Significant Accounting Policies (Policies)

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2022

Accounting Policies [Abstract]

Basis of Presentation

Basis of Presentation: The accompanying consolidated financial statements of Globe Life have been prepared in accordance with the instructions to Form 10-Q. Therefore, they do not include all of the disclosures required by accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (GAAP) for annual financial statements. However, in the opinion of management, these statements include all adjustments, consisting of normal recurring adjustments, which are necessary for a fair presentation of the consolidated financial position at March 31, 2022, and the consolidated results of operations, comprehensive income, and cash flows for the periods ended March 31, 2022 and 2021. The interim period consolidated financial statements should be read in conjunction with the Consolidated Financial Statements that are included in the Form 10-K filed with the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) on February 24, 2022.

Use of Estimates

Use of Estimates: The preparation of consolidated financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent liabilities at the date of the consolidated financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from those estimates. See further documentation in the significant accounting policies or the accompanying notes.

New Accounting Pronouncements

Accounting Pronouncements Yet to be Adopted
Standard	Description	Effective Date	Effect on the Consolidated Financial Statements
ASU No. 2018-12/2019-09/2020-11,  Financial Services - Insurance (Topic 944): Targeted Improvements to the Accounting for Long-Duration Contracts, with clarification guidance issued in November 2019 and 2020.	ASU 2018-12 is a significant change to our current accounting and disclosure of long-duration contracts, which is our primary business. The guidance was primarily issued to: 1) improve the timeliness of recognizing changes in the liability for future policy benefits and modify the rate used to discount future cash flows, 2) simplify and improve the accounting for certain market-based options or guarantees associated with deposit (or account balance) contracts, 3) simplify the amortization of deferred acquisition costs, and 4) improve the effectiveness of the required disclosures. On an annual basis, the Company will be required to update cash flow assumptions such as mortality, morbidity, and persistency, which are recorded in net income. On a quarterly basis, the future policy benefits will be remeasured utilizing an upper-medium grade fixed income instrument yield and the effects of the change will be recognized in accumulated other comprehensive income (AOCI).	As a result of the issuance of ASU 2020-11 in November 2020, the effective date for this standard was changed to January 1, 2023. Early adoption is available.	The Company does not expect to early adopt ASU 2018-12 and has selected a modified retrospective transition method upon adoption as of the transition date of January 1, 2021. Due to the overall nature of this standard, the impact on the consolidated financial statements is expected to be significant. At the transition date, the Company expects a significant decrease in accumulated other comprehensive income due to the requirement to re-measure policy liabilities using an interest rate currently lower than what is used in valuing the policy liabilities under existing guidance. In addition, the new guidance requires the removal of interest on our DAC asset and changes the related amortization of the asset. These changes are expected to result in a significant reduction to DAC amortization in the near to intermediate term. While the requirements of the new guidance represent a significant change from existing GAAP, the new guidance will not impact capital and surplus or net income under statutory accounting practices, cash flows on our policies, or the underlying economics of our business. Significant progress has been made by the Company in order to timely adopt the new guidance, including validating computations, establishing proper controls, finalizing accounting policies, and preparing financial disclosures. The Company anticipates providing quantitative estimates of the impact of adoption of the ASU later this year once we have properly tested our models and assumptions and determined the appropriate discount rates.