not in all cases be aligned with the interests of investors, including holders of our debt securities. Additionally, our credit agreement and indentures permit us to pay dividends and make other restricted payments to Dai-ichi Life under certain circumstances, and Dai-ichi Life may have an interest in our doing so. Dai-ichi Life has no obligation to provide us with any additional debt or equity financing.
The Company is exposed to risks related to natural and man-made disasters and catastrophes, such as diseases, epidemics, pandemics (including the coronavirus, COVID-19), malicious acts, cyberattacks, terrorist acts, and climate change, which could adversely affect the Company’s operations and results.
While the Company has obtained insurance, implemented risk management and contingency plans, and taken preventive measures and other precautions, no predictions of specific scenarios can be made and such measures may not adequately predict the impact on the Company from such events. A natural or man-made disaster or catastrophe, including a severe weather or geological event such as a storm, tornado, fire, flood, earthquake, disease, epidemic, pandemic (e.g. the novel coronavirus COVID-19), malicious act, cyberattack, terrorist act, or the effects of climate change, could cause the Company’s workforce to be unable to engage in operations at one or more of its facilities or result in short- or long-term interruptions in the Company’s business operations, any of which could be material to the Company’s operating results for a particular period. Certain of these events could also adversely affect the mortality, morbidity, or other experience of the Company or its reinsurers and have a significant negative impact on the Company. In addition, claims arising from the occurrence of such events or conditions could have a material adverse effect on the Company’s financial condition and results of operations. Such events or conditions could also have an adverse effect on lapses and surrenders of existing policies, as well as sales of new policies. In addition, such events or conditions could result in a decrease or halt in economic activity in large geographic area, as well as additional regulation or restrictions on the Company in the conduct of its business. The possible macroeconomic effects of such events or conditions could also adversely affect the Company’s asset portfolio, as well as many other aspects of the Company’s business, financial condition, and results of operations.
The Company’s results and financial condition may be negatively affected should actual experience differ from management’s models, assumptions, or estimates.
In the conduct of business, the Company makes certain assumptions and utilizes certain internal models regarding mortality, morbidity, persistency, expenses, interest rates, equity markets, tax, business mix, casualty losses, contingent liabilities, investment performance, and other factors appropriate to the type of business it expects to experience in future periods. These assumptions and models are used to estimate the amounts of DAC, VOBA, policy liabilities and accruals, future earnings, and various other components of the Company’s balance sheet. These assumptions and models are also used in the operation of the Company’s business in making decisions crucial to the success of the Company, including the pricing of acquisitions and products. The Company’s actual experience along with estimates of future cash flows are used to prepare the Company’s financial statements. To the extent the Company’s actual experience or estimates of future cash flows differ from original estimates, the Company’s financial condition may be adversely affected.
Mortality, morbidity, and casualty assumptions incorporate underlying assumptions about many factors. Such factors may include, for example, how a product is distributed, for what purpose the product is purchased, the mix of customers purchasing the products, persistency and lapses, future progress in the fields of health and medicine, and the projected level of used vehicle values. Actual mortality, morbidity, and/or casualty experience may differ from expectations derived from the Company’s models. In addition, continued activity in the viatical, stranger-owned, and/or life settlement industry could cause the Company’s level of lapses to differ from its assumptions about premium persistency and lapses, which could negatively impact the Company’s performance.
Additionally, the calculations the Company uses to estimate various components of its balance sheet and statement of income are necessarily complex and involve analyzing and interpreting large quantities of data. The systems and procedures that the Company develops in connection with and the Company’s reliance upon third parties could result in errors in the calculations that impact our financial statements or affect our financial condition.
Models, assumptions and estimates involve judgment, and by their nature are imprecise and subject to changes and revisions over time. Accordingly, the Company’s results may be affected, positively or negatively, from time to time, by