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SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES
3 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2012
SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES  
SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES

2.                                      SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES

 

Significant Accounting Polices

 

Deferred Policy Acquisition Costs

 

In the first quarter of 2012, the Company adopted ASU No. 2010-26 — Financial Services — Insurance - Accounting for Costs Associated with Acquiring or Renewing Insurance Contracts. The objective of this Update is to address diversity in practice regarding the interpretation of which costs relating to the acquisition of new or renewal insurance contracts qualify for deferral. This Update prescribes that certain incremental direct costs of successful initial or renewal contract acquisitions may be deferred. It defines incremental direct costs as those costs that result directly from and are essential to the contract transaction and would not have been incurred by the insurance entity had the contract transaction not occurred. This Update also clarifies the definition of the types of incurred costs that may be capitalized and the accounting and recognition treatment of advertising, research, and other administrative costs related to the acquisition of insurance contracts.

 

The incremental direct costs associated with successfully acquired insurance policies, are deferred to the extent such costs are deemed recoverable from future profits. Such costs include commissions and other costs of acquiring traditional life and health insurance, credit insurance, universal life insurance, and investment products. Deferred acquisition costs (“DAC”) is subject to recoverability testing at the end of each accounting period. Traditional life and health insurance acquisition costs are amortized over the premium-payment period of the related policies in proportion to the ratio of annual premium income to the present value of the total anticipated premium income. Credit insurance acquisition costs are being amortized in proportion to earned premium. Acquisition costs for universal life and investment products are amortized over the lives of the policies in relation to the present value of estimated gross profits before amortization.

 

Based on the Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC” or “Codification”) Financial Services-Insurance Topic, the Company makes certain assumptions regarding the mortality, persistency, expenses, and interest rates the Company expects to experience in future periods. These assumptions are to be best estimates and are periodically updated whenever actual experience and/or expectations for the future change from that assumed. Additionally, using guidance from ASC Investments-Debt and Equity Securities Topic, these costs have been adjusted by an amount equal to the amortization that would have been recorded if unrealized gains or losses on investments associated with our universal life and investment products had been realized. Acquisition costs for stable value contracts are amortized over the term of the contracts using the effective yield method.

 

Accounting Pronouncements Recently Adopted

 

Accounting Standard Update (“ASU” or “Update”) No. 2010-26 — Financial Services — Insurance - Accounting for Costs Associated with Acquiring or Renewing Insurance Contracts. The objective of this Update is to address diversity in practice regarding the interpretation of which costs relating to the acquisition of new or renewal insurance contracts qualify for deferral. This Update prescribes that certain incremental direct costs of successful initial or renewal contract acquisitions may be deferred. It defines incremental direct costs as those costs that result directly from and are essential to the contract transaction and would not have been incurred by the insurance entity had the contract transaction not occurred. This Update also clarifies the definition of the types of incurred costs that may be capitalized and the accounting and recognition treatment of advertising, research, and other administrative costs related to the acquisition of insurance contracts. This Update was effective for the Company on January 1, 2012. The Company retrospectively adopted this Update, which resulted in a reduction in its deferred acquisition cost asset as well as a decrease in the amortization associated with those previously deferred costs. There was also a reduction in the level of costs the Company defers. For additional information on the effect this Update had on the Company, see Note 5, Deferred Policy Acquisition Costs and Value of Business Acquired.

 

ASU No. 2011-03 — Transfers and Servicing - Reconsideration of Effective Control for Repurchase Agreements. This Update amends the assessment of effective control for repurchase agreements to remove 1) the criterion requiring the transferor to have the ability to repurchase or redeem the financial assets on substantially the agreed terms, even in the event of default by the transferee, and 2) the collateral maintenance implementation guidance related to the criterion. The Boards determined that these criterion should not be a determining factor of effective control. This Update is effective for the first interim or annual period beginning on or after December 15, 2011. For the Company, the Update will be applied to all repurchase agreements beginning January 1, 2012. The Company has modified its policies and procedures to ensure compliance with the updated guidance.

 

ASU No. 2011-04 — Fair Value Measurement - Amendments to Achieve Common Fair Value Measurement and Disclosure Requirements in U.S. GAAP and IFRSs. The amendments in this Update result in common fair value measurement and disclosure requirements in GAAP and International Financial Reporting Standards (“IFRSs”). The amendments change the wording used to describe many of the requirements for measuring fair value and for disclosing information about fair value measurements. The intent of this Update was not to change the application of the requirements in Topic 820. Some of the amendments clarify the intent regarding the application of existing fair value measurement requirements. The Update did modify requirements for disclosing information about fair value measurements. These changes were effective for interim and annual periods beginning after December 15, 2011. The Company has included the required additional disclosures in Note 14, Fair Value of Financial Instruments, and has modified its policies and processes to ensure compliance with the updated guidance.

 

ASU No. 2011-05 — Comprehensive Income — Presentation of Comprehensive Income. In this Update, a company has the option to present the total of comprehensive income, the components of net income, and the components of other comprehensive income either in 1) a single continuous statement of comprehensive income, or 2) in two separate but consecutive statements. In both choices, a company is required to present each component of net income along with total net income, each component of other comprehensive income along with a total for other comprehensive income, and a total amount for comprehensive income. The amendments in this Update do not change the items that must be reported in other comprehensive income, or the timing of its subsequent reclassification to net income. This Update was effective January 1, 2012. The Company has implemented the two-page report format beginning in the first quarter of 2012.

 

ASU No. 2011-12 — Comprehensive Income — Deferral of the Effective Date for Amendments to the Presentation of Reclassifications of Items Out of Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income in Accounting Standards Update No. 2011-05. This Update defers certain provisions of ASU No. 2011-05, notably those provisions which require entities to present reclassification adjustments out of accumulated other comprehensive income by component in both the statement in which net income is presented and the statement in which other comprehensive income is presented (for both interim and annual financial statements). These requirements were indefinitely deferred by ASU No. 2011-12 and will be further deliberated by the FASB at a future date. The FASB also decided that during the deferral period, entities would be required to comply with all existing requirements for reclassification adjustments in ASC 220, which indicates that “[a]n entity may display reclassification adjustments on the face of the financial statement in which comprehensive income is reported, or it may disclose reclassification adjustments in the notes to the financial statements”. This Update was effective January 1, 2012. In accordance with this Update, the Company will defer the portion of the guidance in this Update that requires the presentation of reclassification adjustments on the Company’s Statements of Net Income. In accordance with those portions of ASU 2011-05 that were not deferred by ASU 2011-12, the Company has displayed adjustments for reclassifications out of other comprehensive income on the Company’s Statement of Comprehensive Income.

 

Accounting Pronouncements Not Yet Adopted

 

ASU No. 2011-11 — Balance Sheet — Disclosures about Offsetting Assets and Liabilities. This Update contains new disclosure requirements regarding the nature of an entity’s rights of offset and related arrangements associated with its financial and derivative instruments. The new disclosures are designed to make financial statements that are prepared under GAAP more comparable to those prepared under IFRSs. Generally, it is more difficult to qualify for offsetting under IFRSs than it is under GAAP. As a result, entities with significant financial instrument and derivative portfolios that report under IFRSs typically present positions on their balance sheets that are significantly larger than those of entities with similarly sized portfolios whose financial statements are prepared in accordance with GAAP. To facilitate comparison between financial statements prepared under GAAP and IFRSs, the new disclosures will give financial statement users information about both gross and net exposures. This Update is effective January 1, 2013. This Update will not have an impact on the Company’s results of operations or financial position.

 

Significant Accounting Policies

 

For a full description of significant accounting policies, see Note 2 of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements included in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2011. There were no significant changes to the Company’s accounting policies during the three months ended March 31, 2012, except as noted above. See Note 5, Deferred Policy Acquisition Costs and Value of Business Acquired for additional information on the accounting policies.