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Other commitments and contingencies
3 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2015
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]  
Other commitments and contingencies
Other commitments and contingencies

Indemnifications – In the normal course of business, we periodically enter into agreements that incorporate general indemnification language. These indemnifications encompass third-party claims arising from our products and services, including service failures, breach of security, intellectual property rights, governmental regulations and/or employment-related matters. Performance under these indemnities would generally be triggered by our breach of the terms of the contract. In disposing of assets or businesses, we often provide representations, warranties and/or indemnities to cover various risks including, for example, unknown damage to the assets, environmental risks involved in the sale of real estate, liability to investigate and remediate environmental contamination at waste disposal sites and manufacturing facilities, and unidentified tax liabilities and legal fees related to periods prior to disposition. We do not have the ability to estimate the potential liability from such indemnities because they relate to unknown conditions. However, we have no reason to believe that any possible liability under these indemnities would have a material adverse effect on our financial position, annual results of operations or annual cash flows. We have recorded liabilities for known indemnifications related to environmental matters.

Environmental matters – We are currently involved in environmental compliance, investigation and remediation activities at some of our current and former sites, primarily printing facilities of our Financial Services and Small Business Services segments which have been sold. Remediation costs are accrued on an undiscounted basis when the obligations are either known or considered probable and can be reasonably estimated. Remediation or testing costs that result directly from the sale of an asset and which we would not have otherwise incurred are considered direct costs of the sale of the asset. As such, they are included in our measurement of the carrying value of the asset sold.

Accruals for environmental matters were $7,597 as of March 31, 2015 and $7,942 as of December 31, 2014, primarily related to facilities which have been sold. These accruals are included in accrued liabilities and other non-current liabilities in the consolidated balance sheets. Accrued costs consist of direct costs of the remediation activities, primarily fees which will be paid to outside engineering and consulting firms. Although recorded accruals include our best estimates, our total costs cannot be predicted with certainty due to various factors such as the extent of corrective action that may be required, evolving environmental laws and regulations and advances in environmental technology. Where the available information is sufficient to estimate the amount of the liability, that estimate is used. Where the information is only sufficient to establish a range of probable liability and no point within the range is more likely than any other, the lower end of the range is recorded. We do not believe that the range of possible outcomes could have a material effect on our financial condition, results of operations or liquidity. Expense reflected in the consolidated statements of comprehensive income for environmental matters was $293 for the quarter ended March 31, 2015 and $269 for the quarter ended March 31, 2014.

As of March 31, 2015, $2,332 of the costs included in our environmental accruals were covered by an environmental insurance policy which we purchased during 2002. The insurance policy covers up to $12,911 of remediation costs, of which $10,579 had been paid through March 31, 2015. This insurance policy does not cover properties acquired subsequent to 2002. However, costs included in our environmental accruals for such properties were not material as of March 31, 2015. We do not anticipate significant net cash outlays for environmental matters in 2015. The insurance policy also covers up to $10,000 of third-party claims through 2032 at certain owned, leased and divested sites. We consider the realization of recovery under the insurance policy to be probable based on the insurance contract in place with a reputable and financially-sound insurance company. As our environmental accruals include our best estimates of these costs, we have recorded receivables from the insurance company within other current assets and other non-current assets based on the amounts of our environmental accruals for insured sites.

We also have an additional environmental site liability insurance policy providing coverage on facilities which we acquired subsequent to 2002. This policy covers liability for claims of bodily injury or property damage arising from pollution events at the covered facilities. The policy also provides remediation coverage should we be required by a governing authority to perform remediation activities at the covered sites. The policy provides coverage of up to $15,000 through April 2019. No accruals have been recorded in our consolidated financial statements for any of the events contemplated in this insurance policy.

Self-insurance – We are self-insured for certain costs, primarily workers' compensation claims and medical and dental benefits. The liabilities associated with these items represent our best estimate of the ultimate obligations for reported claims plus those incurred, but not reported. The liability for workers' compensation, which totaled $4,046 as of March 31, 2015 and $4,040 as of December 31, 2014, is accounted for on a discounted basis. The difference between the discounted and undiscounted workers' compensation liability was not significant as of March 31, 2015 or December 31, 2014. We record liabilities for medical and dental benefits for active employees and those employees on long-term disability. Our liability for active employees is not recorded on a discounted basis as we expect the benefits to be paid in a relatively short period of time. Our liability for those employees on long-term disability is accounted for on a discounted basis. Our total liability for these medical and dental benefits totaled $2,206 as of March 31, 2015 and $2,361 as of December 31, 2014. The difference between the discounted and undiscounted medical and dental liability was not significant as of March 31, 2015 or December 31, 2014.

Our self-insurance liabilities are estimated, in part, by considering historical claims experience, demographic factors and other actuarial assumptions. The estimated accruals for these liabilities could be significantly affected if future events and claims differ from these assumptions and historical trends.