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SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES
9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2017
Accounting Policies [Abstract]  
SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES
SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES
Significant Accounting Policies
For a full description of significant accounting policies, see Note 2 to Consolidated Financial Statements included in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2016. There were no significant changes to the Company's accounting policies during the nine months ended September 30, 2017.
Accounting Pronouncements Recently Adopted
ASU No. 2017-04-Intangibles-Goodwill and Other (Topic 350): Simplifying the Test for Goodwill Impairment. This Update simplifies the goodwill impairment test by re-defining the concept of goodwill impairment as the condition that exists when the carrying amount of a reporting unit exceeds its fair value. The Update eliminates “Step 2” of the current goodwill impairment test, which requires entities to determine goodwill impairment by calculating the implied fair value of goodwill by remeasuring to fair value the assets and liabilities of a reporting unit as if that reporting unit had been acquired in a business combination. The Company elected to adopt the amendments in the Update in the first quarter of 2017, and will apply the revised guidance to impairment tests conducted after January 1, 2017. Application of the revised guidance did not impact the Company’s financial position or results of operations and will simplify its annual goodwill impairment test, which is generally conducted in the fourth quarter. For more details regarding the Company’s goodwill assessment process, please refer to Note 9, Goodwill.

ASU No. 2015-09 - Financial Services-Insurance (Topic 944): Disclosures about Short-Duration Contracts. The amendments in this Update require additional disclosures for short-duration contracts issued by insurance entities. The additional disclosures focus on the liability for unpaid claims and claim adjustment expenses and include incurred and paid claims development information by accident year in tabular form, along with a reconciliation of this information to the statement of financial position. For accident years included in the development tables, the amendments also require disclosure of the total incurred-but-not-reported liabilities and expected development on reported claims, along with claims frequency information unless impracticable. Finally, the amendments require disclosure of the historical average annual percentage payout of incurred claims. With the exception of the current reporting period, claims development information may be presented as supplementary information. The Update is effective for annual periods beginning after December 15, 2015 and interim periods beginning after December 15, 2016. The additional disclosures introduced in this Update have not been provided, as the short-duration lines of business to which they apply are not material to the Company’s financial statements.
Accounting Pronouncements Not Yet Adopted
ASU No. 2014-09 - Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606). This Update provides for significant revisions to the recognition of revenue from contracts with customers across various industries. Under the new guidance, entities are required to apply a prescribed 5-step process to depict the transfer of promised goods or services to customers in an amount that reflects the consideration to which the entity expects to be entitled in exchange for those goods or services. The accounting for revenues associated with insurance products is not within the scope of this Update. The Update was originally effective for annual and interim periods beginning after December 15, 2016. However, in August 2015, the FASB issued ASU No. 2015-14 - Revenues from Contracts with Customers: Deferral of the Effective Date, to defer the effective date of ASU No. 2014-09 by one year to annual and interim periods beginning after December 15, 2017. The Company will adopt this Update using the modified retrospective approach via a cumulative effect adjustment to retained earnings as of January 1, 2018. The amendments in the Update, along with clarifying updates issued subsequent to ASU 2014-09, will impact some of the Company's smaller lines of business, specifically revenues at the Company's affiliated broker dealers and insurance agency, and certain revenues associated with the Company's Asset Protection products. However, the cumulative effect adjustment related to the Company's adoption of the revised guidance is limited to the Company's Asset Protection segment. Based on its current projections, the Company estimates that the cumulative effect adjustment as of January 1, 2018 will result in a decrease in retained earnings between $68 million and $78 million. Several application questions remain outstanding, most notably interpretive positions regarding the Update's application to certain of the Company's warranty products. The Company will also implement minor changes to its accounting and disclosures with respect to the non-insurance lines of business referenced above to ensure compliance with the revised guidance.
    ASU No. 2016-01 - Financial Instruments - Recognition and Measurement of Financial Assets and Financial Liabilities. The amendments in this Update address certain aspects of recognition, measurement, presentation, and disclosure of financial instruments. Most notably, the Update requires that equity investments (except those accounted for under the equity method of accounting or those that result in consolidation of the investee) be measured at fair value with changes in fair value recognized in net income. The Update also introduces a single-step impairment model for equity investments without a readily determinable fair value. Additionally, the Update requires changes in instrument-specific credit risk for fair value option liabilities to be recorded in other comprehensive income. The amendments in this Update are effective for annual and interim periods beginning after December 15, 2017 and will be applied on a modified retrospective basis. The Company will record a cumulative-effect adjustment at the date of adoption (January 1, 2018) transferring unrealized gains and losses on available-for-sale equity securities to retained earnings from accumulated other comprehensive income. The impact of this adjustment (had it been recorded on September 30, 2017), net of income tax, would have resulted in a $11.4 million increase to retained earnings. The Company expects to complete its review of applicable policies and procedures to ensure compliance with the revised guidance.
    
ASU No. 2016-02 - Leases. The amendments in this Update address certain aspects of recognition, measurement, presentation, and disclosure of leases. The most significant change will relate to the accounting model used by lessees. The Update will require all leases with terms greater than 12 months to be recorded on the balance sheet in the form of a lease asset and liability. The lease asset and liability will be measured at the present value of the minimum lease payments less any upfront payments or fees. The Update also requires numerous disclosure changes for which the Company is assessing the impact. The amendments in the Update are effective for annual and interim periods beginning after December 15, 2018 on a modified retrospective basis. The Company has completed an inventory of all leases in the organization and is currently assessing the impact of the Update and updating internal processes to ensure compliance with the revised guidance.

ASU No. 2016-13 - Financial Instruments-Credit Losses: Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments. The amendments in this Update introduce a new current expected credit loss (“CECL”) model for certain financial assets, including mortgage loans and reinsurance receivables. The new model will not apply to debt securities classified as available-for-sale. For assets within the scope of the new model, an entity will recognize as an allowance against earnings its estimate of the contractual cash flows not expected to be collected on day one of the asset’s acquisition. The allowance may be reversed through earnings if a security recovers in value. This differs from the current impairment model, which requires recognition of credit losses when they have been incurred and recognizes a security’s subsequent recovery in value in other comprehensive income. The Update also makes targeted changes to the current impairment model for available-for-sale debt securities, which comprise the majority of the Company’s invested assets. Similar to the CECL model, credit loss impairments will be recorded in an allowance against earnings that may be reversed for subsequent recoveries in value. The amendments in this Update are effective for annual and interim periods beginning after December 15, 2019 on a modified retrospective basis. The Company is reviewing its policies and processes to ensure compliance with the requirements in this Update, upon adoption, and assessing the impact this standard will have on its operations and financial results.

ASU No. 2016-15 - Statement of Cash Flows: Classification of Certain Cash Receipts and Cash Payments. The amendments in this Update are intended to reduce diversity in practice in how certain transactions are classified in the statement of cash flows. Specific transactions addressed in the new guidance include: Debt prepayment/extinguishment costs, contingent consideration payments, proceeds from the settlement of corporate-owned life insurance policies, and distributions received from equity method investments. The Update does not introduce any new accounting or financial reporting requirements, and is effective for annual and interim periods beginning after December 15, 2018 using the retrospective method. The Company is reviewing its policies and processes to ensure compliance with the requirements in this Update, upon adoption.

ASU No. 2016-18 - Statement of Cash Flows (Topic 230): Restricted Cash (a consensus of the FASB Emerging Task Force). The amendments in this update provide guidance on the presentation of restricted cash or restricted cash equivalents in the statement of cash flows, thereby reducing diversity in practice related to the presentation of these amounts. The amendments require that a statement of cash flows explain the change during the period in the total of cash, cash equivalents, and amounts generally described as restricted cash or restricted cash equivalents. The Update is effective for public business entities for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2017, and interim periods within those fiscal years. The Company expects to complete its review of applicable policies and procedures to ensure compliance with the revised guidance.

ASU No. 2017-01 - Business Combinations (Topic 805): Clarifying the Definition of a Business. The purpose of this update is to clarify the definition of a business with the objective of adding guidance to assist entities with evaluating whether transactions should be accounted for as acquisitions (or disposals) of assets or businesses. The amendments in the Update provide a specific test by which an entity may determine whether an acquisition involves a set of assets or a business. The amendments in the Update are to be applied prospectively for periods beginning after December 15, 2017. The Company has reviewed the revised requirements, and does not anticipate that the changes will impact its policies or recent conclusions related to its acquisition activities.

    ASU No. 2017-07 - Compensation - Retirement Benefits (Topic 715): Improving the Presentation of Net Periodic Pension Cost and Net Periodic Postretirement Benefit Cost. The amendments in this update require entities to disaggregate the current-service-cost component from other components of net benefit cost and present it with other current compensation costs in the income statement. The other components of net benefit cost must be presented outside of income from operations if that subtotal is presented. In addition, the Update requires entities to disclose the income statement lines that contain the other components if they are not presented on appropriately described separate lines. The amendments in this update are effective for interim and annual periods beginning after December 15, 2017. As provided for in the ASU, the Company expects to apply the provisions of the statement retrospectively for components of net periodic pension costs and prospectively for capitalization of the service costs component of net periodic costs and net periodic postretirement benefits. The Update will not impact the Company’s financial position or results of operations. The Company is reviewing its policies and processes to ensure compliance with the requirements in this Update, upon adoption.    

ASU No. 2017-08 - Receivables - Nonrefundable Fees and Other Costs (Subtopic 310-20): Premium Amortization on Purchased Callable Debt Securities. The amendments in this update require that premiums on callable debt securities be amortized to the first call date. This is a change from current guidance, under which premiums are amortized to the maturity date of the security. The amendments are effective for annual and interim periods beginning after December 31, 2018, and early adoption is permitted. Transition will be through a modified retrospective approach in which the cumulative effect of application is recorded to retained earnings at the beginning of the annual period in which an entity adopts the revised guidance. The Company is currently reviewing its systems and processes to determine whether early adoption of the revised guidance is practicable.

ASU No. 2017-12 - Derivatives and Hedging (Topic 815): Targeted Improvements to Accounting for Hedging Activities. The amendments in this update are designed to permit hedge accounting to be applied to a broader range of hedging strategies as well as to more closely align hedge accounting and risk management objectives. Specific provisions include requiring changes in the fair value of a hedging instrument be recorded in the same income statement line as the hedged item when it affects earnings. In addition, after a hedge has initially qualified as an effective hedge the Update permits the use of a qualitative hedge effectiveness test in subsequent periods. The amendments in this Update are effective for annual and interim periods beginning after December 15, 2018 and early adoption is permitted. The Company is currently assessing the impact this standard will have on its operations and financial results.