Dividend restrictions - Insurance subsidiaries

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2016

Text Block [Abstract]

Dividend restrictions - Insurance subsidiaries

(17) Dividend restrictions—Insurance subsidiaries

Payments of dividends by our insurance subsidiaries are restricted by insurance statutes and regulations. Without prior regulatory approval, our principal insurance subsidiaries may declare up to approximately $13 billion as ordinary dividends during 2017.

Combined shareholders’ equity of U.S. based insurance subsidiaries determined pursuant to statutory accounting rules (Surplus as Regards Policyholders) was approximately $136 billion at December 31, 2016 and $124 billion at December 31, 2015. Statutory surplus differs from the corresponding amount based on GAAP due to differences in accounting for certain assets and liabilities. For instance, deferred charges reinsurance assumed, deferred policy acquisition costs, unrealized gains on certain investments and related deferred income taxes are recognized for GAAP but not for statutory reporting purposes. In addition, the carrying values of certain assets, such as goodwill and the values of non-insurance entities owned by our insurance subsidiaries, are not fully recognized for statutory reporting purposes.