| Significant Accounting Policies | (2) Significant Accounting Policies Investments Fixed maturities Investment in debt securities at March 31, 2020 and December 31, 2019 consists mainly of obligations of government-sponsored enterprises, U.S. Treasury securities and obligations of U.S. government instrumentalities, municipal securities, corporate bonds, residential mortgage-backed securities, and collateralized mortgage obligations. The Company classifies its debt securities in one of two categories: available-for-sale or held-to-maturity. Securities classified as held-to-maturity are those securities in which the Company has the ability and intent to hold until maturity. All other securities not included in held-to-maturity are classified as available-for-sale. Available-for-sale securities are recorded at fair value. The fair values of debt securities (both available-for-sale and held-to-maturity investments) are based on quoted market prices for those or similar investments at the reporting date. Held-to-maturity debt securities are recorded at amortized cost, adjusted for the amortization or accretion of premiums and discounts, respectively. Unrealized holding gains and losses, net of the related tax effect, on available-for-sale securities are excluded from earnings and are reported as a separate component of other comprehensive income until realized. Realized gains and losses from the sale of available-for-sale securities are included in earnings and are determined on a specific identification basis. Transfers of securities between categories are recorded at fair value at the date of transfer. Unrealized holding gains or losses associated with transfers of securities from held-to-maturity to available-for-sale are recorded as a separate component of other comprehensive income. The unrealized holding gains or losses included in the separate component of other comprehensive income for securities transferred from available-for-sale to held-to-maturity, are maintained and amortized into earnings over the remaining life of the security as an adjustment to yield in a manner consistent with the amortization or accretion of premium or discount on the associated security. If a fixed maturity security is in an unrealized loss position and the Company does not have the intent to sell the fixed maturity security, or it is more likely than not that the Company will not have to sell the fixed maturity security before recovery of its amortized cost basis, the credit component of the impairment, if any, is recorded as an allowance for credit losses with an offsetting entry in the Company’s consolidated statements of earnings and the non-credit component of the impairment is recognized in other comprehensive income. Furthermore, unrealized losses entirely caused by non-credit related factors related to fixed maturity securities for which the Company expects to fully recover the amortized cost basis continue to be recognized in accumulated other comprehensive income. If a fixed maturity security is in an unrealized loss position and the Company has the intent to sell the fixed maturity security, or it is more likely than not that the Company will have to sell the fixed maturity security before recovery of its amortized cost basis, the Company will write off any previously recognized allowance for credit losses and will decrease the amortized cost basis of the security. If the allowance has been fully written off and the fair value is less than its amortized cost basis, the amortized cost basis is written down and an impairment loss is recognized in the Company’s consolidated statements of earnings. As of March 31, 2020, no allowance for credit losses was recorded in the consolidated financial statements. The credit component of the impairment is determined by comparing the net present value of projected future cash flows with the amortized cost basis of the fixed maturity security. The net present value is calculated by discounting the Company’s best estimate of projected future cash flows at the effective interest rate implicit in the fixed maturity security at the date of acquisition. If in subsequent periods, there is an increase in the projected future cash flows of the fixed maturity security, part or all of the allowance for credit losses may be reversed. To determine whether an impairment is credit or non-credit related, the Company considers whether it has the ability and intent to hold the investment until a market price recovery and considers whether evidence indicating the cost of the investment is recoverable outweighs evidence to the contrary. Evidence considered in this assessment includes the reasons for the impairment, the severity of the impairment, market conditions, changes in the security’s rating, changes in value subsequent to year-end, forecasted performance of the investee, and the general market condition in the geographic area or industry the investee operates in. Premiums and discounts are amortized or accreted over the life of the related held-to-maturity or available-for-sale security as an adjustment to yield using the effective interest method. Dividend and interest income are recognized when earned. The Company regularly invests in mortgaged-backed securities and other securities subject to prepayment and call risk. Significant changes in prevailing interest rates may adversely affect the timing and amount of cash flows on such securities. In addition, the amortization of market premium and accretion of market discount for mortgaged-backed securities is based on historical experience and estimates of future payment speeds on the underlying mortgage loans. Actual prepayment speeds may differ from original estimates and may result in material adjustments to amortization or accretion recorded in future periods. Equity investments Investment in equity securities at March 31, 2020 and December 31, 2019 consists of mutual funds whose underlying assets are comprised of domestic equity securities, international equity securities and higher risk fixed income instruments. Equity investments are recorded at fair value. The fair values of equity investments are mainly based on quoted market prices for those or similar investments at the reporting date. For a specific equity investment, the fair value is estimated using the net asset value (NAV) of the Company’s ownership interest in the partnership. Unrealized holding gains and losses on equity investments are included in earnings. Realized gains and losses from the sale of equity investments are included in earnings and are determined on a specific identification basis. Other invested assets Other invested assets at March 31, 2020 and December 31, 2019 consist mainly of alternative investments in partnerships that invest in several private debt and private equity funds. Portfolios are diversified by vintage year, stage, geography, business sectors and number of investments. These investments are not redeemable with the funds. Distributions from each fund are received as the underlying investments of the funds are liquidated. It is estimated that the underlying assets of the funds will be liquidated in the next 5 to 12 years. The fair values of the investments in this class have been estimated using the net asset value (NAV) of the Company’s ownership interest in the partnerships. Total unfunded capital commitments for these positions as of March 31, 2020 amounted to $67,588. The remaining average commitments period is approximately three years. Health Insurance Providers Fee The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act as amended by the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act mandates an annual Health Insurance Providers Fee (HIP Fee). The annual HIP Fee becomes payable to the U.S. Treasury once the entity provides health insurance for any U.S. health risk each applicable calendar year. The initial estimated annual fee is accrued as of January 1, with a corresponding deferred cost that is amortized over 12 months on a straight-line basis. The fee payment is due on September 30 of each year. The deferred cost is included within the other asset line item and the accrued fee is included within the accounts payable and accrued liabilities line item in the accompanying condensed consolidated balance sheets. The fee is presented within operating expenses in the accompanying condensed consolidated statements of earnings. The HIP Fee was waived for all health insurance providers during the year ended December 31, 2019. The Taxpayer Certainty and Disaster Tax Relief Act of 2019 and the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2020, signed into law on December 20, 2019, repealed the HIP Fee effective calendar years beginning after December 31, 2020. As of March 31, 2020, the HIP Fee deferred cost amounted to $48,974 and the accrued HIP Fee amounted to $65,300. As of December 31, 2019, no balance was deferred or accrued for the HIP Fee. Recently Adopted Accounting Standards On June 16, 2016, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) issued guidance to provide financial statement users with more decision-useful information about the expected credit losses on financial instruments and other commitments to extend credit held by a reporting entity at each reporting date by replacing the incurred loss impairment methodology in current U.S. GAAP with a methodology that reflects expected credit losses and requires consideration of a broader range of reasonable and supportable information to inform credit loss estimates. In addition, on April 25, 2019, the FASB issued Accounting Standard Update (ASU) 2019-04: Codification Improvements to Topic 326, Financial Instruments – Credit Losses, Topic 815, Derivatives and Hedging, and Topic 825, Financial Instruments. The amendments in this update represent changes to clarify, correct errors in or improve the codification. Such amendments should make the codification easier to understand and easier to apply by eliminating inconsistencies and providing clarifications. Within the clarifications was the FASB’s intent to include all reinsurance recoverables within the scope of ASU 2016-13 (Topic 326). For public companies, the improvements related to ASU 2016-13 (Topic 326) and ASU 2016-01 (Topic 825) are effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2019, including interim periods within those fiscal years. The Company adopted the standard effective January 1, 2020 and recognized $166, net of deferred tax asset, as a cumulative effect adjustment to the opening balance of retained earnings on the adoption date. In addition, the Company implemented control processes and procedures, as necessary, based on changes resulting from the new standard. On January 26, 2017, the FASB issued guidance to simplify the manner in which an entity is required to evaluate goodwill for impairment by eliminating Step 2 from the goodwill impairment test. Step 2 measures a goodwill impairment loss by comparing the implied fair value of a reporting unit’s goodwill with the carrying amount of that goodwill. Instead, under the amendments in this guidance, an entity should (1) perform its annual or interim goodwill impairment test by comparing the fair value of a reporting unit with its carrying amount, and (2) recognize an impairment charge for the amount by which the carrying amount exceeds the reporting unit’s fair value, with the understanding that the loss recognized should not exceed the total amount of goodwill allocated to that reporting unit. Additionally, this guidance removes the requirements for any reporting unit with a zero or negative carrying amount to perform a qualitative assessment and, if it fails such qualitative test, to perform Step 2 of the goodwill impairment test. For public companies, these amendments, which should be applied on a prospective basis, are effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2019, including interim periods within those fiscal years. The Company adopted the standard effective January 1, 2020. Upon adoption of this standard, if the carrying amount of any of the reporting units exceeds its fair value, the Company would be required to record an impairment charge for the difference up to the amount of the goodwill. On August 27, 2018, the FASB issued guidance for Fair Value Measurement – Disclosure Framework – Changes to the Disclosure Requirement for Fair Value Measurement. This update focuses on improving the effectiveness of disclosures in the notes to the financial statements by facilitating clear communication of the information required by U.S. GAAP that is most important to users of each entity’s financial statements. Specifically, certain disclosure requirements are removed (the amount of, and reasons for, transfer between Level 1 and Level 2 of the fair value hierarchy; the policy for timing of transfers between levels; the valuation processes for Level 3 fair value measurements) while certain other disclosures are modified and added (changes in unrealized gains and losses for the period included in other comprehensive income for recurring Level 3 fair value measurements held at the end of the reporting period, and the range and weighted average of significant unobservable inputs used to develop Level 3 fair value measurements). The amendments regarding changes in unrealized gains and losses, the range and weighted average of significant unobservable inputs used to develop Level 3 fair value measurements, and the narrative description of measurement uncertainty should be applied prospectively for only the most recent period in the initial fiscal year of adoption. All other amendments should be applied retrospectively to all periods presented upon their effective date. For public companies, these amendments will be applied for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2019, including interim periods within those fiscal years. The Company adopted the standard effective January 1, 2020. The adoption of this guidance did not have a material impact on the presentation and disclosures of the Company’s consolidated financial statements. On August 29, 2018, the FASB issued guidance for Intangibles – Goodwill and Other – Internal-Use Software. Guidance addresses customers’ accounting for implemented costs incurred in a cloud computing arrangement that is a service contract and aims to reduce complexity in the accounting for costs of implementing a cloud computing service arrangement. The amendments require a customer in a hosting arrangement that is a service contract to determine which implementation costs to capitalize as an asset related to the service contract and which costs to expense. Additionally, it requires the customer to expense the capitalized implementation costs over the term of the hosting arrangement. For public companies, these amendments will be applied on a prospective basis, for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2019, including interim periods within those fiscal years. The Company adopted the standard effective January 1, 2020. The adoption of this guidance did not have a material impact on the results of the Company’s consolidated financial statements. Future Adoptions of On March 12, 2020, the FASB issued ASU 2020-04: Reference Rate Reform (Topic 848): Facilitation of the Effects of Reference Rate Reform on Financial Reporting. The ASU was issued to provide optional guidance, for a limited time, to ease the potential burden in accounting for or recognizing the effects of reference rate reform on financial reporting. The amendments, which are elective and apply to all entities, provide expedients and exceptions for applying U.S. GAAP to contract modifications and hedging relationships affected by reference rate reform if certain criteria are met. The amendments apply only to contracts and hedging relationships that reference LIBOR or another reference rate that is expected to be discontinued due to reference rate reform. Because the guidance is intended to assist stakeholders during the global market-wide reference rate transition period, it is in effect for a limited time, from March 12, 2020 through December 31, 2022. The Company is in the process of evaluating the contracts that are affected by the reference reform rate to determine the impact if we elect any of the expedients provided by this ASU. Other than the accounting pronouncements disclosed above, there were no other new accounting pronouncements issued during the three months ended March 31, 2020 that could have a material impact on the Company’s financial position, operating results or financials statement disclosures. |
