Accounting Policies (Policies) |
3 Months Ended | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Mar. 31, 2019 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Accounting Policies [Abstract] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Basis of Presentation | Basis of Presentation The Consolidated Financial Statements include the accounts of Cigna Corporation and its consolidated subsidiaries. Intercompany transactions and accounts have been eliminated in consolidation. These Consolidated Financial Statements were prepared in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”). The Company adopted Article 5 of Regulation S-X issued by the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) effective December 31, 2018 in conjunction with the acquisition of Express Scripts. As a result, the Company now presents current assets and liabilities on its balance sheet. The Company reclassified realized investment gains (losses) from revenue and now reports them below income from operations with interest expense in our Consolidated Statements of Income, in conformity with Article 5. Prior years’ information was reclassified to conform to this new presentation. Amounts recorded in the Consolidated Financial Statements necessarily reflect management’s estimates and assumptions about medical costs, investment and receivable valuations, interest rates and other factors. Significant estimates are discussed throughout these Notes; however, actual results could differ from those estimates. The impact of a change in estimate is generally included in earnings in the period of adjustment. These interim Consolidated Financial Statements are unaudited but include all adjustments (including normal recurring adjustments) necessary, in the opinion of management, for a fair statement of financial position and results of operations for the periods reported. The interim Consolidated Financial Statements and Notes should be read in conjunction with the Consolidated Financial Statements and Notes included in the 2018 Annual Report on Form 10-K (“2018 Form 10-K”). The preparation of interim Consolidated Financial Statements necessarily relies heavily on estimates. This and certain other factors, including the seasonal nature of portions of the health care and related benefits business, as well as competitive and other market conditions, call for caution in estimating full-year results based on interim results of operations. |
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| Recent Accounting Changes | The Company adopted Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) 2016-02, Leases¸ as of January 1, 2019 (the adoption date) on a modified retrospective basis for leases in effect as of and after the adoption date. This new guidance requires balance sheet recognition of assets and liabilities arising from leases, as well as additional disclosures regarding the amount, timing and uncertainty of cash flows from leases. The Company implemented a new lease system and corresponding internal controls to administer our leases and facilitate compliance with this new standard. The Company elected the practical expedient package, allowing the Company to carry forward the assessment of 1) whether our contracts contain or are leases, 2) lease classification and 3) whether previously capitalized costs continue to qualify as initial direct costs. Upon adoption, the Company recognized new right-of-use assets and lease liabilities related to our operating leases, because finance (capital) leases were already reflected on the Company’s Consolidated Balance Sheets. The impact of adoption on the Company’s net assets and retained earnings was not material, nor was there a material impact on our Consolidated Statements of Income or Cash Flows. See Note 14 for additional disclosures about the Company’s leases.
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| Contractholder Deposit Funds | This liability reflects estimates of the ultimate cost of claims that have been incurred but not reported, including expected development on reported claims, those that have been reported but not yet paid (reported claims in process), and other medical care expenses and services payable that are primarily comprised of accruals for incentives and other amounts payable to health care professionals and facilities. The majority of the liability for unpaid claims and claim expenses is related to disability claims with long-tailed payouts. Interest earned on assets backing these liabilities is an integral part of pricing and reserving. Therefore, interest accreted on prior year balances is shown as a separate component of prior year incurred claims. This interest is calculated by applying the average discount rate used in determining the liability balance to the average liability balance over the period. The remaining prior year incurred claims amount primarily reflects updates to the Company’s liability estimates and variances between actual experience during the period relative to the assumptions and expectations reflected in determining the liability. Assumptions reflect the Company’s expectations over the life of the book of business and will vary from actual experience in any period, both favorably and unfavorably, with variation in resolution rates being the most significant driver for the long-term disability business. |
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| Reinsurance | Reinsurance does not relieve the originating insurer of liability. Therefore, reinsured liabilities must continue to be reported along with the related reinsurance recoverables. GMDB is accounted for as reinsurance and GMIB assets and liabilities are reported as derivatives at fair value as discussed below. GMIB assets are reported in other current assets and other assets, and GMIB liabilities are reported in accrued expenses and other liabilities and other non-current liabilities. |
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| Fair Value Measurements | Assumptions used in fair value measurement. GMIB assets and liabilities are established using capital market assumptions and assumptions related to future annuitant behavior (including mortality, lapse, and annuity election rates). The Company classifies GMIB assets and liabilities in Level 3 of the fair value hierarchy described in Note 10 because assumptions related to future annuitant behavior are largely unobservable. The only assumption expected to impact future shareholders’ net income is non-performance risk. The non-performance risk adjustment reflects a market participant’s view of nonpayment risk by adding an additional spread to the discount rate in the calculation of both (a) the GMIB liabilities to be paid by the Company, and (b) the GMIB assets to be paid by the reinsurers, after considering collateral. The impact of non-performance risk was immaterial for the three months ended March 31, 2019 and 2018. The Company carries certain financial instruments at fair value in the financial statements including debt securities, certain equity securities, short-term investments and derivatives. Other financial instruments are measured at fair value only under certain conditions, such as when impaired. Fair value is defined as the price at which an asset could be exchanged in an orderly transaction between market participants at the balance sheet date. A liability’s fair value is defined as the amount that would be paid to transfer the liability to a market participant, not the amount that would be paid to settle the liability with the creditor. The Company’s financial assets and liabilities carried at fair value have been classified based upon a hierarchy defined by GAAP. The hierarchy gives the highest ranking to fair values determined using unadjusted quoted prices in active markets for identical assets and liabilities (Level 1) and the lowest ranking to fair values determined using methodologies and models with unobservable inputs (Level 3). An asset’s or a liability’s classification is based on the lowest level of input that is significant to its measurement. For example, a financial asset or liability carried at fair value would be classified in Level 3 if unobservable inputs were significant to the instrument’s fair value, even though the measurement may be derived using inputs that are both observable (Levels 1 and 2) and unobservable (Level 3). The Company estimates fair values using prices from third parties or internal pricing methods. Fair value estimates received from third-party pricing services are based on reported trade activity and quoted market prices when available, and other market information that a market participant may use to estimate fair value. The internal pricing methods are performed by the Company’s investment professionals and generally involve using discounted cash flow analyses, incorporating current market inputs for similar financial instruments with comparable terms and credit quality as well as other qualitative factors. In instances where there is little or no market activity for the same or similar instruments, fair value is estimated using methods, models and assumptions that the Company believes a hypothetical market participant would use to determine a current transaction price. These valuation techniques involve some level of estimation and judgment that becomes significant with increasingly complex instruments or pricing models. The Company is responsible for determining fair value and for assigning the appropriate level within the fair value hierarchy based on the significance of unobservable inputs. The Company reviews methodologies, processes and controls of third-party pricing services and compares prices on a test basis to those obtained from other external pricing sources or internal estimates. The Company performs ongoing analyses of both prices received from third-party pricing services and those developed internally to determine that they represent appropriate estimates of fair value. The controls executed by the Company include evaluating changes in prices and monitoring for potentially stale valuations. The Company also performs sample testing of sales values to confirm the accuracy of prior fair value estimates. The minimal exceptions identified during these processes indicate that adjustments to prices are infrequent and do not significantly impact valuations. We conduct an annual on-site visit of the most significant pricing service to review their processes, methodologies and controls. This on-site review includes a walk-through of inputs for a sample of securities held across various asset types to validate the documented pricing process. Level 1 Financial Assets Inputs for instruments classified in Level 1 include unadjusted quoted prices for identical assets in active markets accessible at the measurement date. Active markets provide pricing data for trades occurring at least weekly and include exchanges and dealer markets. Assets in Level 1 include actively-traded U.S. government bonds and exchange-listed equity securities. A relatively small portion of the Company’s investment assets are classified in this category given the narrow definition of Level 1 and the Company’s investment asset strategy to maximize investment returns. Level 2 Financial Assets and Financial Liabilities Inputs for instruments classified in Level 2 include quoted prices for similar assets or liabilities in active markets, quoted prices from those willing to trade in markets that are not active or other inputs that are market observable or can be corroborated by market data for the term of the instrument. Such other inputs include market interest rates and volatilities, spreads and yield curves. An instrument is classified in Level 2 if the Company determines that unobservable inputs are insignificant. Debt and equity securities. Approximately 97% of the Company’s investments in debt and equity securities are classified in Level 2 including most public and private corporate debt and hybrid equity securities, federal agency and municipal bonds, non-government mortgage-backed securities and preferred stocks. Third-party pricing services and internal methods often use recent trades of securities with similar features and characteristics because many debt securities do not trade daily. Pricing models are used to determine these prices when recent trades are not available. These models calculate fair values by discounting future cash flows at estimated market interest rates. Such market rates are derived by calculating the appropriate spreads over comparable U.S. Treasury securities, based on the credit quality, industry and structure of the asset. Typical inputs and assumptions to pricing models include, but are not limited to, a combination of benchmark yields, reported trades, issuer spreads, liquidity, benchmark securities, bids, offers, reference data and industry and economic events. For mortgage-backed securities, inputs and assumptions may also include characteristics of the issuer, collateral attributes, prepayment speeds and credit rating. Nearly all of these instruments are valued using recent trades or pricing models. Less than 1% of the fair value of investments classified in Level 2 represents foreign bonds that are valued using a single, unadjusted market-observable input derived by averaging multiple broker-dealer quotes, consistent with local market practice. Short-term investments are carried at fair value that approximates cost. The Company compares market prices for these securities to recorded amounts on a regular basis to validate that current carrying amounts approximate exit prices. The short-term nature of the investments and corroboration of the reported amounts over the holding period support their classification in Level 2. Derivative assets and liabilities classified in Level 2 represent over-the-counter instruments such as foreign currency forward and swap contracts. Fair values for these instruments are determined using market observable inputs including forward currency and interest rate curves and widely published market observable indices. Credit risk related to the counterparty and the Company is considered when estimating the fair values of these derivatives. However, the Company is largely protected by collateral arrangements with counterparties and determined that no adjustment for credit risk was required as of March 31, 2019 or December 31, 2018. The nature and use of these derivative financial instruments are described in Note 9. Level 3 Financial Assets and Financial Liabilities Certain inputs for instruments classified in Level 3 are unobservable (supported by little or no market activity) and significant to their resulting fair value measurement. Unobservable inputs reflect the Company’s best estimate of what hypothetical market participants would use to determine a transaction price for the asset or liability at the reporting date. The Company classifies certain newly-issued, privately-placed, complex or illiquid securities in Level 3. Approximately 2% of debt and equity securities are priced using significant unobservable inputs and classified in this category. Fair values of mortgage and other asset-backed securities as well as corporate and government debt securities are primarily determined using pricing models that incorporate the specific characteristics of each asset and related assumptions including the investment type and structure, credit quality, industry and maturity date in comparison to current market indices, spreads and liquidity of assets with similar characteristics. Inputs and assumptions for pricing may also include collateral attributes and prepayment speeds for mortgage and other asset-backed securities. Recent trades in the subject security or similar securities are assessed when available, and the Company may also review published research in its evaluation as well as the issuer’s financial statements. Corporate and government debt securities. The significant unobservable input used to value the following corporate and government debt securities is an adjustment for liquidity. An adjustment is needed to reflect current market conditions and issuer circumstances when there is limited trading activity for the security. Mortgage and other asset-backed securities. The significant unobservable inputs used to value the following mortgage and other asset-backed securities are liquidity and weighting of credit spreads. An adjustment for liquidity is made as of the measurement date that considers current market conditions, issuer circumstances and complexity of the security structure when there is limited trading activity for the security. An adjustment to weight credit spreads is needed to value a more complex bond structure with multiple underlying collateral and no standard market valuation technique. The weighting of credit spreads is primarily based on the underlying collateral’s characteristics and their proportional cash flows supporting the bond obligations. Significant increases in liquidity or credit spreads would result in lower fair value measurements while decreases in these inputs would result in higher fair value measurements. The unobservable inputs are generally not interrelated and a change in the assumption used for one unobservable input is not accompanied by a change in the other unobservable input. Total gains and losses included in shareholders’ net income in the table above are reflected in the Consolidated Statements of Income as realized investment gains (losses) and net investment income. Gains and losses included in other comprehensive income in the tables above are reflected in net unrealized appreciation (depreciation) on securities in the Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income. Transfers into or out of the Level 3 category occur when unobservable inputs, such as the Company’s best estimate of what a market participant would use to determine a current transaction price, become more or less significant to the fair value measurement. Separate account assets in Level 1 primarily include exchange-listed equity securities. Level 2 assets primarily include:
Separate account assets classified in Level 3 primarily support Cigna’s pension plans and include commercial mortgage loans as well as certain newly-issued, privately-placed, complex, or illiquid securities that are priced using methods discussed above. Separate account investments in securities partnerships, real estate, and hedge funds are generally valued based on the separate account’s ownership share of the equity of the investee (NAV as a practical expedient) including changes in the fair values of its underlying investments. Substantially all of these assets support the Cigna Pension Plans. Some financial assets and liabilities are not carried at fair value each reporting period, but may be measured using fair value only under certain conditions such as investments when they become impaired, including investment real estate and commercial mortgage loans, and certain equity securities with no readily determinable fair value. |
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| Investments | Debt Securities Review of declines in fair value. Management reviews debt securities with a decline in fair value from cost for impairment based on criteria that include:
Credit quality. The Company regularly evaluates and monitors credit risk, beginning with the initial underwriting of a mortgage loan and continuing throughout the investment holding period. Mortgage origination professionals employ an internal credit quality rating system designed to evaluate the relative risk of the transaction at origination that is then updated each year as part of the annual portfolio loan review. The Company evaluates and monitors credit quality on a consistent and ongoing basis, classifying each loan as a loan in good standing, potential problem loan or problem loan. Quality ratings are based on our evaluation of a number of key inputs related to the loan, including real estate market-related factors such as rental rates and vacancies, and property-specific inputs such as growth rate assumptions and lease rollover statistics. However, the two most significant contributors to the credit quality rating are the debt service coverage and loan-to-value ratios. The debt service coverage ratio measures the amount of property cash flow available to meet annual interest and principal payments on debt, with a ratio below 1.0 indicating that there is not enough cash flow to cover the required loan payments. The loan-to-value ratio, commonly expressed as a percentage, compares the amount of the loan to the fair value of the underlying property collateralizing the loan. The Company re-evaluates a loan’s credit quality between annual reviews if new property information is received or an event such as delinquency or a borrower’s request for restructure causes management to believe that the Company’s estimate of financial performance, fair value or the risk profile of the underlying property has been impacted. Impaired commercial mortgage loans. A commercial mortgage loan is considered impaired when it is probable that the Company will not collect all amounts due per the terms of the promissory note. Impaired loans are carried at the lower of the unpaid principal balance or fair value of the underlying collateral. Interest income on impaired mortgage loans is only recognized when a payment is received The Company’s derivative financial instruments are presented as follows:
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| Derivative Financial Instruments | The Company uses derivative financial instruments to manage the characteristics of investment assets (such as duration, yield, currency and liquidity) to meet the varying demands of the related insurance and contract holder liabilities. The Company also uses derivative financial instruments to hedge the risk of changes in the net assets of certain of its foreign subsidiaries due to changes in foreign currency exchange rates. The Company has written and purchased GMIB reinsurance contracts in its run-off reinsurance business that are accounted for as freestanding derivatives as discussed in Note 8. Derivatives in the Company’s separate accounts are excluded from the following discussion because associated gains and losses generally accrue directly to separate account policyholders. |
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| Variable Interest Entities | When the Company becomes involved with a variable interest entity and when there is a change in the Company’s involvement with an entity, the Company must determine if it is the primary beneficiary and must consolidate the entity. The Company is considered the primary beneficiary if it has the power to direct the entity’s most significant economic activities or has the right to receive benefits or obligation to absorb losses that could be significant to the entity. The Company evaluates the following criteria:
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| Segment Information | See Note 1 for a description of our segments that changed effective with the fourth quarter of 2018 along with one of our principal financial measures of segment operating performance, which is now pre-tax adjusted income from operations. Prior year segment information reported in this Form 10-Q has been adjusted to reflect these changes. In addition, effective with the first quarter of 2019, the Company began allocating compensation cost for stock options to the segments. Prior year segment information was not restated for this change. A description of our basis for reporting segment operating results is outlined below. Intersegment transactions primarily reflect pharmacy sales to insured customers of the Integrated Medical segment. These transactions are eliminated in consolidation. The Company uses “pre-tax adjusted income from operations” and “adjusted revenues” as its principal financial measures of segment operating performance because management believes they best reflect the underlying results of business operations and permit analysis of trends in underlying revenue, expenses and profitability. Pre-tax adjusted income from operations is defined as income before taxes excluding realized investment results, amortization of acquired intangible assets, results of transitioning clients Anthem Inc. and Coventry Health Care, Inc. (the “transitioning clients”) and special items. Adjusted revenues is defined as revenues excluding: 1) revenue contributions from transitioning clients; 2) the Company’s share of certain realized investment results of its joint ventures reported in the International Markets segment using the equity method of accounting; and 3) special items, if any. Income or expense amounts that are excluded from adjusted income from operations because they are not indicative of underlying performance or the responsibility of operating segment management include:
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