Section A Flashcards

(127 cards)

1
Q

financial reporting

A

used to communicate financial results to the stakeholders (e.g. policyholders, claimants, investors, directors, management, etc)

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2
Q

3 goals of financial reports

A

1) Track the company’s financial performance
2) Compare the company’s performance to peers, history, etc.
3) Make informed financial decisions

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3
Q

Statutory Accounting Principles (SAP)

A

Source: State Regulators

Purpose: ensure that the policyholders will be protected, rules are usually conservative

Benefit: Combined with associated monitoring tools, it can provide an early
warning of impending financial problems.

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4
Q

Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP)

A

Source: FASB (Financial Accounting Standards Board) assigned this responsibility by SEC

Purpose: Primarily used by investors
Main objective: present results that closely measure the financial performance during a period by matching revenues and expenses.

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5
Q

Government Accounting Standards Board (GASB)

A

Provides rules for the public sector

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6
Q

International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS)

A

Source: International Accounting Standards Board (IASB)

Purpose: Used in many countries internationally.

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7
Q

National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC)

A

organization of regulators that coordinates governance of insurers.
This responsibility includes oversight of financial reporting.

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8
Q

Codification*

A

NAIC adopted Codification of SAP, which requires that insurers across the country follow the same rules (SSAP) when generating SAP based accounting statements. This consistency would ease the regulatory burden on the insurers.

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9
Q

3 Considerations for Accounting Framework

A

1) Liquidation vs going concern
2) Fair value vs historical cost
3) Principle based vs rule based

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10
Q

Liquidation vs going concern

A

How firms are viewed from a statement POV.

Different users will have different perspectives:
investors will generally view the firm as a going concern (ongoing business), whereas regulators will be more focused on a liquidation (run-off) scenario

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11
Q

Liquidation vs going concern: SAP

A

SAP accounting takes a liquidation (RUN-OFF) view

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12
Q

Liquidation vs going concern: GAAP

A

GAAP accounting takes a going concern (ONGOING BUSINESS) view

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13
Q

Fair value vs historical cost

A

How assets are valued.

Historical cost is more reliable, but fair value is often more accurate (would
produce a valuation in line with the actual market value)

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14
Q

Fair value vs historical cost: historical cost

A

purchase price less depreciation.

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15
Q

Fair value vs historical cost: fair value

A

value it can be traded at in the open market (this term is used interchangeably with “market value”)

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16
Q

Principle based vs rule based

A

How items in the financials can be valued.

The RULES are easier to interpret because they are typically specific, but the
principles are more adaptable to changes (compared to the rigid rules).

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17
Q

Principle based vs rule based: Principle

A

a general accounting approach that the users need to interpret.

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18
Q

Principle based vs rule based: Rule

A

specific guidance that users need to follow.

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19
Q

Annual Statement

A

A.K.A - “Blank”
developed & maintained by the NAIC, and has been adopted by all states

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20
Q

Balance Sheet: Assets

A

resources controlled by the insurer that have a probable future economic benefit

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21
Q

Balance Sheet: Assets Categories

A

Balance sheets categorize assets in 2 ways:
1) Cash and invested assts vs Non invested assets
2) Admitted vs Nonadmitted assets

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22
Q

Balance Sheet: Assets - Cash & invested assets vs Non invested assets

A

Cash & invested assets are more liquid.
This distinction is important given that statutory accounting is focused on solvency

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23
Q

Balance Sheet: Assets - Admitted vs nonadmitted assets

A

Non admitted assets are assets that are not easily convertible to cash to
satisfy the insurer’s liabilities (now or in the future), and are therefore not
included in the surplus.

(this concept is unique to SAP accounting)

Regulators are looking to ensure that the insurer has sufficient admitted
assets

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24
Q

Balance Sheet: Assets - CURB ARSON

A

C - Cash, Cash Equivalents & Short-Term Investments
U - Uncollected & Deferred Premiums & Agents’ Balances
R - Receivables from Parent, Subsidiary & Affiliates
B - Bonds

A - Amounts Recoverable from Reinsurers
R - Real Estate
S - Stocks
O - Other Nonadmitted Assets
N - Net Deferred Tax Assets

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25
Balance Sheet: Assets CURB ARSON: Bonds
The insurer will make an initial principal payment to purchase the bond from the issuer. In return, bonds make interest payments during its term and return the principal at the end of the term (maturity).
26
Bonds:
After the purchase, statutory accounting indicates that bonds be recorded at one of the following bases: ► Amortized cost ► The lower of amortized cost or fair value The designation that the NAIC's Security Valuation Office (SVO) assigns to the bond determines the applicability of the two bases above
27
adjusted carrying value
The amount at which a bond is recorded following the criteria: Bonds with the two highest designations (NAIC 1 and 2) are carried at amortized cost bonds with designations of NAIC 3 ("medium quality") and below are carried at the lower of amortized cost or fair value
28
Bonds (Found in Schedule D) One of two of the most important assets
Major category of investment asset help by Insurance company. Pros: stable values implies stable asset implies stable surplus. which investors like. More likely that bond can be held to maturity at the expected date and payments can be made. Cons: Riskier assets (such as crypto) is not as stable and may not pay out
29
Balance Sheet: Assets CURB ARSON: STONKS (Found in Schedule D)
Stocks are instruments that represent an ownership share in the issuer. There are 2 types of stocks:
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Common Stock how different stocks react in the event of liquidation
Common stocks are subordinate to bondholders and creditors to receiving money in the event of a liquidation.
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Preferred Stock how different stocks react in the event of liquidation
preferred stocks have priority to those of common stocks to receive a return of their investment during a liquidation
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Common Stock vs. Preferred Stock
Insurance companies might prefer preferred stocks given they are guaranteed more of a return than compared to common stocks regulators will typically be concerned if the insurer has a high holding of stocks (relative to bonds) since stocks are generally quite volatile
33
Balance Sheet: Assets CURB ARSON: REAL ESTATE Schedule A understand this table commonly tested
Type | Valuation Rule Properties occupied by the company* | Depreciated cost − Encumbrances Properties held for the production of income | Depreciated cost −Encumbrances Properties held for sale | Min(Depreciated cost, Fair Value) − Encumbrances − Costs to sell property
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Properties occupied by the company
E.G Home Office. Depreciated Cost = Purchase price + acquisition costs - depreciation incurred to date Encumbrances = amount due on load (a.k.a mortgage)
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Properties held for sale
Company is trying to actively sell building. more conservative approach to valuation given statutory POV. Want to make sure IC is able to pay out in case of liquidation. The valuation DOES account for the depreciated cost so that it MAY reduce the chance of manipulation, e.g a company may try to increase their fair value (which is judgemental ) in order to increase their assets. fair value is similar market value cost to sell property = agent fees
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REAL ESTATE* NUANCE
one detail to be aware of is that if a company and its affiliates occupy less than 50% of a property, it is classified as either a property held for production of income or a property held for sale (as opposed to a property occupied by the company).
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Balance Sheet: Assets CURB ARSON: CASH EQUIVALENTS, SHORT TERM INVESTMENTS
These include assets that are immediately convertible to cash.
38
Balance Sheet: Assets CURB ARSON: UNCOLLECTED & DEFERRED PREMIUMS & AGENTS BALANCES
WP that has not been collected / received by the insurance company Important in the context of non-admitted policies. 1) Uncollected premiums & agents’ balances 2) Deferred Premiums
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Uncollected premiums & agents’ balances
I.E agent writes policy and collects the premium but has not paid the IC yet Agent balances dont necessarily have to be held by an actual agent. The IC can write policy directly for the policy holder
40
Deferred premiums
I.E Installment payments for premium
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Balance Sheet: Assets CURB ARSON: UNCOLLECTED & DEFERRED PREMIUMS & AGENTS BALANCES Non-Admitted
Under certain circumstances, the full value of balances are not recognized: 1) Premium that is over 90 days overdue is nonadmitted ------- statutory accounting assumes this premium is not going to be received so it can not be counted in the SURPLUS balance. 2) In addition to this, the insurer should write off premium that it believes that it will not collect. -------write off - remove the impact of the premium from the financial statements
42
Balance Sheet: Assets CURB ARSON: Amounts Recoverable from reinsurers
the balances due for the losses that have been paid by the insurer. Example: -10% QS reinsurance: -$1000 claim -IC paid $400 -Case reserve is $600 -then reinsurance owes 10% of $400 and 10% of $600 even though case has not been paid out UNDER STAT - ONLY INCLUDES 10% OF THE PAID LOSS ($40) WILL COUNT AS AN ASSET The reason that case reserves are not included is that loss and LAE are already reflected net of reinsurance on the balance sheet
43
Balance Sheet: Assets CURB ARSON: NET DEFERRED TAX ASSETS
tax accounting rules generally accelerate the recognition of income. income will be recognized earlier in tax accounting. Consider the IRS - want their money (taxes) quickly. so will recognize income quick to get paid quick. RESULTS IN A MISMATCH. IC IS PAYING OUT MORE TAXES THAN WHAT IS ON THE FINANCIALS. DTA recognizes this, and IC has an asset bc the tax has been paid upfront and will be recognized at a future date
44
Balance Sheet: Assets CURB ARSON: NET DEFERRED TAX LIABILITIES
DTL - OPPOSITE OF DTA reflects the future tax losses; tax savings that IC is temporarily receiving. but will have to pay out eventually. E.G unrealized capital gain - IC only receive tax impact once loss/gain is realized. until then no tax needs to be paid. only pays taxes on gains/loss until a stock is sold. If DTA > DTL, the insurer recognizes a “Net DTA” in the Balance Sheet, which nets any DTL from the DTA. If DTL > DTA, the insurer recognizes a “Net DTL"
45
The carryforward of net operating losses from previous years (1 of 2 DTAs)
occurs when an insurance company has net operating losses in one financial year and expects those losses to offset taxable income in the future, thereby reducing future tax liability
46
The difference in tax accounting and statutory accounting for loss reserves (1 of 2 DTAs)
For tax reporting purposes, loss reserves are discounted when determining taxable income. This means that an insurance company is not able to deduct from taxable income the full amount of losses that are incurred during a year. Therefore, assuming loss reserves are growing, a company's income on a tax basis is higher than the company's pre-tax income on a statutory basis in the current year. In the future, as this discounting unwinds, the insurer will get a tax deduction, which will not be recorded in statutory financial statements because it was already recorded in the year the reserves were established. The value of this future deduction (21% of the deduction) represents the DTAs. This asset can be particularly significant for growing companies
47
Balance Sheet: Assets CURB ARSON: Receivables from Parent, Subsidiary & Affiliates
This receivable reflects the money owed by the affiliates to the insurer. Users should be concerned if an insurer has significant amounts of these receivables, as they are usually not as liquid or available as other assets users should look at the source of the receivables and the portion that have historically been paid on time
48
Balance Sheet: Assets CURB ARSON: Nonadmitted Assets
non-admitted assets do not contribute toward the surplus balance SURPLUS = ADMITTED ASSETS - LIABILITIES
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Balance Sheet: Assets CURB ARSON: Nonadmitted Assets examples ON THE EXAM, IF YOU SEE ANY OF THESE... DO NOT INCLUDE THEM IN THE SURPLUS BALANCE
**MOST COMMON AGENT BALANCES (90 day UNCOLLECTED WP) 1) Investments in bonds, stocks, mortgage loans or real estate that exceed any state limitations (limits are not mentioned) 2) Investments in electronic data processing equipment (EDP) & software that exceed the set limits which are based on the adjusted capital & surplus (limits are not mentioned) 3) Nonoperating system software 4) Furniture, equipment & supplies 5) The portion of balances due from an agent from sale of a security that are overdue by over 15 days from settlement 6) Funds held at a reinsured company (company being insured by the insurer) that exceed the associated liabilities 7) 10% of deductibles recoverable in excess of collateral for high deductible policies
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HIGH LEVEL CONCEPT
loss reserves are a liability. under gaap, reserves can be discounted (Net deferred tax asset/liability), lowering a company's liability. SAP does not consider the DC, so under stat, reserves are HIGHER - thus liabilities are higher. (with the exception of tabular discounting which is ALLOWED under stat)
51
Balance Sheet: LIABILITIES CROPFUL
Ceded Reinsurance Premiums Payable Reinsurance Payable on Losses & LAE Other Expenses Provision for Reinsurance Funds Held under Reinsurance Treaties Unearned Premiums Loss & LAE Reserves
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Balance Sheet: LIABILITIES CROPFUL: Other Expenses
Expenses can be a component of the income statements. PAID / INCURRED Expenses fall into the income expenses EXPENSES UNPAID OR WILL BE PAID IN THE FUTURE falls within the balance sheet liabilities
53
Balance Sheet: LIABILITIES CROPFUL: Unearned Premiums
1) Daily pro-rata method (this is how we calculate at EY; (con: need all policy data: premium by policy and effective date)) 2) monthly pro-rate (1/24 method- middle of the month)
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SURPLUS
common capital stock gross paid in and contributed surplus unassigned funds
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An increase in a non-admitted asset leads to..
a decrease in surplus
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DIAGNOSTICS
1) an insurance company has a relatively larger portion of their assets in stocks, compared to the overall industry. 2) consider the overall magnitude of a company's uncollected and deferred agents' balances 3) the percentage of agents' balances that are nonadmitted 4) an individual company had a significantly larger portion of their assets in the form of receivables, as those receivables may not be as liquid or available as other asset types. More specifically, the user could attempt to ascertain the specific source of the receivables and the proportion of the receivables that are paid on time. 5) an insurer has a larger proportion of nonadmitted assets than the industry average, it may be worthwhile to investigate further to understand the source of those nonadmitted assets because they could be indicative of a problem with the business
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DIAGNOSTICS 2
1) a company's ratio of liabilities to surplus against the current industry average. Further investigation may be warranted if the ratio is significantly higher than that of the industry
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Balance Sheet: LIABILITIES CROPFUL: Losses and LAE reserves
Whether or not management relies on an actuary in establishing the recorded reserves, the NAIC Model Law for Property and Casualty Actuarial Opinions (MDL-745)16 requires that a Statement of Actuarial Opinion be provided that attests to the adequacy of the recorded liabilities
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Earned but unbilled - EBUB - Premiums
Earned but unbilled (EBUB) premiums, includes estimated adjustments that will occur to the premium on audit-type policies where the actual amount of premium depends on some exposure measure, such as payroll, and is unknown until the end of the policy period. EBUB premiums are only recorded if they are reasonably estimable in the aggregate.
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Reserve for rate credits and retrospective adjustments based on experience
In addition, SAP and GAAP require an insurer to establish a separate premium liability, referred to as a premium deficiency reserve, if the unearned premium reserve for a portion of the business is not sufficient to cover the expected corresponding losses, expenses and other costs. An actuary in either a reserving or pricing role should be aware of the criteria that dictate when a premium deficiency reserve is required so they can advise management
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Balance Sheet: LIABILITIES CROPFUL: UEP PAGE 7 U&IE
STAT accounting requires that expenses related to the acquisition of an insurance policy be realized as an expense at the time of acquisition. This departure from the matching principle that is commonly followed in accounting regimes exists to allow for a more conservative solvency-focused presentation because it results in lower policyholders' surplus, which is consistent with the objective of SAP.
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Balance Sheet: LIABILITIES CROPFUL: Ceded Reinsurance Premiums Payable
Ceded reinsurance premiums payable represent premiums that are owed to reinsurers for ceded reinsurance. This liability is recorded net of any commission retained to cover expenses that were incurred in issuing the reinsured policies.
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Things that impact Surplus
1) UW income 2) Investment Income 3) Other Income 4) Capital and Surplus Account (direct changes to income)
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UW income
UW income = EP - L+LAE Incurred - Other UW Expenses Incurred
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Allocated Expenses
Part of UW Income. Expenses need to be allocated to the following groupings (expenses are being allocated properly): 1) NAIC operating expense classifications 2) 3 different Expense categories -LAE -Other UW Expenses -Investment Expenses 3) Line of Business (provides an accurate measure of profitability)
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reasonably allocated Expenses
Inaccurate allocation may create subsidies: 1) distortion of profitability measure (profit can be understated) 2) inefficient allocation of resources (understated profits may result in company not investing) 3) anti selection - competitors that allocate properly may do a better job of pricing generating lower premium.
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Investment Income
Net Investment Gain = Net Investment Income Earned + Net Realized Capital Gains (G=IE+RCG)
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Net Investment Income Earned
Insurers earn investment income due to the delay in collecting premium and paying losses. Generated from several investment asset classes: 1) Bonds 2) Stocks 3) Cash & Cash Equivalents 4) Derivatives
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SURPLUS = ASSETS - LIABILITILES
If anything in CURB ARSON goes up, then suplus goes up (excluding nonadmitted assets If anything in CROPFUL goes up, suplus decreases if non admitted assets goes up, surplus decreases
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Dividends paid to stockholders
liability
71
Dividends paid to policy holders
decreases income statement
72
Stocks Issues
Asset
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income statement page 4 of the Annual Statement
provides the three sources of income, before federal and foreign income taxes and dividends to policyholders, separately: underwriting income, investment income and other income
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Income Statement: UNDERWRITING INCOME
UW INCOME = EP - (L+LAE) - (Other UW Expense Incurred) - (Agg write-ins for UW Exepnse) - (Net income of Protected cells) We note that aggregate write-ins and net income of protected cells are generally immaterial if not 0
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Incurred amounts on the income statement
On the income statement, each of the amounts labeled incurred presented also include the ultimate amount of those liabilities that occurred in the current year, and any changes in the ultimate amount of the liabilities that occurred in previous years: Income statement incurred = Current period ultimate + Change in prior period ultimate where, Change in prior period ultimate = (total all periods ultimate at end of period - total all periods ultimate at beginning of period) - current period ultimate
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Income Statement: Other Underwriting Expenses Incurred (Line 4)
The "Other Expenses" account represents all other expenses that were incurred but not paid at the end of the fiscal year, while this line on the income statement represents the total amount of other expenses incurred during the course of the year, whether or not they have already been paid.
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Expense accounting - expense allocation requirements
1) NAIC operating expense classifications 2) Expense categories 3) Line of business, of which there are 3
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Differences between SAP & GAAP
1) Deferred Acquisition Costs (DAC) 2) Premium Deficiency Reserves (PDR) 3) Non admitted assets 4) Deferred Tax Assets (DTAs) 5) Invested Assets 6) Balance Sheet Presentation of Reinsurance 7) Ceded Reinsurance (pros & Retroactive) 8) Structured Settlements 9) Anticipated Sal Sub 10) DC of Loss Reserves 11) Goodwill under Purchase Accounting
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Differences between SAP & GAAP: GAAP - DAC
Recall - GAAP is more for investors to get an accurate measure of income GAAP created a DAC to defer the acquisition expenses to match the recognition of EP (GENERAL EXPENSES ARE NOT INCLDUED IN DAC) Premiums are assumed to earn uniformly. In order to match premiums, you want to match income (which is half earned in the middle of the year) so you want the acquisition costs to also earned uniformly DAC offsets the acquisition cost from writing a policy (which reduces surplus)
80
Differences between SAP & GAAP: DAC - STAT
Capitalization of acquisition costs, through the establishment of a DAC asset, is not permitted under SAP. all acquisition costs are expensed to current operations as incurred. This is keeping with the conservative philosophy of SAP. if the ceding commission under a reinsurance agreement exceeds the anticipated acquisition cost of the business ceded, the ceding entity shall establish a liability, equal to the difference between the anticipated acquisition cost and the reinsurance commissions received, to be amortized over the effective period of the reinsurance agreement in proportion to the amount of coverage provided under the reinsurance contract
81
Differences between SAP & GAAP: GAAP - SAP Example
when the commission rate of a company's direct business is 10% and the ceding commission rate charged for the business ceded is 20%, it is likely that after considering all other anticipated direct acquisition costs, the ceded commission is still higher than the direct acquisition cost of the business being ceded. While the recognition of a DAC asset is not permitted, and the corresponding direct acquisition costs should be expensed to current operations, in this example, a net liability must be recognized by the ceding entity, reported as a write-in liability item on the balance sheet rather than a gain to the current operations. This effectively defers the gain until such time as the premium is earned
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Differences between SAP & GAAP: Comparing DAC under GAAP v STAT
GAAP: DAC is earned uniformly as premium/income is earned STAT: no DAC. All Acquisition costs are recognized on day one as the policy is written. This is bc if the IC was liquidated during the policy, the acquisition costs would be gone and cannot be recovered which means less surplus for the company (conservative)
83
Differences between SAP & GAAP: Premium Deficiency Reserve
Accounts for any deficiency in the un-owed premium.
84
Differences between SAP & GAAP: Premium Deficiency Reserve: GAAP
GAAP recognizes PDR. Can net out the DAC from the PDR. If PDR exists after subtracting out the DAC, the PDR is booked as a liability. PDR = min(DAC - PDR, 0)
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Differences between SAP & GAAP: Premium Deficiency Reserve: STAT
STAT recognizes PDR Note, there is no DAC. Two options* to PDR: 1) write-in liability 2) within the UEPR balance Acquisition costs are expensed at inception. thus do not need to be factored into the UEPR calc *know that this is not an option under GAAP but allowed under STAT
86
Differences between SAP & GAAP: Comparing PDR under GAAP v STAT
Under both GAAP and SAP, a PDR must be recognized with a charge to current operations if: UPR < (L+LAE) + Commisions & Other Acq Costs + Maintenance Costs Assoc with Unexpired Exposures Under both GAAP and SAP, a company is allowed to include anticipated investment income inthe premium deficiency analysis. *The major difference in the calculation of premium deficiency liability between GAAP and SAP is that under SAP, commissions and other acquisition costs should not be included to the extent that the related amounts have previously been expensed rather than established as an asset. Under GAAP, DAC is established as an asset and is presented net of ceded DAC. If a PDR is calculated, it first lowers the recorded DAC asset; once the DAC asset is exhausted, a separate PDR liability should be established. Under SAP, any premium deficiency is either included in the UPR balance or reported as a write-in liability item
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Differences between SAP & GAAP: Deferred Tax Assets (THIS IS THE N IN CURB ARSON - NET DEFERRED TAX ASSETS)
Recognizes the temporary differences between the accounting treatment and tax treatment
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Differences between SAP & GAAP: Deferred Tax Assets: SAP
Strict admissibility test to recognize DTA E.g discounting of loss reserves for tax purposes but not for accounting purposes leads to a deferred tax asset. This is because you pay tax based on income (revenue minus expenses) under the tax accounting basis. If liabilities incurred are discounted for tax purposes, this leads to higher income, which produces more tax for the taxing authorities. But the discount on incurred losses will unwind over time and create an expense that will reduce future taxable income. Some or all of this reduction to future taxable income is what is recorded as a DTA
89
Differences between SAP & GAAP: The primary difference between GAAP and SAP is in the treatment of DTAs.
GAAP: DTAs are fully recognized, and a valuation allowance is established if, based on the weight of evidence, it is more likely than not that the DTAs will not be realized. SAP: strict admissibility test for all DTAs in addition to the establishment of a valuation allowance. This can lead to recognition of less TAs in SAP basis financial statements
90
Differences between SAP & GAAP: DTA: SAP This is a recent change not reflected in Feldblum
Since January 1, 2012, the admitted portion is calculated as the sum of the following three components: 1. Federal income taxes paid in prior years that can be recovered through loss carrybacks for existing temporary differences that reverse during a timeframe corresponding with IRS tax loss carryback provisions199 (not to exceed three years), including the amount established for tax loss contingencies related to those periods. 2. The amount of DTA expected to reverse during the forthcoming period (up to a maximum of three years), limited to a percentage of surplus. The period and percentage of surplus is determined based on the company's ratio of total authorized capital (with some adjustments) to authorized control level (ACL) Risk-Based Capital (RBC). For example, the December 31 ratio is calculated based on the Authorized Control Level RBC for the current reporting period, which is in process of being filed with the company's state of domicile. Different rules apply for non-RBC reporting entities such as mortgage guarantee insurers. 3. The amount of DTA after application of the first and second components that can be offset against existing DTLs. The character (i.e., ordinary vs capital) of the DTAs and DTLs must be taken into consideration. Ordinary DTAs can be admitted by offset with ordinary DTLs and/or capital DTLs; however, capital DTAs can only be admitted by offset with capital DTLs
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Differences between SAP & GAAP: INVESTABLE ASSETS: STAT (B-S OF CURB ARSON: BONDS AND STOCKS)
Stat - valuation depends on type of asset Amortized Cost - Investment grade bond & Higher rated redeemable preferred stock (NAIC Code 1&2) Min ( Amortized cost, Fair Value) - Lower rated bond & Lower rated redeemable preferred stock NAIC Code (3 - sub) Fair Value - Common Stocks & Higher rated non redeemable preferred
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Differences between SAP & GAAP: Amortized cost
Asset will have a more stable valuation -> more stable surplus
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Differences between SAP & GAAP: Min (Amortized cost, Fair Value)
More volatile than just amortized cost. IC has incentive to purchase / hold higher grade bonds
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Differences between SAP & GAAP: Fair Value
Market value of stocks is most relevant over the purchase price Changes in fair value are recorded as DIRECT CHANGES TO SURPLUS (surplus is going to change with no corresponding change to income)
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Differences between SAP & GAAP: INVESTABLE ASSETS: GAAP (B-S OF CURB ARSON: BONDS AND STOCKS)
GAAP valuation is more dependent on the purpose of holding the investment asset over the type / grade of asset Fair Value - Available for Sale Amortized cost - Held to Maturity. Holder will receive the face value of the asset at maturity. Fair Value - Held for Trading. Holder is interested in buying and selling the asset which is why fair value is relevant Classification is made when the asset is acquired. Company needs to assign value at purchase
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Differences between SAP & GAAP: Invested Assets: SAP reasoning
In the case of increasing interest rates, the market value of older investment-grade bonds issued at a lower interest rate will decrease. Yet SAP allows for the asset to be carried at the higher amortized cost value. One possible explanation for this is that the difference is only temporary if the bond is held until maturity, as is typically done by most property/casualty insurers. *Note as interest rates increase, bond rates decrease
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Differences between SAP & GAAP: Effective December 31, 2017, SAP classifications of financial instruments such as bonds and stocks
SAP adopted a revised definition of bonds that identifies certain non-bond types of non-bond investments as SVO-identified investments that receive special statutory accounting treatment under the new guidance. Investment Type | NAIC Designation | Book Value Bonds (both long-term and short-term) | 1 - 2 | Amortized cost Bonds (both long-term and short-term) | 3 - 6 | Lower of amortized cost or fair value Common Stocks | N/A | Fair value Redeemable Preferred Stocks | 1 - 2 | Cost or amortized cost Nonredeemable Preferred Stocks | 1 - 2 | Fair value Redeemable Preferred Stocks | 3 - 6 | Lower of cost, amortized cost or fair value Nonredeemable Preferred Stocks | 3 - 6 | Lower of cost or fair value SVO-identified Investments | 1 - 2 | Fair value unless systematic value is elected SVO-identified Investments | 3 - 6 | Fair value
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Differences between SAP & GAAP: U.S. GAAP Classifications of financial instruments such as bonds and stocks
Classification | Applies To | Criteria / Intent | Measurement Basis | Where Value Changes Are Reported | Notes Trading Securities | Debt & marketable equity | Acquired for selling in short term (hours/days), but may be held longer | Fair value | Income statement | Classified at acquisition; active trading intent not strictly required Held-to-Maturity (HTM) | Debt only | Positive intent and ability to hold to maturity | Amortized cost | N/A (not marked to market) | Equity securities cannot be HTM; requires stated maturity Available-for-Sale (AFS) | Debt & equity with readily determinable fair values | Default category for securities not classified as Trading or HTM | Fair value | Other comprehensive income (OCI) | OCI effects go directly to equity; common for P/C insurers
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Differences between SAP & GAAP: BALANCE SHEET PRESENTATION OF CEDED REINSURANCE
U.S. GAAP requires, due to limited rights to offset assets and liabilities, that liabilities be presented gross on the balance sheet with a separate asset for anticipated ceded reinsurance recoveries. SAP requires the balance sheet presentation of liabilities on page 3 of the Annual Statement to be presented net of ceded reinsurance. Schedule P provides additional detail on the gross liabilities.
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Differences between SAP & GAAP: Prospective Reinsurance
Similar but slightly different treatment of losses unpaid by ceding. Stat: record reserves net of anticipated reinsurance recoveries E.G gross reserves $1000 Expects $100 in collectible reinsurance Booked = $900 GAAP: Booked at gross of $1000 but establishes ceded reinsurance recoverable asset of $100
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Differences between SAP & GAAP: Retroactive Reinsurance
Retroactive reinsurance - reinsurance of events that occurred in past SAP: UNDISCOUNTED ceded reserves are recorded as negative write-in liabilities (reduces liability) KEY TAKEAWAY: reserves in the balance sheet are not impacted / no direct change to the gross-net reserve reserve, SCHEDULE P IS NOT IMPACTED. A gain may be generated if the consideration paid is less than the negative write-in liability. treated as a write-in gain as part of "other income" Surplus benefit is treated as "special surplus" until paid reinsurance exceeds consideration paid
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Side bar: SCHEDULE P
does not reflect the reinsurance recoveries from the retroactive reinsurance
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Side bar: UNDISCOUNTED CEDED RESERVE
when the IC is paying premium to RC, that premium is LIKELY based on the discounted reserve. The policy written by RC will account for the TVM and payments will be made in future. this can benefit surplus
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Differences between SAP & GAAP: Retroactive Reinsurance
Step | SAP | GAAP Initial recording | Negative liability (credit special surplus) | Asset + deferred gain Premium paid | Credit cash| Credit cash Gain recognition | Immediate but restricted (special surplus) | Deferred; amortized over time Reinsurance payments |Reduce negative liability |Reduce reinsurance recoverable Income statement effects | No amortization |Gain amortized into income
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Differences between SAP & GAAP: Retroactive Reinsurance SAP Example
IC purchases $800 policy from RC for $1000 in liabilities: Gain of $200 will be booked as "Special Surplus". Once RC reimburses the IC (ceding company) more than $800, the excess amount can reduce the "special surplus" E.g Year 5: RC pays IC $850 for the ceded losses, then special surplus = $150 and recognized surplus = $50
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Differences between SAP & GAAP: Retroactive Reinsurance GAAP Example
the $200 "Special Surplus" from the SAP example, the gain is DEFERRED (not recognized upfront)
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Differences between SAP & GAAP: Structured Settlement
An insurer can use to settle certain claims by purchasing an annuity from a life insurer Claimant may be required to sign a release of liability which introduces credit risk in case the life insurance company goes insolvent. Two things can occur depending on whether the claimant signs the release or does not sign the release
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release of liability
if annuity provider goes bankrupt, the IC is not responsible and liability transfers from IC to claimant
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Differences between SAP & GAAP: Structured Settlement: Release of Liability - SIGNED
SAP AND GAAP ARE SAME TREATMENT: purchase price of annuity is recorded as paid loss claim is closed
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Scenarios where GAAP Is more conservative than STAT
Most cases, Stat is more conservative in order to protect policy holders in the event of insolvency. cases where stat is NOT more conservative than the GAAP handling are: 1) under structured settlements when the claimant does not sign the release of liability
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Differences between SAP & GAAP: Structured Settlement: Release of Liability - SIGNED
STAT: Similar treatments to unsigned, BUT insurer needs to disclose in the NOtes to Financial Statements GAAP: reinsurance recoverable asset must be created. makes it more obvious to users that credit risk exists.
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Differences between SAP & GAAP: SAL/SUB
SAP: insurer can choose to record Sched P reserves Gross or Net of Anticipated Sal Sub reserves GAAP: IC MUST subtract the expected recoveries from reserves
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Differences between SAP & GAAP: Discounting
SAP: rarely allows discounting EXCEPT FOR TABULAR / NON-TABULAR -3.5% DC rate is used GAAP: allows stat DC or alternative rates
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PERCENTAGES TO KNOW OF THE DOME
21% DTA DISCOUNT RATE 3.5% DISCOUNTING RATE 10% cap for goodwill
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Differences between SAP & GAAP: GOODWILL - STAT
Generated when a company makes an acquisition and pays more than the value of the business. The excess is assumed to be for intangible benefits for "Goodwill" STAT: record assets and liabilities of acquisition at historical SAP values (aka net book value) 10% limit on acquiring firm's capital from most recent annual statement in recognition of goodwill assets (want to avoid manipulation to boost surplus). Goodwill is amortized to unrealized capital gains and losses over the period in which the acquiring firm benefits (up to 10 year) (goodwill is reduces to 0 over the 10 years and booked to unrealized cap gains / losses)
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negative goodwill
booked as a contra asset (negative asset) still amortized over 10 years
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Differences between SAP & GAAP: GOODWILL - GAAP
Assets and liabilities are recorded at fair value goodwill = purchase price - fair value of net assets no amortization, but regularly evaluated for impairments negative goodwill offsets book value of acquired non-current assets. Any residual is recorded as a "bargain purchase gain" in the income statment
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bargain purchase gain
when negative goodwill exceeds the non-current assets. Example of non-current assets can be property of the company that is being acquired
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10K
GAAP financial statement reconciliation of beginning and ending p&c reserve balance for claims and claims adjustment expenses
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PGAAP
Is used for business combinations specifically for acquisitions. After goodwill is created, if the implied capital > purchase price, the difference is immediately recognized as income (operating gain)
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PGAAP: calculating fair value of reserves
1) future cash flows 2) adjustments to reflect TVM and Illiquidity 3) risk adjustment
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risk adjustment
cost of capital approach: 1) calculate capital required at each date 2) xs return = capital (required) x (ROC (required) - rf - illiquidity premium) 3) risk margin = PV of the xs return (discounted at rf + illiquidity premium)
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Value of in force business / Value of business in force - (VIFB) / (VBIF)
Specific to PGAAP In PGAAP, there is no DAC but there is a VBIF VBIF = UEPR - Fair Value of Liabilities expected from unearned business(UEP Reserve) *calc is similar to PDR but positive values are allowed
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deriving fair value liab
similar to calc used to derive fair value of assets, but have additional steps: 1) CFs in the first year should account for policy maintenance costs 2) event risk must be considered* *IC can hold more capital (increase capital charge) to account for event risk
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Cost of Capital Approach under PGAAP
The cost of capital approach is simply the present value of the future returns on capital that an investor would require for bearing the risk in the expected cash flows.
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One - Two - Year Loss Development: Favorable development
When development si too favorable, IRS will be concerned Losses have been over stated to avoid taxes Investors will be concerned since they have been funding too much capital.
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One - Two - Year Loss Development: adverse development
Users should decide if any development is a one time occurence or if it is a sign of under-reserving Concerned with all of reserves across all AYs. Would bring cause to investigate. Check notes to financial statement, discussions with management, check schedule P part 2 which tells which LOB is driving adverse development, check public records