Total
		gains (losses)			(losses) on			translation
		on available for			cash flow			adjustments
		sale securities			hedges
	Balance at December 31, 2012	$	87,412		$	(5,860	)	$	1,204		$	82,756
	Other comprehensive income before reclassifications, net of tax		906			514			(2,347	)		(927	)
	Amounts reclassified from accumulated other comprehensive income, net of tax		(4,051	)		533			-			(3,518	)
	Net current period other comprehensive income		(3,145	)		1,047			(2,347	)		(4,445	)
	Balance at March 31, 2013	$	84,267		$	(4,813	)	$	(1,143	)	$	78,311
	Balance at December 31, 2013	$	(15,528	)	$	(3,979	)	$	-		$	(19,507	)
	Other comprehensive income before reclassifications, net of tax		5,697			(425	)		-			5,272
	Amounts reclassified from accumulated other comprehensive income, net of tax		(18,816	)		853			-			(17,963	)
	Net current period other comprehensive income		(13,119	)		428			-			(12,691	)
	Balance at March 31, 2014	$	(28,647	)	$	(3,551	)	$	-		$	(32,198	)
Reclassified from Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income to Net Income	'
	The following provides a summary of the items that have been reclassified from accumulated other comprehensive income to net income in their entirety during the three months ended March 31, 2014 and 2013, including the line item on the consolidated statement of operations on which the impact is reflected. Unrealized gains (losses) on available for sale securities are reclassified from accumulated other comprehensive income when a security is sold or when a non-credit impairment is recorded. Gains (losses) on cash flow hedges are reclassified from accumulated other comprehensive income when the related hedged item (subordinated debentures floating rate interest payments) are recorded in the statement of operations.
	($ in thousands)
	Accumulated other comprehensive income components	Amounts reclassified						Affected line item in the consolidated statement of
		from accumulated other						operations
		comprehensive income
		Three Months Ended March 31,
		2014			2013
	Unrealized gains (losses) on available for sale securities	$	(18,816	)	$	(6,232	)	Other net realized investment gains
			-			2,181		Income tax expense
		$	(18,816	)	$	(4,051	)	Total net of income taxes
	Gains (losses) on cash flow hedges interest rate swaps	$	853		$	820		Interest expense
			-			-287		Income tax expense
		$	853		$	533		Total net of income taxes

Debt_Tables

Debt (Tables)	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2014
Borrowings	'
	The Company’s borrowings consisted of the following at March 31, 2014 and December 31, 2013:
		March 31, 2014						December 31, 2013
		Carrying			Fair			Carrying		Fair
	($ in thousands)	Value			Value			Value		Value
	Convertible senior notes	$	148,506		$	142,875		$	147,712	$	129,525
	Subordinated debentures		235,058			116,991			235,058		114,900
	Total	$	383,564		$	259,866		$	382,770	$	244,425
Amounts Recorded for Notes	'
	The following table shows the amounts recorded for the Notes as of March 31, 2014 and December 31, 2013:
		March 31,			December 31,
	($ in thousands)	2014			2013
	Liability component
	Outstanding principal	$	150,000		$	150,000
	Unamortized OID		(1,494	)		(2,288	)
	Liability component		148,506			147,712
	Equity component, net of tax	$	7,469		$	7,469

Stock_Based_Compensation_Table

Stock Based Compensation (Tables)	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2014
Analysis of Restricted Stock Activity	'
	The following table provides an analysis of restricted stock activity for the three months ended March 31, 2014 and 2013 (historical share counts and fair values have been adjusted for the 1.1330 share conversion ratio, as discussed more fully in “Note 3 – Canopius Merger Transaction” in the 2013 Form 10-K):
		Three Months Ended March 31,
		2014					2013
					Weighted					Weighted
					Average					Average
		Number of			Grant Date		Number of			Grant Date
		Shares			Fair Value		Shares			Fair Value
	Outstanding, January 1		235,586		$	17.98		1,015,902		$	20.19
	Granted		-			-		240,293			18.08
	Vested		(42,670	)		18.07		(950,773	)		20.44
	Forfeitures		(52,834	)		18.12		(6,848	)		20.51
	Outstanding, March 31,		140,082		$	17.89		298,574		$	17.67
Analysis of Stock Option Activity	'
	The following table provides an analysis of stock option activity for the three months ended March 31, 2014 and 2013 (historical share counts and fair values have been adjusted for the 1.1330 share conversion ratio, as discussed more fully in “Note 3 – Canopius Merger Transaction” in the 2013 Form 10-K):
		Three Months Ended March 31,
		2014					2013
					Average					Average
		Number of			Exercise		Number of			Exercise
		Shares			Price		Shares			Price
	Outstanding, January 1		955,804		$	17.75		969,307		$	17.78
	Exercised		-			-		-			-
	Forfeitures and expirations		(691,162	)		17		-			-
	Outstanding, March 31		264,642		$	19.73		969,307		$	17.78
	Exercisable, March 31		264,642		$	19.73		969,307		$	17.78
Analysis of Stock Based Compensation Expense	'
	The following table provides an analysis of stock based compensation expense for the three months ended March 31, 2014 and 2013:
		Three Months Ended
		March 31,
	($ in thousands)	2014			2013
	Restricted stock
	Expense, net of tax	$	8		$	7,982
	Value of shares vested		959			9,485
	Value of unvested shares		378			5,509
	Stock options
	Intrinsic value of outstanding options		-			1,149
	Intrinsic value of vested outstanding options		-			1,149
	Unrecognized compensation expense
	Unvested restricted stock, net of tax		414			5,509
	Weighted average years over which expense will be recognized (in years)		2.9			3.9

Earnings_Loss_per_Share_Tables

Earnings (Loss) per Share (Tables)	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2014
Computation of Earnings Per Share	'
	The following table shows the computation of the earnings per share:
		Three Months Ended
		March 31,
	(in thousands, except per share amounts)	2014			2013
	Numerator
	Net income (loss) attributable to Tower Group International, Ltd.	$	(46,478	)	$	12,917
	Less: Allocation of income for unvested participating restricted stock		-			(37	)
	Less: Dividends on unvested participating restricted stock		-			(166	)
	Net income (loss) available to common shareholders - Basic		(46,478	)		12,714
	Reallocation of income for unvested participating restricted stock		-			-
	Net income (loss) available to common shareholders - Diluted		(46,478	)		12,714
	Denominator
	Basic earnings per share denominator		57,150			45,614
	Effect of dilutive securities:		-			74
	Diluted earnings per share denominator		57,150			45,688
	Earnings (loss) per share attributable to Tower Group International, Ltd. - Basic
	Common stock:
	Distributed earnings	$	-		$	0.17
	Undistributed earnings		(0.81	)		0.11
	Total - basic		(0.81	)		0.28
	Earnings (loss) per share attributable to Tower Group International, Ltd. - Diluted	$	(0.81	)	$	0.28

Segment_Information_Tables

Segment Information (Tables)	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2014
Business Segments Results	'
	Business segment results are as follows:
		Three Months Ended
		March 31,
	($ in thousands)	2014			2013
	Commercial Insurance Segment
	Revenues
	Premiums earned	$	55,773		$	258,419
	Ceding commission revenue		2,379			449
	Policy billing fees		1,276			1,370
	Total revenues		59,428			260,238
	Expenses
	Loss and loss adjustment expenses		63,971			177,003
	Underwriting expenses		51,021			92,284
	Total expenses		114,992			269,287
	Underwriting profit (loss)	$	(55,564	)	$	(9,049	)
	Assumed Reinsurance Segment
	Revenues
	Premiums earned	$	16,033		$	49,365
	Ceding commission revenue		-			-
	Total revenues		16,033			49,365
	Expenses
	Loss and loss adjustment expenses		2,408			19,360
	Underwriting expenses		872			17,793
	Total expenses		3,280			37,153
	Underwriting profit (loss)	$	12,753		$	12,212
	Personal Insurance Segment
	Revenues
	Premiums earned	$	39,738		$	114,102
	Ceding commission revenue		8,423			4,990
	Policy billing fees		1,400			1,780
	Total revenues		49,561			120,872
	Expenses
	Loss and loss adjustment expenses		36,182			79,369
	Underwriting expenses		39,579			52,112
	Total expenses		75,761			131,481
	Underwriting profit (loss)	$	(26,200	)	$	(10,609	)
	Tower	$	(16,284	)	$	2,018
	Reciprocal Exchanges		(9,916	)		(12,627	)
	Total underwriting profit (loss)	$	(26,200	)	$	(10,609	)
Reconciliation of Revenue by Segment to Consolidated Revenues	'
	The following table reconciles revenue by segment to consolidated revenues:
		Three Months Ended
		March 31,
	($ in thousands)	2014			2013
	Commercial Insurance segment	$	59,428		$	260,238
	Assumed Reinsurance segment		16,033			49,365
	Personal Insurance segment		49,561			120,872
	Total segment revenues		125,022			430,475
	Net investment income		15,358			30,317
	Net realized gains (losses) on investments, including other-than-temporary impairments		22,263			6,851
	Insurance services revenue		565			128
	Consolidated revenues	$	163,208		$	467,771
Reconciliation of Results of Individual Segments to Consolidated Income Before Income Taxes	'
	The following table reconciles the results of the Company's individual segments to consolidated income before income taxes:
		Three Months Ended
		March 31,
	($ in thousands)	2014			2013
	Commercial Insurance segment underwriting profit (loss)	$	(55,564	)	$	(9,049	)
	Assumed Reinsurance segment underwriting profit (loss)		12,753			12,212
	Personal Insurance segment underwriting profit (loss)		(26,200	)		(10,609	)
	Net investment income		15,358			30,317
	Net realized gains on investments, including other-than-temporary impairments		22,263			6,851
	Corporate and other		(11,889	)		(2,940	)
	Acquisition-related transaction costs		(646	)		(19,056	)
	Interest expense		(7,010	)		(7,808	)
	Equity income in unconsolidated affiliate		-			128
	Income before income taxes	$	(50,935	)	$	46

Nature_of_Business_Additional_

Nature of Business - Additional Information (Detail) (USD $)

3 Months Ended

3 Months Ended

12 Months Ended

3 Months Ended

3 Months Ended

3 Months Ended

12 Months Ended

3 Months Ended

12 Months Ended

1 Months Ended

3 Months Ended

1 Months Ended

1 Months Ended

1 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2014

Mar. 31, 2013

Dec. 31, 2013

Sep. 30, 2013

Mar. 31, 2014

Dec. 31, 2013

Mar. 31, 2014

Mar. 31, 2014

Feb. 05, 2014

Mar. 31, 2014

Dec. 31, 2013

Mar. 31, 2014

Dec. 31, 2013

Dec. 31, 2013

Mar. 31, 2014

Dec. 31, 2013

Dec. 31, 2013

Dec. 31, 2013

Sep. 30, 2010

Mar. 31, 2014

Dec. 31, 2013

20-May-14

9-May-14

8-May-14

8-May-14

8-May-14

8-May-14

8-May-14

8-May-14

8-May-14

9-May-14

Agreement

Subsidiary of AmTrust and a subsidiary of NGHC

Subsidiary of AmTrust and a subsidiary of NGHC

Maximum

CastlePoint Re

TRL

2014 Ceded Premiums

AmTrust

AmTrust

AmTrust

NGHC

NGHC

NGHC

Tower

Tower

Convertible Senior Notes

Convertible Senior Notes

Convertible Senior Notes

Subsequent Event

Subsequent Event

Subsequent Event

Subsequent Event

Subsequent Event

Subsequent Event

Subsequent Event

Subsequent Event

Subsequent Event

Subsequent Event

Agreement

Subsidiary of AmTrust and a subsidiary of NGHC

Subsidiary of AmTrust and a subsidiary of NGHC

Commercial Insurance

Commercial Insurance

Subsidiary of AmTrust and a subsidiary of NGHC

Personal Insurance

Personal Insurance

AmTrust

NGHC

Tower

Tower

Tower

Acp Re Ltd

Acp Re Ltd

Before Amendment

2014 Senior Convertible Notes

Subsidiary of AmTrust and a subsidiary of NGHC

Subsidiary of AmTrust and a subsidiary of NGHC

Subsidiary of AmTrust and a subsidiary of NGHC

Subsidiary of AmTrust and a subsidiary of NGHC

Maximum

2014 Ceded Premiums

Maximum

Nature Of Business [Line Items]

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

Equity awards settlement in cash

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

$2.50

'

'

'

'

'

$3

'

Percentage of common stockholders dissenting to the merger

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

15.00%

'

'

'

'

'

Common stock, par value

$0.01

'

$0.01

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

$0.01

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

Outstanding equity awards, aggregate value

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

$143,300,000

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

Reimburse transaction expense

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

2,000,000

'

'

Termination fee

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

-6,800,000

'

'

'

Reinsured percentage on losses incurred

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

60.00%

'

'

'

'

'

'

Commission percentage on premium

'

'

'

'

20.00%

'

'

'

'

22.00%

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

20.00%

'

22.00%

'

'

'

'

Quota share reinsurance percentage

'

'

'

'

100.00%

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

100.00%

'

'

'

'

'

'

Unearned premium reserve percentage

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

65.70%

'

'

100.00%

'

'

65.70%

100.00%

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

Written premiums net transferred

-260,645,000

453,197,000

'

'

168,100,000

'

'

'

'

'

'

114,600,000

'

'

53,500,000

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

Unearned premiums transferred

'

'

'

'

'

327,700,000

'

'

'

'

'

'

194,000,000

'

'

133,700,000

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

Number of reinsurers

'

'

'

3

2

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

Debt carrying amount

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

150,000,000

150,000,000

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

150,000,000

Debt instrument interest rate

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

5.00%

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

5.00%

Prior year reserve development

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

63,000,000

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

Gross written premiums

302,700,000

551,200,000

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

Amount required to be collateralized against adverse loss reserve development

81,370,000

'

222,159,000

'

'

'

'

603,500,000

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

Unencumbered liquid assets

36,833,000

'

68,963,000

'

'

'

'

'

167,300,000

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

Funds held by reinsured companies

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

555,400,000

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

Percentage of reinsured to affiliates

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

100.00%

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

Statutory capital requirement

'

'

843,000

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

Maturity date of convertible senior notes

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

15-Sep-14

15-Sep-14

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

Subordinated debentures outstanding

235,058,000

'

235,058,000

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

Subordinated debentures

10,000,000

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

Subordinated debentures maturity date

'May 2033

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

Maximum number of quarters to defer interest payments

'

'

'

'

'

'

'60 months

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

Employee severance payment

$3,300,000

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

Investment_in_Canopius_Group_L1

Investment in Canopius Group Limited ("Canopius Group") - Additional Information (Detail)	3 Months Ended							1 Months Ended
In Millions, unless otherwise specified	Mar. 31, 2014	Mar. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2013	Dec. 13, 2013	Dec. 13, 2013	Dec. 13, 2013	Dec. 13, 2013	1-May-14
	Realized gains	Other Assets	Other Assets	Canopius Group Limited	Canopius Group Limited	Canopius Group Limited	Canopius Group Limited	Subsequent Event
	USD ($)	USD ($)	USD ($)	USD ($)	GBP (£)	Condition One	Condition Two	Canopius Group Limited
						GBP (£)	GBP (£)
Investments in and Advances to Affiliates [Line Items]	'	'	'	'	'	'	'	'
Initial purchase price	'	'	'	$69.70	£ 42.5	£ 40.6	£ 1.95	'
Sale of investment to NKSJ Holdings, percentage	'	'	'	'	'	'	'	100.00%
Fair value of derivative	'	7.8	9.3	'	'	'	'	'
Increase in fair value of the derivative	$5.80	'	'	'	'	'	'	'

Variable_Interest_Entities_VIE1

Variable Interest Entities ("VIEs") - Additional Information (Detail) (USD $)	3 Months Ended
In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	Mar. 31, 2014	Mar. 31, 2013
Variable Interest Entity [Line Items]	'	'
Total revenues	$163,208	$467,771
Total expenses	214,143	467,853
Net income (loss)	-5,420	-11,281
Reciprocal Exchanges	'	'
Variable Interest Entity [Line Items]	'	'
Total revenues	49,200	47,300
Total expenses	55,000	58,600
Net income (loss)	($5,800)	($11,300)

Summary_of_Cost_or_Amortized_C

Summary of Cost or Amortized Cost and Fair Value of Investments in Fixed Maturity and Equity Securities, Gross Unrealized Gains and Losses, and Other-Than-Temporary Impairment Losses (Detail) (USD $)	Mar. 31, 2014		Dec. 31, 2013
In Thousands, unless otherwise specified
Schedule of Available-for-sale Securities [Line Items]	'		'
Cost or Amortized Cost	$1,490,565		$1,717,267
Gross Unrealized Gains	40,135		64,123
Gross Unrealized Losses	-14,092		-26,168
Investments	1,516,608		1,755,222
Unrealized OTTI Losses	-354	[1]	-664	[1]
Tower	'		'
Schedule of Available-for-sale Securities [Line Items]	'		'
Cost or Amortized Cost	1,284,708		1,465,039
Gross Unrealized Gains	34,181		56,480
Gross Unrealized Losses	-11,911		-21,369
Investments	1,306,978		1,500,150
Unrealized OTTI Losses	-353	[1]	-664	[1]
Reciprocal Exchanges	'		'
Schedule of Available-for-sale Securities [Line Items]	'		'
Cost or Amortized Cost	205,857		252,228
Gross Unrealized Gains	5,954		7,643
Gross Unrealized Losses	-2,181		-4,799
Investments	209,630		255,072
Unrealized OTTI Losses	-1	[1]	'
Short-term investments	'		'
Schedule of Available-for-sale Securities [Line Items]	'		'
Cost or Amortized Cost	2,000		5,925
Gross Unrealized Losses	'		-28
Investments	2,000		5,897
Fixed Maturity Securities	'		'
Schedule of Available-for-sale Securities [Line Items]	'		'
Cost or Amortized Cost	1,433,674		1,613,634
Gross Unrealized Gains	30,387		52,637
Gross Unrealized Losses	-12,660		-23,576
Investments	1,451,401		1,642,695
Unrealized OTTI Losses	-354	[1]	-664	[1]
Fixed Maturity Securities | Municipal Bonds	'		'
Schedule of Available-for-sale Securities [Line Items]	'		'
Cost or Amortized Cost	255,653		277,382
Gross Unrealized Gains	10,035		7,981
Gross Unrealized Losses	-2,083		-6,257
Investments	263,605		279,106
Unrealized OTTI Losses	1	[1]	'
Fixed Maturity Securities | U.S. Treasury Securities	'		'
Schedule of Available-for-sale Securities [Line Items]	'		'
Cost or Amortized Cost	474,654		370,959
Gross Unrealized Gains	723		729
Gross Unrealized Losses	-6,272		-7,726
Investments	469,105		363,962
Fixed Maturity Securities | U.S. Agency securities	'		'
Schedule of Available-for-sale Securities [Line Items]	'		'
Cost or Amortized Cost	107,940		110,362
Gross Unrealized Gains	1,557		1,420
Gross Unrealized Losses	-258		-561
Investments	109,239		111,221
Fixed Maturity Securities | Corporate Securities	'		'
Schedule of Available-for-sale Securities [Line Items]	'		'
Investments	332,267		525,942
Fixed Maturity Securities | Corporate Securities | Finance	'		'
Schedule of Available-for-sale Securities [Line Items]	'		'
Cost or Amortized Cost	102,801		148,132
Gross Unrealized Gains	4,532		9,797
Gross Unrealized Losses	-439		-1,028
Investments	106,894		156,901
Fixed Maturity Securities | Corporate Securities | Industrial	'		'
Schedule of Available-for-sale Securities [Line Items]	'		'
Cost or Amortized Cost	191,901		316,474
Gross Unrealized Gains	4,585		8,286
Gross Unrealized Losses	-1,023		-3,008
Investments	195,463		321,752
Fixed Maturity Securities | Corporate Securities | Utilities	'		'
Schedule of Available-for-sale Securities [Line Items]	'		'
Cost or Amortized Cost	30,321		47,838
Gross Unrealized Gains	325		1,341
Gross Unrealized Losses	-736		-1,890
Investments	29,910		47,289
Unrealized OTTI Losses	-1	[1]	-17	[1]
Fixed Maturity Securities | Commercial mortgage-backed securities	'		'
Schedule of Available-for-sale Securities [Line Items]	'		'
Cost or Amortized Cost	100,807		189,808
Gross Unrealized Gains	6,245		16,852
Gross Unrealized Losses	-948		-1,754
Investments	106,104		204,906
Unrealized OTTI Losses	-351	[1]	-634	[1]
Fixed Maturity Securities | Residential mortgage-backed securities, Agency backed securities	'		'
Schedule of Available-for-sale Securities [Line Items]	'		'
Cost or Amortized Cost	70,033		63,668
Gross Unrealized Gains	376		891
Gross Unrealized Losses	-681		-1,218
Investments	69,728		63,341
Fixed Maturity Securities | Residential mortgage-backed securities, Non-agency backed securities	'		'
Schedule of Available-for-sale Securities [Line Items]	'		'
Cost or Amortized Cost	18,325		30,228
Gross Unrealized Gains	1,989		4,659
Gross Unrealized Losses	-28		-31
Investments	20,286		34,856
Unrealized OTTI Losses	-3	[1]	-13	[1]
Fixed Maturity Securities | Asset-Backed Securities	'		'
Schedule of Available-for-sale Securities [Line Items]	'		'
Cost or Amortized Cost	81,239		58,783
Gross Unrealized Gains	20		681
Gross Unrealized Losses	-192		-103
Investments	81,067		59,361
Preferred stocks	'		'
Schedule of Available-for-sale Securities [Line Items]	'		'
Cost or Amortized Cost	16,120		21,330
Gross Unrealized Gains	211		54
Gross Unrealized Losses	-1,192		-2,536
Investments	15,139		18,848
Common Stocks	'		'
Schedule of Available-for-sale Securities [Line Items]	'		'
Cost or Amortized Cost	38,771		76,378
Gross Unrealized Gains	9,537		11,432
Gross Unrealized Losses	-240		-28
Investments	$48,068		$87,782
[1]	Represents the gross unrealized loss on other-than-temporarily impaired securities recognized in accumulated other comprehensive income (loss).

Investments_Additional_Informa

Investments - Additional Information (Detail) (USD $)	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2014	Mar. 31, 2013	Dec. 31, 2013
	Investment
Schedule of Available-for-sale Securities [Line Items]	'	'	'
Restricted assets, cash and cash equivalents	$106,600,000	'	$106,600,000
Investment, carrying values	1,490,565,000	'	1,717,267,000
Proceeds from sale of equity securities	100,940,000	375,180,000	'
Number of securities in unrealized loss position not deemed OTTI	313	'	'
Unrealized losses	14,092,000	'	26,168,000
Unrealized losses related to securities in loss position for more than 12 months	2,156,000	'	4,480,000
Future funding commitments including not limited to limited partnerships	44,600,000	'	'
Fixed Maturity Securities	'	'	'
Schedule of Available-for-sale Securities [Line Items]	'	'	'
Proceeds from sale or maturity of fixed maturity securities	635,100,000	123,700,000	'
Number of securities in unrealized loss position not deemed OTTI	302	'	'
Unrealized losses	12,700,000	'	'
Percentage of fixed maturity securities in unrealized loss position below amortized cost	1.00%	'	'
Number of securities in unrealized loss position for more than 12 months	37	'	'
Unrealized losses related to securities in loss position for more than 12 months	2,000,000	'	'
US Treasury Notes and Other Securities | Held by Counterparties	'	'	'
Schedule of Available-for-sale Securities [Line Items]	'	'	'
Restricted assets, cash and cash equivalents	203,900,000	'	'
Investment, carrying values	'	'	248,900,000
Municipal Bonds Corporate Securities And US Treasury Securities | Fixed Maturity Securities	'	'	'
Schedule of Available-for-sale Securities [Line Items]	'	'	'
Unrealized losses	10,600,000	'	'
Equity securities	'	'	'
Schedule of Available-for-sale Securities [Line Items]	'	'	'
Number of securities in unrealized loss position not deemed OTTI	11	'	'
Unrealized losses	1,400,000	'	'
Tower	'	'	'
Schedule of Available-for-sale Securities [Line Items]	'	'	'
Investment, carrying values	1,284,708,000	'	1,465,039,000
Unrealized losses	11,911,000	'	21,369,000
Unrealized losses related to securities in loss position for more than 12 months	$916,000	'	$2,034,000
Tower | Other	'	'	'
Schedule of Available-for-sale Securities [Line Items]	'	'	'
Number of securities purchased	6	'	'

Summary_of_Major_Categories_of

Summary of Major Categories of Net Investment Income (Detail) (USD $)	3 Months Ended
In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	Mar. 31, 2014	Mar. 31, 2013
Summary of Investments, Other than Investments in Related Parties, Reportable Data [Line Items]	'	'
Income	$16,401	$32,091
Investment expenses	-1,043	-1,774
Net investment income	15,358	30,317
Consolidation, Eliminations	'	'
Summary of Investments, Other than Investments in Related Parties, Reportable Data [Line Items]	'	'
Net investment income	-1,654	-2,043
Tower	'	'
Summary of Investments, Other than Investments in Related Parties, Reportable Data [Line Items]	'	'
Net investment income	14,697	29,980
Reciprocal Exchanges	'	'
Summary of Investments, Other than Investments in Related Parties, Reportable Data [Line Items]	'	'
Net investment income	2,315	2,380
Equity securities	'	'
Summary of Investments, Other than Investments in Related Parties, Reportable Data [Line Items]	'	'
Income	12,577	20,973
Fixed Maturity Securities	'	'
Summary of Investments, Other than Investments in Related Parties, Reportable Data [Line Items]	'	'
Income	1,311	6,484
Cash and cash equivalents	'	'
Summary of Investments, Other than Investments in Related Parties, Reportable Data [Line Items]	'	'
Income	50	51
Other Invested Asset	'	'
Summary of Investments, Other than Investments in Related Parties, Reportable Data [Line Items]	'	'
Income	2,382	4,256
Other	'	'
Summary of Investments, Other than Investments in Related Parties, Reportable Data [Line Items]	'	'
Income	$81	$327

Summary_of_Gross_Realized_Gain

Summary of Gross Realized Gains, Losses and Impairment Write-Downs on Investments (Detail) (USD $)	3 Months Ended
In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	Mar. 31, 2014	Mar. 31, 2013
Gain (Loss) on Investments [Line Items]	'	'
Net realized gains (losses) on investments	$23,170	$7,540
Other-than-temporary impairment losses	-907	-689
Total net realized investment gains (losses)	22,263	6,851
Tower	'	'
Gain (Loss) on Investments [Line Items]	'	'
Other-than-temporary impairment losses	-662	-689
Total net realized investment gains (losses)	18,800	6,233
Reciprocal Exchanges	'	'
Gain (Loss) on Investments [Line Items]	'	'
Other-than-temporary impairment losses	-245	'
Total net realized investment gains (losses)	3,463	618
Fixed Maturity Securities	'	'
Gain (Loss) on Investments [Line Items]	'	'
Gross realized gains	28,568	7,364
Gross realized losses	-1,564	-190
Net realized gains (losses) on investments	27,004	7,174
Other-than-temporary impairment losses	-907	-164
Equity securities	'	'
Gain (Loss) on Investments [Line Items]	'	'
Gross realized gains	3,318	4,236
Gross realized losses	-3,033	-4,813
Net realized gains (losses) on investments	285	-577
Other-than-temporary impairment losses	'	-525
Other	'	'
Gain (Loss) on Investments [Line Items]	'	'
Gross realized gains	547	1,755
Gross realized losses	-4,666	-812
Net realized gains (losses) on investments	($4,119)	$943

Amount_of_FixedMaturity_and_Eq

Amount of Fixed-Maturity and Equity Securities that were Other-Than-Temporary Impairment (Detail) (USD $)	3 Months Ended
In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	Mar. 31, 2014	Mar. 31, 2013
Other than Temporary Impairment, Credit Losses Recognized in Earnings [Line Items]	'	'
Other-than-temporary impairments	($1,258)	($689)
Portion of loss recognized in accumulated other comprehensive income (loss)	351	'
Other-than-temporary impairment losses	-907	-689
Tower	'	'
Other than Temporary Impairment, Credit Losses Recognized in Earnings [Line Items]	'	'
Other-than-temporary impairment losses	-662	-689
Reciprocal Exchanges	'	'
Other than Temporary Impairment, Credit Losses Recognized in Earnings [Line Items]	'	'
Other-than-temporary impairment losses	-245	'
Corporate Securities	'	'
Other than Temporary Impairment, Credit Losses Recognized in Earnings [Line Items]	'	'
Other-than-temporary impairments	-99	'
Commercial mortgage-backed securities	'	'
Other than Temporary Impairment, Credit Losses Recognized in Earnings [Line Items]	'	'
Other-than-temporary impairments	-364	-24
Residential mortgage-backed securities	'	'
Other than Temporary Impairment, Credit Losses Recognized in Earnings [Line Items]	'	'
Other-than-temporary impairments	-123	-140
Municipal Bonds	'	'
Other than Temporary Impairment, Credit Losses Recognized in Earnings [Line Items]	'	'
Other-than-temporary impairments	-672	'
Equity securities	'	'
Other than Temporary Impairment, Credit Losses Recognized in Earnings [Line Items]	'	'
Other-than-temporary impairments	'	-525
Other-than-temporary impairment losses	'	($525)

Rollforward_of_Cumulative_Amou

Rollforward of Cumulative Amount of Other-Than-Temporary Impairment for Securities Held Showing Amounts that have been Included in Earnings on Pretax Basis (Detail) (Tower, USD $)	3 Months Ended
In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	Mar. 31, 2014	Mar. 31, 2013
Tower	'	'
Other than Temporary Impairment, Credit Losses Recognized in Earnings [Line Items]	'	'
Balance at beginning of period	$7,817	$4,492
Additional credit losses recognized during the period, related to securities for which no OTTI has been previously recognized	772	164
Additional credit losses recognized during the period, related to securities for which OTTI has been previously recognized	135	'
Reductions due to Securities sold during the period (realized)	-1,209	-140
Balance at end of period	$7,515	$4,516

Information_Regarding_Invested

Information Regarding Invested Assets that were in Unrealized Loss Position (Detail) (USD $)	Mar. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2013
In Thousands, unless otherwise specified
Investments, Unrealized Loss Position [Line Items]	'	'
Less than 12 Months, Fair Value	$718,878	$743,925
Less than 12 Months, Unrealized Losses	-11,936	-21,688
12 Months or Longer, Fair Value	53,386	53,817
12 Months or Longer, Unrealized Losses	-2,156	-4,480
Total, Aggregate Fair Value	772,264	797,742
Total, Unrealized Losses	-14,092	-26,168
Tower	'	'
Investments, Unrealized Loss Position [Line Items]	'	'
Less than 12 Months, Fair Value	676,838	663,127
Less than 12 Months, Unrealized Losses	-10,995	-19,335
12 Months or Longer, Fair Value	22,062	23,096
12 Months or Longer, Unrealized Losses	-916	-2,034
Total, Aggregate Fair Value	698,900	686,223
Total, Unrealized Losses	-11,911	-21,369
Reciprocal Exchanges	'	'
Investments, Unrealized Loss Position [Line Items]	'	'
Less than 12 Months, Fair Value	42,040	80,798
Less than 12 Months, Unrealized Losses	-941	-2,353
12 Months or Longer, Fair Value	31,324	30,721
12 Months or Longer, Unrealized Losses	-1,240	-2,446
Total, Aggregate Fair Value	73,364	111,519
Total, Unrealized Losses	-2,181	-4,799
Short-term investments	'	'
Investments, Unrealized Loss Position [Line Items]	'	'
Less than 12 Months, Fair Value	'	3,897
Less than 12 Months, Unrealized Losses	'	-28
Total, Aggregate Fair Value	'	3,897
Total, Unrealized Losses	'	-28
Fixed Maturity Securities	'	'
Investments, Unrealized Loss Position [Line Items]	'	'
Less than 12 Months, Fair Value	703,932	722,365
Less than 12 Months, Unrealized Losses	-10,689	-19,347
12 Months or Longer, Fair Value	51,167	47,663
12 Months or Longer, Unrealized Losses	-1,971	-4,229
Total, Aggregate Fair Value	755,099	770,028
Total, Unrealized Losses	-12,660	-23,576
Fixed Maturity Securities | Municipal Bonds	'	'
Investments, Unrealized Loss Position [Line Items]	'	'
Less than 12 Months, Fair Value	61,758	109,345
Less than 12 Months, Unrealized Losses	-1,836	-5,056
12 Months or Longer, Fair Value	5,996	4,268
12 Months or Longer, Unrealized Losses	-247	-1,201
Total, Aggregate Fair Value	67,754	113,613
Total, Unrealized Losses	-2,083	-6,257
Fixed Maturity Securities | U.S. Treasury Securities	'	'
Investments, Unrealized Loss Position [Line Items]	'	'
Less than 12 Months, Fair Value	343,335	273,217
Less than 12 Months, Unrealized Losses	-6,272	-7,726
Total, Aggregate Fair Value	343,335	273,217
Total, Unrealized Losses	-6,272	-7,726
Fixed Maturity Securities | U.S. Agency securities	'	'
Investments, Unrealized Loss Position [Line Items]	'	'
Less than 12 Months, Fair Value	51,843	51,808
Less than 12 Months, Unrealized Losses	-258	-561
Total, Aggregate Fair Value	51,843	51,808
Total, Unrealized Losses	-258	-561
Fixed Maturity Securities | Corporate Securities | Finance	'	'
Investments, Unrealized Loss Position [Line Items]	'	'
Less than 12 Months, Fair Value	28,227	37,811
Less than 12 Months, Unrealized Losses	-425	-1,005
12 Months or Longer, Fair Value	345	335
12 Months or Longer, Unrealized Losses	-14	-23
Total, Aggregate Fair Value	28,572	38,146
Total, Unrealized Losses	-439	-1,028
Fixed Maturity Securities | Corporate Securities | Industrial	'	'
Investments, Unrealized Loss Position [Line Items]	'	'
Less than 12 Months, Fair Value	72,945	124,869
Less than 12 Months, Unrealized Losses	-841	-2,550
12 Months or Longer, Fair Value	7,078	10,023
12 Months or Longer, Unrealized Losses	-182	-458
Total, Aggregate Fair Value	80,023	134,892
Total, Unrealized Losses	-1,023	-3,008
Fixed Maturity Securities | Corporate Securities | Utilities	'	'
Investments, Unrealized Loss Position [Line Items]	'	'
Less than 12 Months, Fair Value	13,983	27,698
Less than 12 Months, Unrealized Losses	-149	-805
12 Months or Longer, Fair Value	7,954	7,292
12 Months or Longer, Unrealized Losses	-587	-1,085
Total, Aggregate Fair Value	21,937	34,990
Total, Unrealized Losses	-736	-1,890
Fixed Maturity Securities | Commercial mortgage-backed securities	'	'
Investments, Unrealized Loss Position [Line Items]	'	'
Less than 12 Months, Fair Value	12,097	26,469
Less than 12 Months, Unrealized Losses	-238	-597
12 Months or Longer, Fair Value	24,744	20,397
12 Months or Longer, Unrealized Losses	-710	-1,157
Total, Aggregate Fair Value	36,841	46,866
Total, Unrealized Losses	-948	-1,754
Fixed Maturity Securities | Residential mortgage-backed securities, Agency backed securities	'	'
Investments, Unrealized Loss Position [Line Items]	'	'
Less than 12 Months, Fair Value	48,130	37,660
Less than 12 Months, Unrealized Losses	-450	-925
12 Months or Longer, Fair Value	5,050	5,166
12 Months or Longer, Unrealized Losses	-231	-293
Total, Aggregate Fair Value	53,180	42,826
Total, Unrealized Losses	-681	-1,218
Fixed Maturity Securities | Residential mortgage-backed securities, Non-agency backed securities	'	'
Investments, Unrealized Loss Position [Line Items]	'	'
Less than 12 Months, Fair Value	162	1,027
Less than 12 Months, Unrealized Losses	-28	-19
12 Months or Longer, Fair Value	'	182
12 Months or Longer, Unrealized Losses	'	-12
Total, Aggregate Fair Value	162	1,209
Total, Unrealized Losses	-28	-31
Fixed Maturity Securities | Asset-Backed Securities	'	'
Investments, Unrealized Loss Position [Line Items]	'	'
Less than 12 Months, Fair Value	71,452	32,461
Less than 12 Months, Unrealized Losses	-192	-103
Total, Aggregate Fair Value	71,452	32,461
Total, Unrealized Losses	-192	-103
Preferred stocks	'	'
Investments, Unrealized Loss Position [Line Items]	'	'
Less than 12 Months, Fair Value	8,285	10,538
Less than 12 Months, Unrealized Losses	-1,007	-2,285
12 Months or Longer, Fair Value	2,219	6,154
12 Months or Longer, Unrealized Losses	-185	-251
Total, Aggregate Fair Value	10,504	16,692
Total, Unrealized Losses	-1,192	-2,536
Common Stocks	'	'
Investments, Unrealized Loss Position [Line Items]	'	'
Less than 12 Months, Fair Value	6,661	7,125
Less than 12 Months, Unrealized Losses	-240	-28
Total, Aggregate Fair Value	6,661	7,125
Total, Unrealized Losses	($240)	($28)

Composition_of_FixedMaturity_P

Composition of Fixed-Maturity Portfolio by Remaining Time to Maturity (Detail) (USD $)	Mar. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2013
In Thousands, unless otherwise specified
Schedule of Available-for-sale Securities [Line Items]	'	'
Less than one year, amortized cost	$37,596	$41,171
One to five years, amortized cost	611,858	546,857
Five to ten years, amortized cost	402,849	541,073
More than 10 years, amortized cost	110,967	142,046
Mortgage and asset-backed securities, amortized cost	270,404	342,487
Total at end of period, amortized cost	1,433,674	1,613,634
Less than one year, fair value	38,073	41,748
One to five years, fair value	616,472	555,222
Five to ten years, fair value	407,627	540,766
More than 10 years, fair value	112,044	142,494
Mortgage and asset-backed securities, fair value	277,185	362,465
Total at end of period, fair value	1,451,401	1,642,695
Tower	'	'
Schedule of Available-for-sale Securities [Line Items]	'	'
Less than one year, amortized cost	29,834	33,305
One to five years, amortized cost	587,613	507,388
Five to ten years, amortized cost	338,210	459,070
More than 10 years, amortized cost	72,583	100,977
Mortgage and asset-backed securities, amortized cost	202,328	263,417
Total at end of period, amortized cost	1,230,568	1,364,157
Less than one year, fair value	30,223	33,727
One to five years, fair value	591,857	513,841
Five to ten years, fair value	342,185	459,251
More than 10 years, fair value	73,697	102,801
Mortgage and asset-backed securities, fair value	206,533	280,526
Total at end of period, fair value	1,244,495	1,390,146
Reciprocal Exchanges	'	'
Schedule of Available-for-sale Securities [Line Items]	'	'
Less than one year, amortized cost	7,762	7,866
One to five years, amortized cost	24,245	39,469
Five to ten years, amortized cost	64,639	82,003
More than 10 years, amortized cost	38,384	41,069
Mortgage and asset-backed securities, amortized cost	68,076	79,070
Total at end of period, amortized cost	203,106	249,477
Less than one year, fair value	7,850	8,021
One to five years, fair value	24,615	41,381
Five to ten years, fair value	65,442	81,515
More than 10 years, fair value	38,347	39,693
Mortgage and asset-backed securities, fair value	70,652	81,939
Total at end of period, fair value	$206,906	$252,549

Composition_of_Other_Invested_

Composition of Other Invested Assets (Detail) (Tower, USD $)	Mar. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2013
In Thousands, unless otherwise specified
Schedule of Investments [Line Items]	'	'
Other invested assets	$54,607	$96,155
Limited partnerships, equity method	'	'
Schedule of Investments [Line Items]	'	'
Other invested assets	35,829	46,521
Real estate, amortized cost	'	'
Schedule of Investments [Line Items]	'	'
Other invested assets	'	6,054
Securities reported under the fair value option	'	'
Schedule of Investments [Line Items]	'	'
Other invested assets	$18,778	$43,580

Financial_Instruments_at_Fair_

Financial Instruments at Fair Value among Levels (Detail) (USD $)	Mar. 31, 2014		Dec. 31, 2013
In Thousands, unless otherwise specified
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]	'		'
Investments	$1,516,608		$1,755,222
Other invested assets	18,778	[1]	43,580	[2]
Additional Payment derivative	7,843		9,343
Other liabilities	'		'
Interest rate swap contracts	-5,408		-6,066
Debt and equity securities sold, not yet purchased	-11,033		-11,099
Total investments and Other liabilities	1,526,788		1,790,980
Short-term investments	'		'
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]	'		'
Investments	2,000		5,897
Tower	'		'
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]	'		'
Investments	1,306,978		1,500,150
Total investments and Other liabilities	1,317,158		1,535,908
Reciprocal Exchanges	'		'
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]	'		'
Investments	209,630		255,072
Total investments and Other liabilities	209,630		255,072
Level 1	'		'
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]	'		'
Investments	63,207		106,630
Other liabilities	'		'
Total investments and Other liabilities	63,207		106,630
Level 1 | Tower	'		'
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]	'		'
Total investments and Other liabilities	60,483		104,107
Level 1 | Reciprocal Exchanges	'		'
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]	'		'
Total investments and Other liabilities	2,724		2,523
Level 2	'		'
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]	'		'
Investments	1,449,975		1,645,166
Other liabilities	'		'
Interest rate swap contracts	-5,408		-6,066
Debt and equity securities sold, not yet purchased	-11,033		-11,099
Total investments and Other liabilities	1,433,534		1,628,001
Level 2 | Short-term investments	'		'
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]	'		'
Investments	2,000		5,897
Level 2 | Tower	'		'
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]	'		'
Total investments and Other liabilities	1,226,628		1,375,452
Level 2 | Reciprocal Exchanges	'		'
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]	'		'
Total investments and Other liabilities	206,906		252,549
Level 3	'		'
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]	'		'
Investments	3,426		3,426
Other invested assets	18,778	[1]	43,580	[2]
Additional Payment derivative	7,843		9,343
Other liabilities	'		'
Total investments and Other liabilities	30,047		56,349
Level 3 | Tower	'		'
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]	'		'
Total investments and Other liabilities	30,047		56,349
Fixed Maturity Securities	'		'
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]	'		'
Investments	1,451,401		1,642,695
Fixed Maturity Securities | Municipal Bonds	'		'
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]	'		'
Investments	263,605		279,106
Fixed Maturity Securities | U.S. Treasury Securities	'		'
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]	'		'
Investments	469,105		363,962
Fixed Maturity Securities | U.S. Agency securities	'		'
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]	'		'
Investments	109,239		111,221
Fixed Maturity Securities | Corporate Securities	'		'
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]	'		'
Investments	332,267		525,942
Fixed Maturity Securities | Commercial mortgage-backed securities	'		'
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]	'		'
Investments	106,104		204,906
Fixed Maturity Securities | Residential mortgage-backed securities, Agency backed securities	'		'
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]	'		'
Investments	69,728		63,341
Fixed Maturity Securities | Residential mortgage-backed securities, Non-agency backed securities	'		'
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]	'		'
Investments	20,286		34,856
Fixed Maturity Securities | Asset-Backed Securities	'		'
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]	'		'
Investments	81,067		59,361
Fixed Maturity Securities | Level 2	'		'
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]	'		'
Investments	1,447,975		1,639,269
Fixed Maturity Securities | Level 2 | Municipal Bonds	'		'
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]	'		'
Investments	263,605		279,106
Fixed Maturity Securities | Level 2 | U.S. Treasury Securities	'		'
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]	'		'
Investments	469,105		363,962
Fixed Maturity Securities | Level 2 | U.S. Agency securities	'		'
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]	'		'
Investments	109,239		111,221
Fixed Maturity Securities | Level 2 | Corporate Securities	'		'
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]	'		'
Investments	328,841		522,516
Fixed Maturity Securities | Level 2 | Commercial mortgage-backed securities	'		'
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]	'		'
Investments	106,104		204,906
Fixed Maturity Securities | Level 2 | Residential mortgage-backed securities, Agency backed securities	'		'
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]	'		'
Investments	69,728		63,341
Fixed Maturity Securities | Level 2 | Residential mortgage-backed securities, Non-agency backed securities	'		'
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]	'		'
Investments	20,286		34,856
Fixed Maturity Securities | Level 2 | Asset-Backed Securities	'		'
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]	'		'
Investments	81,067		59,361
Fixed Maturity Securities | Level 3	'		'
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]	'		'
Investments	3,426		3,426
Fixed Maturity Securities | Level 3 | Corporate Securities	'		'
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]	'		'
Investments	3,426		3,426
Equity securities	'		'
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]	'		'
Investments	63,207		106,630
Equity securities | Level 1	'		'
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]	'		'
Investments	$63,207		$106,630
[1]	$18.8 million of the $54.6 million Other invested assets reported on the consolidated balance sheet at March 31, 2014 is reported at fair value. The remaining $35.8 million of Other invested assets is reported under the equity method of accounting or at amortized cost.
[2]	$43.6 million of the $96.2 million Other invested assets reported on the consolidated balance sheet at December 31, 2013 is reported at fair value. The remaining $52.6 million of Other invested assets is reported under the equity method of accounting or at amortized cost.

Financial_Instruments_at_Fair_1

Financial Instruments at Fair Value among Levels (Parenthetical) (Detail) (USD $)	Mar. 31, 2014		Dec. 31, 2013
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]	'		'
Other invested assets, fair value	$18,778,000	[1]	$43,580,000	[2]
Other invested assets, amortized cost	35,800,000		52,600,000
Tower	'		'
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]	'		'
Other invested asset	$54,607,000		$96,155,000
[1]	$18.8 million of the $54.6 million Other invested assets reported on the consolidated balance sheet at March 31, 2014 is reported at fair value. The remaining $35.8 million of Other invested assets is reported under the equity method of accounting or at amortized cost.
[2]	$43.6 million of the $96.2 million Other invested assets reported on the consolidated balance sheet at December 31, 2013 is reported at fair value. The remaining $52.6 million of Other invested assets is reported under the equity method of accounting or at amortized cost.

Fair_Value_Measurements_Additi

Fair Value Measurements - Additional Information (Detail) (USD $)	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2014	Mar. 31, 2013
Fair Value [Line Items]	'	'
Gross transfers out of Level 3	$0	$0
Gross transfers out of Level 1 into Level 2	0	0
Gross transfers out of Level 2 into Level 1	0	0
Gross realized gains and losses from fair value of debt securities sold, not yet purchased	200,000	'
Gross realized gains and losses from fair value of equity securities sold, not yet purchased	$100,000	'
Tower | Other	'	'
Fair Value [Line Items]	'	'
Number of securities purchased	6	'
Tower | Other | Level 3	'	'
Fair Value [Line Items]	'	'
Number of securities purchased	6	'
Tower | Equity securities | Level 3	'	'
Fair Value [Line Items]	'	'
Number of securities purchased	4	'
Tower | Fixed Maturity Securities | Level 3	'	'
Fair Value [Line Items]	'	'
Number of securities purchased	1	'

Summary_of_Activity_in_Level_T

Summary of Activity in Level Three Assets Measured at Fair Value (Detail) (USD $)	3 Months Ended								3 Months Ended
In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	Mar. 31, 2014	Mar. 31, 2014	Mar. 31, 2013	Dec. 31, 2012	Mar. 31, 2014		Dec. 31, 2013		Mar. 31, 2014
		Other Invested Asset	Other Invested Asset	Other Invested Asset	Fixed Maturity Securities		Fixed Maturity Securities		Additional Payment Derivatives
Fair Value, Assets Measured on Recurring Basis, Unobservable Input Reconciliation [Line Items]	'	'	'	'	'		'		'
Beginning balance	$56,349	$43,580	$25,000	$25,000	$3,426	[1]	$3,426	[1]	$9,343
Total gains (losses)-realized / unrealized included in net income	-1,442	58	'	'	'		'		-1,500
Settlements	-24,860	-24,860	'	'	'		'		'
Ending balance	$30,047	$18,778	$25,000	$25,000	$3,426	[1]	$3,426	[1]	$7,843
[1]	Comprised of corporate and other bonds

Reinsurance_Additional_Informa

Reinsurance - Additional Information (Detail)	Sep. 30, 2013	Mar. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2013	Dec. 31, 2013	Mar. 31, 2014	Mar. 31, 2014
	Agreement	Subsidiary of AmTrust and a subsidiary of NGHC	Subsidiary of AmTrust and a subsidiary of NGHC	Subsidiary of AmTrust and a subsidiary of NGHC	Subsidiary of AmTrust and a subsidiary of NGHC	Subsidiary of AmTrust and a subsidiary of NGHC
		Agreement	AmTrust	NGHC	2014 Ceded Premiums	Maximum
Reinsurance Premiums for Insurance Companies, by Product Segment [Line Items]	'	'	'	'	'	'
Number of reinsurers	3	2	'	'	'	'
Quota share reinsurance cede, percentage	'	100.00%	'	'	'	'
Reinsured percentage on losses incurred	'	'	'	'	'	60.00%
Ceding commission on cut through reinsurance agreements percentage	'	20.00%	'	'	22.00%	'
Unearned premium reserve percentage	'	'	65.70%	100.00%	'	'

Premiums_Written_Ceded_and_Ear

Premiums Written, Ceded and Earned (Detail) (USD $)	3 Months Ended
In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	Mar. 31, 2014		Mar. 31, 2013
Reinsurance Premiums for Insurance Companies, by Product Segment [Line Items]	'		'
Premiums written	$281,202		$445,715
Change in unearned premiums	82,946		-16,128
Premiums earned, Direct	364,148		429,587
Premiums written, Assumed	21,459		105,514
Change in unearned premiums, Assumed	-5,453		-44,389
Premiums earned, Assumed	16,006		61,125
Premiums written, Net	-260,645		453,197
Change in unearned premiums, Net	372,189		-31,311
Premiums earned, Net	111,544		421,886
Ceded - Cut - Through	'		'
Reinsurance Premiums for Insurance Companies, by Product Segment [Line Items]	'		'
Premiums written, Ceded	495,778	[1]	'
Change in unearned premiums, Ceded	-332,908		'
Premiums earned, Ceded	162,870		'
Ceded - Other	'		'
Reinsurance Premiums for Insurance Companies, by Product Segment [Line Items]	'		'
Premiums written, Ceded	67,528		98,032
Change in unearned premiums, Ceded	38,212		-29,206
Premiums earned, Ceded	$105,740		$68,826
[1]	Includes $327.7 million of unearned premiums transferred on January 1, 2014 under the Cut-Through Reinsurance Agreements.

Premiums_Written_Ceded_and_Ear1

Premiums Written, Ceded and Earned (Parenthetical) (Detail) (Subsidiary of AmTrust and a subsidiary of NGHC, USD $)	12 Months Ended
In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	Dec. 31, 2013
Subsidiary of AmTrust and a subsidiary of NGHC	'
Reinsurance Premiums for Insurance Companies, by Product Segment [Line Items]	'
Unearned premium transferred	$327,700

Reconciliation_of_Beginning_an

Reconciliation of Beginning and Ending Consolidated Balances for Unpaid Losses and Loss Adjustment Expense (Detail) (USD $)	3 Months Ended
In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	Mar. 31, 2014		Mar. 31, 2013
Causes of Increase (Decrease) in Liability for Unpaid Claims and Claims Adjustment Expense [Line Items]	'		'
Balance at beginning of year	$2,081,285		$1,895,679
Less reinsurance recoverables on unpaid losses	-570,860		-459,457
Liability for Unpaid Claims and Claims Adjustment Expense, Net	1,510,425		1,436,222
Net reserves, at fair value, of acquired entities	'		161,886
Change in net reserves for ADC	313,229	[1]	'
Incurred related to:	'		'
Current year	95,546		268,037
Prior years unfavorable/(favorable) development	7,015		7,695
Total incurred	102,561		275,732
Paid related to:	'		'
Current year	108,533		121,045
Prior years	162,034		171,733
Total paid	270,567		292,778
Net balance at end of period	1,655,648		1,581,062
Add reinsurance recoverables on unpaid losses	388,639		850,188
Net balance at end of year	2,044,287		2,431,250
Tower	'		'
Causes of Increase (Decrease) in Liability for Unpaid Claims and Claims Adjustment Expense [Line Items]	'		'
Balance at beginning of year	1,973,972		1,759,888
Less reinsurance recoverables on unpaid losses	-555,468		-407,068
Liability for Unpaid Claims and Claims Adjustment Expense, Net	1,418,504		1,352,820
Net reserves, at fair value, of acquired entities	'		161,886
Change in net reserves for ADC	313,229	[1]	'
Incurred related to:	'		'
Current year	64,674		239,210
Prior years unfavorable/(favorable) development	7,955		1,124
Total incurred	72,629		240,334
Paid related to:	'		'
Current year	85,130		103,324
Prior years	149,064		171,026
Total paid	234,194		274,350
Net balance at end of period	1,570,168		1,480,690
Add reinsurance recoverables on unpaid losses	373,614		822,634
Net balance at end of year	1,943,782		2,303,324
Reciprocal Exchanges	'		'
Causes of Increase (Decrease) in Liability for Unpaid Claims and Claims Adjustment Expense [Line Items]	'		'
Balance at beginning of year	107,313		135,791
Less reinsurance recoverables on unpaid losses	-15,392		-52,389
Liability for Unpaid Claims and Claims Adjustment Expense, Net	91,921		83,402
Incurred related to:	'		'
Current year	30,872		28,827
Prior years unfavorable/(favorable) development	-940		6,571
Total incurred	29,932		35,398
Paid related to:	'		'
Current year	23,403		17,721
Prior years	12,970		707
Total paid	36,373		18,428
Net balance at end of period	85,480		100,372
Add reinsurance recoverables on unpaid losses	15,025		27,554
Net balance at end of year	$100,505		$127,926
[1]	In the first quarter of 2014, Tower terminated the Southport Re ADCs (see "Note 1 - Nature of the Business" for further description). The termination of the Southport Re ADCs resulted in a direct increase to net loss reserves.

Loss_and_Loss_Adjustment_Expen2

Loss and Loss Adjustment Expense - Additional Information (Detail) (USD $)	3 Months Ended
In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	Mar. 31, 2014	Mar. 31, 2013
Causes of Increase (Decrease) in Liability for Unpaid Claims and Claims Adjustment Expense [Line Items]	'	'
Loss and loss adjustment expenses ratio	91.90%	65.40%
Prior years unfavorable/(favorable) development	$7,015	$7,695
Tower	'	'
Causes of Increase (Decrease) in Liability for Unpaid Claims and Claims Adjustment Expense [Line Items]	'	'
Loss and loss adjustment expenses ratio	99.90%	63.10%
Prior years unfavorable/(favorable) development	$7,955	$1,124

Shareholders_Equity_Additional

Shareholders' Equity - Additional Information (Detail) (USD $)	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2014	Mar. 31, 2013
Stockholders Equity Note [Line Items]	'	'
Employee stock option exercises	'	'
Stock repurchase program authorized amount	$50,000,000	'
Repurchase of common stock, shares	0	0
Share repurchase program authorization date	7-May-13	'
Dividends declared and paid	'	$7,201,000
Restricted Stock	'	'
Stockholders Equity Note [Line Items]	'	'
Number of option, grants	0	240,293
Common stock purchased from employees to pay expected amount of tax liability	17,364	340,707
Number of shares, forfeitures	52,834	6,848

Summary_of_Changes_in_Accumula

Summary of Changes in Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income, by Component (Detail) (USD $)	3 Months Ended
In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	Mar. 31, 2014	Mar. 31, 2013
Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income (Loss) [Line Items]	'	'
Beginning Balance	($15,528)	$87,412
Other comprehensive income before reclassifications, net of tax	5,697	906
Amounts reclassified from accumulated other comprehensive income, net of tax	-18,816	-4,051
Net current period other comprehensive income	-13,119	-3,145
Ending Balance	-28,647	84,267
Beginning Balance	-3,979	-5,860
Other comprehensive income before reclassifications, net of tax	-425	514
Amounts reclassified from accumulated other comprehensive income, net of tax	853	533
Net current period other comprehensive income	428	1,047
Ending Balance	-3,551	-4,813
Beginning Balance	'	1,204
Other comprehensive income before reclassifications, net of tax	'	-2,347
Amounts reclassified from accumulated other comprehensive income, net of tax	'	'
Net current period other comprehensive income	'	-2,347
Ending Balance	'	-1,143
Beginning Balance	-19,507	82,756
Other comprehensive income before reclassifications, net of tax	5,272	-927
Amounts reclassified from accumulated other comprehensive income, net of tax	-17,963	-3,518
Net current period other comprehensive income	-12,691	-4,445
Ending Balance	($32,198)	$78,311

Reclassified_from_Accumulated_

Reclassified from Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income to Net Income (Detail) (USD $)	3 Months Ended
In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	Mar. 31, 2014	Mar. 31, 2013
Reclassification Adjustment out of Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income [Line Items]	'	'
Unrealized gains (losses) on available for sale securities, before income tax	$20,970	$6,467
Unrealized gains (losses) on available for sale securities, net income tax	-18,816	-4,051
Gains (losses) on cash flow hedges interest rate swaps, net of income taxes	-853	-533
Other Net Realized Investment Gains (Losses)	'	'
Reclassification Adjustment out of Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income [Line Items]	'	'
Unrealized gains (losses) on available for sale securities, before income tax	-18,816	-6,232
Income tax expense (benefit)	'	'
Reclassification Adjustment out of Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income [Line Items]	'	'
Unrealized gains (losses) on available for sale securities, Income tax expense	'	2,181
Interest Rate Swaps	'	'
Reclassification Adjustment out of Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income [Line Items]	'	'
Gains (losses) on cash flow hedges interest rate swaps, net of income taxes	853	533
Interest Rate Swaps | Income tax expense (benefit)	'	'
Reclassification Adjustment out of Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income [Line Items]	'	'
Gains (losses) on cash flow hedges interest rate swaps, income tax expense	'	-287
Interest Rate Swaps | Interest Expense	'	'
Reclassification Adjustment out of Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income [Line Items]	'	'
Gains (losses) on cash flow hedges interest rate swaps, interest expense	$853	$820

Borrowings_Detail

Borrowings (Detail) (USD $)	Mar. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2013
In Thousands, unless otherwise specified
Debt Instrument [Line Items]	'	'
Subordinated debentures	$235,058	$235,058
Total	383,564	382,770
Subordinated debentures	116,991	114,900
Total	259,866	244,425
Convertible Senior Notes	'	'
Debt Instrument [Line Items]	'	'
Convertible senior notes	148,506	147,712
Convertible senior notes	$142,875	$129,525

Debt_Additional_Information_De

Debt - Additional Information (Detail) (USD $)	3 Months Ended			3 Months Ended		1 Months Ended		1 Months Ended	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2014	Mar. 31, 2013	Dec. 31, 2013	Mar. 31, 2014	Mar. 31, 2013	Oct. 31, 2010	Oct. 31, 2010	Sep. 30, 2010	Mar. 31, 2014	Mar. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2013
				Accumulated Net Gain (Loss) from Designated or Qualifying Cash Flow Hedges	Accumulated Net Gain (Loss) from Designated or Qualifying Cash Flow Hedges	Interest Rate Swaps	Interest Rate Swaps	Convertible Senior Notes	Convertible Senior Notes	Other liability	Other liability
							Cash Flow Hedging			Interest Rate Swaps	Interest Rate Swaps
Debt Instrument [Line Items]	'	'	'	'	'	'	'	'	'	'	'
Interest expense	$7,010,000	$7,808,000	'	'	'	'	'	'	$3,000,000	'	'
Subordinated debentures, carrying value	235,058,000	'	235,058,000	'	'	'	'	'	'	'	'
Notional amount, interest rate swap contracts	'	'	'	'	'	'	190,000,000	'	'	'	'
Interest rate swap contracts, terms	'	'	'	'	'	'5 years	'	'	'	'	'
Interest rate range on swaps, minimum	'	'	'	'	'	5.10%	'	'	'	'	'
Interest rate range on swaps, maximum	'	'	'	'	'	5.90%	'	'	'	'	'
Interest rate swap contracts liabilities, fair value	5,408,000	'	6,066,000	'	'	'	'	'	'	5,400,000	6,100,000
Gain (loss) on Swaps designated as cash flow hedges reclassified from AOCI to interest expense	'	'	'	900,000	500,000	'	'	'	'	'	'
Collateral on deposit with the counterparty	5,500,000	'	'	'	'	'	'	'	'	'	'
Convertible senior notes principal amount	'	'	'	'	'	'	'	150,000,000	'	'	'
Interest rate on convertible senior note, percentage	'	'	'	'	'	'	'	5.00%	'	'	'
Maturity date of convertible senior notes	'	'	'	'	'	'	'	15-Sep-14	15-Sep-14	'	'
Frequency of interest payment, term	'	'	'	'	'	'	'	'	'Interest on the Notes is payable semi-annually in arrears on March 15 and September 15 of each year	'	'
First interest payment date	'	'	'	'	'	'	'	15-Mar-11	'	'	'
Earliest conversion date for notes	'	'	'	'	'	'	'	15-Mar-14	'	'	'
Conversion rate of shares of common stock per principal amount of notes	'	'	'	'	'	'	'	'	39.7769	'	'
Principal amount of Notes	'	'	'	'	'	'	'	'	1,000	'	'
Initial conversion price	'	'	'	'	'	'	'	'	$25.14	'	'
Debt conversion term	'	'	'	'	'	'	'	'	'The adjusted conversion rate at March 31, 2014 is 28.3299 shares of common stock per $1,000 principal amount of the Notes (equivalent to a conversion price of $35.30 per share), subject to further adjustment upon the occurrence of certain events, including the following: if Tower issues shares of common stock as a dividend or distribution on shares of the common stock , or if Tower effects a share split or share combination; if Tower issues to all or substantially all holders of common stock any rights, options or warrants entitling them, for a period of not more than 45 calendar days after the announcement date of such issuance, to subscribe for or purchase shares of the common stock at a price per share that is less than the average of the last reported sales price of the common stock for the ten consecutive trading day period ending on the date of announcement of such issuance; if Tower distributes shares of its capital stock, other indebtedness, other assets or property of Tower or rights, options or warrants to acquire capital stock or other securities of Tower, to all or substantially all holders of capital stock; if any cash dividend or distribution is made to all or substantially all holders of the common stock, other than a regular quarterly cash dividend that does not exceed $0.110 per share; if Tower makes a payment in respect of a tender offer or exchange offer for common stock, and the cash and value of any other consideration included in the payment per share of common stock exceeds the last reported sale price of the common stock on the trading day next succeeding the last day on which the tenders or exchange may be made.	'	'
Effective interest rate on convertible senior note	'	'	'	'	'	'	'	'	7.20%	'	'
Transaction costs associated with equity component	'	'	'	'	'	'	'	'	400,000	'	'
Proceeds from issuance of note hedge	'	2,380,000	'	'	'	'	'	'	'	'	'
Payments for warrants	'	1,000,000	'	'	'	'	'	'	'	'	'
Tax adjustment recorded in paid-in-capital	'	$800,000	'	'	'	'	'	'	'	'	'

Amounts_Recorded_for_Notes_Det

Amounts Recorded for Notes (Detail) (Convertible Senior Notes, USD $)	Mar. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2013
In Thousands, unless otherwise specified
Convertible Senior Notes	'	'
Liability component	'	'
Outstanding principal	$150,000	$150,000
Unamortized OID	-1,494	-2,288
Liability component	148,506	147,712
Equity component, net of tax	$7,469	$7,469

Stock_Based_Compensation_Addit

Stock Based Compensation - Additional Information (Detail)	Mar. 31, 2014	Mar. 31, 2013	Mar. 13, 2013	Mar. 31, 2014	Mar. 31, 2014
			Canopius Group Limited	2008 LTEP	2013 LTIP
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items]	'	'	'	'	'
Maximum Share based awards authorized	'	'	'	2,325,446	2,150,000
Shares available for future grants	'	'	'	126,275	2,147,531
Number of Shares, Vested	'	'	525,548	'	'
Conversion ratio	1.133	1.133	'	'	'

Analysis_of_Restricted_Stock_A

Analysis of Restricted Stock Activity (Detail) (Restricted Stock, USD $)	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2014	Mar. 31, 2013	Dec. 31, 2013	Dec. 31, 2012
			Share Based Awards	Share Based Awards
Number of Shares	'	'	'	'
Number of Shares, Beginning Balance	235,586	1,015,902	'	'
Number of Shares, Granted	0	240,293	'	'
Number of Shares, Vested	-42,670	-950,773	'	'
Number of Shares, Forfeitures	-52,834	-6,848	'	'
Number of Shares, Ending Balance	140,082	298,574	'	'
Weighted Average Grant Date Fair Value	'	'	'	'
Weighted Average Grant Date Fair Value, Beginning Balance	'	'	$17.98	$20.19
Weighted Average Grant Date Fair Value, Granted	'	$18.08	'	'
Weighted Average Grant Date Fair Value, Vested	$18.07	$20.44	'	'
Weighted Average Grant Date Fair Value, Forfeitures	$18.12	$20.51	'	'
Weighted Average Grant Date Fair Value, Ending Balance	$17.89	$17.67	$17.98	$20.19

Analysis_of_Stock_Option_Activ

Analysis of Stock Option Activity (Detail) (USD $)	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2014	Mar. 31, 2013
Number of Shares	'	'
Number of Shares Outstanding, Beginning Balance	955,804	969,307
Number of Shares, Exercised	'	'
Number of Shares, Forfeitures and expirations	-691,162	'
Number of Shares Outstanding, Ending Balance	264,642	969,307
Number of Shares Exercisable, Ending Balance	264,642	969,307
Average Exercise Price	'	'
Average Exercise Price Outstanding, Beginning Balance	$17.75	$17.78
Average Exercise Price, Exercised	'	'
Average Exercise Price, Forfeitures and expirations	$17	'
Average Exercise Price Outstanding, Ending Balance	$19.73	$17.78
Average Exercise Price Exercisable, Ending Balance	$19.73	$17.78

Analysis_of_Stock_Based_Compen

Analysis of Stock Based Compensation Expense (Detail) (USD $)	3 Months Ended
In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	Mar. 31, 2014	Mar. 31, 2013
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items]	'	'
Weighted average years over which expense will be recognized (in years)	'2 years 10 months 24 days	'3 years 10 months 24 days
Restricted Stock	'	'
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items]	'	'
Expense, net of tax	8	7,982
Value of shares vested	959	9,485
Value of unvested shares	378	5,509
Unrecognized compensation expense	414	5,509
Employee Stock Option	'	'
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items]	'	'
Intrinsic value of outstanding options	'	1,149
Intrinsic value of vested outstanding options	'	1,149

Income_Taxes_Additional_Inform

Income Taxes - Additional Information (Detail) (USD $)	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2014	Mar. 31, 2013
Income Taxes [Line Items]	'	'
Income (loss) before income taxes	($50,935,000)	$46,000
Effective tax rate	-1.90%	'
U.S.	'	'
Income Taxes [Line Items]	'	'
Net deferred tax asset	277,800,000	'
U.S. | Tower	'	'
Income Taxes [Line Items]	'	'
Income (loss) before income taxes	-23,000,000	'
Net deferred tax asset	277,700,000	'
Income tax expense (benefit)	'	'
Income Taxes [Line Items]	'	'
Deferred tax assets, valuation allowance	5,200,000	'
Net Operating Loss Carryforwards | U.S. | Tower	'	'
Income Taxes [Line Items]	'	'
Deferred tax inventory	$187,700,000	'

Computation_of_Earnings_Per_Sh

Computation of Earnings Per Share (Detail) (USD $)	3 Months Ended
In Thousands, except Per Share data, unless otherwise specified	Mar. 31, 2014	Mar. 31, 2013
Numerator	'	'
Net income (loss) attributable to Tower Group International, Ltd.	($46,478)	$12,917
Less: Allocation of income for unvested participating restricted stock	'	-37
Less: Dividends on unvested participating restricted stock	'	-166
Net income (loss) available to common shareholders - Basic	-46,478	12,714
Reallocation of income for unvested participating restricted stock	'	'
Net income (loss) available to common shareholders - Diluted	($46,478)	$12,714
Denominator	'	'
Basic earnings per share denominator	57,150	45,614
Effect of dilutive securities:	'	74
Diluted earnings per share denominator	57,150	45,688
Common stock:	'	'
Distributed earnings	'	$0.17
Undistributed earnings	($0.81)	$0.11
Total - basic	($0.81)	$0.28
Earnings (loss) per share attributable to Tower Group International, Ltd. - Diluted	($0.81)	$0.28

Earnings_Loss_per_Share_Additi

Earnings (Loss) per Share - Additional Information (Detail)	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2014	Mar. 31, 2013
Earnings Per Share Disclosure [Line Items]	'	'
Options and other common stock equivalents excluded from computation of diluted earnings per share	268,100	190,500

Business_Segments_Results_Deta

Business Segments Results (Detail) (USD $)	3 Months Ended
In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	Mar. 31, 2014	Mar. 31, 2013
Revenues	'	'
Premiums earned	$111,544	$421,886
Ceding commission revenue	10,802	5,439
Policy billing fees	2,676	3,150
Total revenues	163,208	467,771
Expenses	'	'
Loss and loss adjustment expenses	102,561	275,732
Total expenses	214,143	467,853
Reciprocal Exchanges	'	'
Revenues	'	'
Total revenues	49,200	47,300
Expenses	'	'
Total expenses	55,000	58,600
Commercial Insurance	'	'
Revenues	'	'
Premiums earned	55,773	258,419
Ceding commission revenue	2,379	449
Policy billing fees	1,276	1,370
Total revenues	59,428	260,238
Expenses	'	'
Loss and loss adjustment expenses	63,971	177,003
Underwriting expenses	51,021	92,284
Total expenses	114,992	269,287
Underwriting profit (loss)	-55,564	-9,049
Assumed Reinsurance Segment	'	'
Revenues	'	'
Premiums earned	16,033	49,365
Total revenues	16,033	49,365
Expenses	'	'
Loss and loss adjustment expenses	2,408	19,360
Underwriting expenses	872	17,793
Total expenses	3,280	37,153
Underwriting profit (loss)	12,753	12,212
Personal Insurance	'	'
Revenues	'	'
Premiums earned	39,738	114,102
Ceding commission revenue	8,423	4,990
Policy billing fees	1,400	1,780
Total revenues	49,561	120,872
Expenses	'	'
Loss and loss adjustment expenses	36,182	79,369
Underwriting expenses	39,579	52,112
Total expenses	75,761	131,481
Underwriting profit (loss)	-26,200	-10,609
Personal Insurance | Tower	'	'
Expenses	'	'
Underwriting profit (loss)	-16,284	2,018
Personal Insurance | Reciprocal Exchanges	'	'
Expenses	'	'
Underwriting profit (loss)	($9,916)	($12,627)

Reconciliation_of_Revenue_by_S

Reconciliation of Revenue by Segment to Consolidated Revenues (Detail) (USD $)	3 Months Ended
In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	Mar. 31, 2014	Mar. 31, 2013
Segment Reporting, Revenue Reconciling Item [Line Items]	'	'
Net investment income	$15,358	$30,317
Net realized gains (losses) on investments, including other-than-temporary impairments	22,263	6,851
Insurance services revenue	565	128
Revenues	163,208	467,771
Commercial Insurance	'	'
Segment Reporting, Revenue Reconciling Item [Line Items]	'	'
Revenues	59,428	260,238
Assumed Reinsurance Segment	'	'
Segment Reporting, Revenue Reconciling Item [Line Items]	'	'
Revenues	16,033	49,365
Personal Insurance	'	'
Segment Reporting, Revenue Reconciling Item [Line Items]	'	'
Revenues	49,561	120,872
Total Reportable Segments	'	'
Segment Reporting, Revenue Reconciling Item [Line Items]	'	'
Revenues	$125,022	$430,475

Reconciliation_of_Results_of_I

Reconciliation of Results of Individual Segments to Consolidated Income Before Income Taxes (Detail) (USD $)	3 Months Ended
In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	Mar. 31, 2014	Mar. 31, 2013
Segment Reporting, Reconciling Item for Operating Profit (Loss) from Segment to Consolidated [Line Items]	'	'
Net investment income	$15,358	$30,317
Net realized gains on investments, including other-than-temporary impairments	22,263	6,851
Corporate and other	-11,889	-2,940
Acquisition-related transaction costs	-646	-19,056
Interest expense	-7,010	-7,808
Equity income in unconsolidated affiliate	'	128
Income before income taxes	-50,935	46
Commercial Insurance	'	'
Segment Reporting, Reconciling Item for Operating Profit (Loss) from Segment to Consolidated [Line Items]	'	'
Underwriting profit (loss)	-55,564	-9,049
Assumed Reinsurance Segment	'	'
Segment Reporting, Reconciling Item for Operating Profit (Loss) from Segment to Consolidated [Line Items]	'	'
Underwriting profit (loss)	12,753	12,212
Personal Insurance	'	'
Segment Reporting, Reconciling Item for Operating Profit (Loss) from Segment to Consolidated [Line Items]	'	'
Underwriting profit (loss)	($26,200)	($10,609)

Contingencies_Additional_Infor

Contingencies - Additional Information (Detail) (USD $)	1 Months Ended
In Millions, unless otherwise specified	Oct. 18, 2013
Loss Contingencies [Line Items]	'
Contingencies, damages sought	$150