Recently Issued Accounting Pronouncements

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2012

Recently Issued Accounting Pronouncements [Abstract]

Recently Issued Accounting Pronouncements

Note 10. Recently Issued Accounting Pronouncements

In October 2010, the FASB issued Accounting Standards Update 2010-26, "Accounting for Costs Associated with Acquiring or Renewing Insurance Contracts" (previously referred to as Emerging Issues Task Force ("EITF") Issue 09-G). This guidance changes the accounting for costs associated with acquiring or renewing insurance contracts in response to diversity in practice in the capitalization and amortization of those costs. Under the new guidance, deferrable costs will be limited to incremental direct costs of successful contract acquisition incurred with independent third parties and the portion of total employee compensation and payroll-related fringe benefits related to time spent performing specified acquisition activities (e.g., underwriting, policy issuance and processing) for successful acquisition efforts. Companies will have a choice between prospective and retrospective adoption. The new guidance is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2011. Pursuant to the new guidance, the Company adopted the standard on a retrospective basis. The Company's adoption resulted in a $2.2 million reduction of deferred policy acquisition costs, a $0.8 million decrease in deferred income tax liabilities and a $1.4 million decrease to shareholders' equity at December 31, 2011. The adjustment to shareholders' equity resulted in a reduction in book value of $0.08 per share based on the number of shares outstanding at January 1, 2012. The impact on the Company's results of operations at March 31, 2012 was not material.

In May 2011, the FASB issued Accounting Standards Update 2011-04 "Fair Value Measurement (Topic 820): Amendments to Achieve Common Fair Value Measurement and Disclosure Requirements in GAAP and the International Financial Reporting Standards ("IFRS")." ASU 2011-04 clarifies some existing concepts, eliminates wording differences between GAAP and IFRS, and in some limited cases, changes principles to achieve convergence between GAAP and IFRS. ASU 2011-04 results in a consistent definition of fair value and common requirements for measurement of and disclosure about fair value between GAAP and IFRS. ASU 2011-04 also expands the disclosures for fair value measurements that are estimated using significant unobservable (Level 3) inputs. The new guidance will be effective for interim and annual periods beginning after December 15, 2011. The adoption of this guidance did not have a material impact on our consolidated financial statements.

In June 2011, the FASB issued Accounting Standards Update 2011-05, "Presentation of Comprehensive Income." This guidance requires an entity to present the total of comprehensive income, the components of net income and the components of other comprehensive income either in a single continuous statement of comprehensive income or in two separate but consecutive statements. ASU 2011-05 eliminates the option to present components of other comprehensive income as part of the statement of equity. This guidance is effective for fiscal years, and interim periods within those years, beginning after December 15, 2011. The adoption of this guidance did not have a material impact on our consolidated financial statements.