SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES AND PRACTICES

6 Months Ended

Jun. 30, 2020

Accounting Policies [Abstract]

SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES AND PRACTICES

2. SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES AND PRACTICES

Our significant accounting policies were described in Note 2 of our 2019 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 six months ended June 30, 2020.

Accounting Estimates and Assumptions

The Company prepares the accompanying consolidated financial statements in accordance with 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 ongoing basis.

Recently Issued Accounting Pronouncements, Adopted

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 other-than-temporary impairment ("OTTI") model. The update also requires 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 Company adopted the guidance effective January 1, 2020, by reflecting a cumulative effect adjustment of less than $0.1 million, after-tax, which decreased retained earnings, held-to-maturity debt securities and reinsurance recoverable.

Refer to Note 7 for additional information regarding allowances for credit loss.

In August 2018, the FASB issued ASU 2018-15, Intangibles - Goodwill and Other - Internal-Use Software (Subtopic 350-40): Customer’s Accounting for Implementation Costs Incurred in a Cloud Computing Arrangement That Is a Service Contract. ASU 2018-15 requires a customer in a cloud computing arrangement that is a service contract to follow the internal-use software guidance in Accounting Standards Codification 350-40 to determine which implementation costs to defer and recognize as an asset. The Company adopted the guidance effective January 1, 2020, which did not have any impact on the Company’s consolidated financial condition or results of operations.

Recently Issued Accounting Pronouncements, Not Yet Adopted

In January 2020, the FASB issued ASU 2020-1, Accounting for Equity Securities and Equity Investments, which clarifies the interaction between accounting standards related to equity securities (Topic 321), equity method investments (Topic 323), and certain derivatives (Topic 815). The update clarifies that an entity should consider observable transactions that require it to either apply or discontinue the equity method of accounting for the purposes of applying the measurement alternative in accordance with Topic 321 immediately before applying or upon discontinuing the equity method. The update is effective for interim and annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2021, 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.