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SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES AND PRACTICES
3 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2018
Accounting Policies [Abstract]  
SIGNIFICANT OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES AND PRACTICES
2. SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES AND PRACTICES

Our significant accounting policies were described in Note 2 to our Consolidated Financial Statements set forth in Part II, Item 8, “Financial Statements and Supplementary Data” of the 2017 Form 10-K. Other than the changes noted in "Recently Issued Accounting Pronouncements, Adopted" below, there have been no significant changes in our significant accounting policies for the three months ended March 31, 2018.

Accounting Estimates and Assumptions

The Company prepares the accompanying consolidated financial statements in accordance with U.S. GAAP, which requires management to make estimates and assumptions about future events that affect the amounts reported in the financial statements and accompanying notes. Future events and their effects cannot be determined with absolute certainty. Therefore, the determination of estimates requires the exercise of judgment. Actual results may materially differ from those estimates.
    
Similar to other property and casualty insurers, the Company’s liability for loss and loss adjustment expenses ("LAE") reserves, although supported by actuarial projections and other data, is ultimately based on management’s reasoned expectations of future events. Although considerable variability is inherent in these estimates, the Company believes that the liability and LAE reserve is adequate. The Company reviews and evaluates its estimates and assumptions regularly and makes adjustments, reflected in current operations, as necessary, on an on-going basis.

Recently Issued Accounting Pronouncements, Adopted

In January 2016, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) 2016-01, Recognition and Measurement of Financial Assets and Financial Liabilities (“ASU 2016-01”), which addresses certain aspects of recognition, measurement, presentation, and disclosure of financial instruments.  In February 2018, the FASB issued ASU 2018-03, Technical Corrections and Improvements to Financial Instruments-Overall (Subtopic 825-10): Recognition and Measurement of Financial Assets and Financial Liabilities. Most notably, the combined new guidance required equity investments (except those accounted for under the equity method of accounting or those that result in consolidation of the investee) to be measured at fair value with changes in fair value recognized in net income. The Company adopted the guidance effective January 1, 2018, by reflecting a cumulative effect adjustment, which increased retained earnings and decreased accumulated other comprehensive income by $1.0 million. This adjustment represented the level of net unrealized gains and losses associated with our equity investments with readily determinable market values as of January 1, 2018. The adoption also resulted in the recognition of less than $0.1 million in our statement income and comprehensive income, which represented the change in net unrealized gains and losses on our equity securities for the first three months of 2018. Although the amount of change in net unrealized gains and losses on our equity securities for the first quarter of 2018 was not significant, we believe this new guidance could significantly increase our earnings volatility going forward.

In February 2018, the FASB issued ASU 2018-02, Income Statement-Reporting Comprehensive Income (Topic 220): Reclassification of Certain Tax Effects from Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income. The update allowed a reclassification from accumulated other comprehensive income to retained earnings for stranded tax effects resulting from the Tax Act. Guidance had previously required the effect of a change in tax laws or rates on deferred tax balances to be reported in income from continuing operations in the accounting period that includes the period of enactment, even if the related income tax effects were originally charged or credited directly to accumulated other comprehensive income. The Company adopted the guidance effective January 1, 2018, by reflecting a cumulative effect adjustment to retained earnings with an off-setting adjustment to accumulated other comprehensive income for less than $0.1 million.

In May 2014, the FASB issued ASU 2014-09, Revenue from Contracts with Customers (“ASU 2014-09”). ASU 2014-09 requires an entity to recognize the amount of revenue to which it expects to be entitled for the transfer of promised goods or services to customers. The update replaces all general and most industry specific revenue recognition guidance (excluding insurance) currently prescribed by U.S. GAAP. The core principle is that an entity recognizes revenue to reflect the transfer of a promised good or service to customers in an amount that reflects that consideration to which the entity expects to be entitled in exchange for that good or service. The Company adopted this update and the other related revenue standard clarifications and technical guidance effective January 1, 2018, using the modified retrospective approach. The Company completed the analysis of its non-insurance revenues and has concluded that the implementation did not have any impact on the Company’s consolidated financial condition or results of operations.

In August 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-15, Statement of Cash Flows (Topic 230), Classification of Certain Cash Receipts and Cash Payments a consensus of the Emerging Issues Task Force) to improve the diversity in practice in how certain cash receipts and cash payments are presented and classified in the statement of cash flows. The update provides guidance on specific cash flow classification issues including the following: (1) debt prepayment or debt extinguishment costs; (2) settlement of zero-coupon debt instruments or other debt instruments with coupon interest rates that are insignificant in relation to the effective interest rate of the borrowing; (3) contingent consideration payments made after a business combination; (4) proceeds from the settlement of insurance claims; (5) proceeds from the settlement of corporate-owned life insurance policies, including bank-owned life insurance policies; (6) distributions received from equity method investees; (7) beneficial interests in securitization transactions; and (8) separately identifiable cash flows and application of the predominance principle. Previous GAAP did not include specific guidance on these eight cash flow classification issues. The Company adopted the guidance effective January 1, 2018, and the provisions of this update did not have an impact on our consolidated statements of cash flows or results of operations.

Recently Issued Accounting Pronouncements, Not Yet Adopted

In February 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-02, Leases (Topic 842). The update will supersede the current lease guidance in Topic 840, Leases and lessees will be required to recognize for all leases, with the exception of short-term leases, a lease liability, which is a lessee’s obligation to make lease payments arising from a lease, measured on a discounted basis. Concurrently, lessees will be required to recognize a right-of-use asset, which is an asset that represents the lessee’s right to use, or control the use of, a specified asset for the lease term. The update is effective for interim and annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2018, with early adoption permitted. The guidance is required to be applied using a modified retrospective transition approach for leases existing at, or entered into after, the beginning of the earliest comparative periods presented in the financial statements. The guidance is required to be applied using a modified retrospective transition approach for leases existing at, or entered into after, the beginning of the earliest comparative periods presented in the financial statements. All of the Company’s leases are classified as operating leases under current lease accounting guidance. The Company expects to elect all of the standard’s available practical expedients upon adoption. The update requires the Company to add the operating leases to the Company’s consolidated balance sheets. The Company does not expect this standard will have a material impact on the Company’s consolidated financial position or results of operations.

In June 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-13, Financial Instruments-Credit Losses (Topic 326): Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments, which significantly changes the measurement of credit losses for most financial assets and certain other instruments that are not measured at fair value through net income. The update requires entities to record allowances for available-for-sale debt securities rather than reduce the carrying amount, as currently performed under the OTTI model. The update also require enhanced disclosures for financial assets measured at amortized cost and available-for-sale debt securities to help the financial statement users better understand significant judgments used in estimating credit losses, as well as the credit quality and underwriting standards of an entity’s portfolio. The update is effective for interim and annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2019, with early adoption permitted. The Company is in the early stage of evaluating the impact that the update will have on the Company’s consolidated financial position or results of operations.