BENEFITS PAYABLE

On a consolidated basis, activity in benefits payable, excluding military services, was as follows for the three months ended March 31, 2018 and 2017:



	For the three months ended March 31,
	2018			2017
	(in millions)
Balances, beginning of period	$	4,668		$	4,563
Less: Reinsurance recoverables	(70		)	(76		)
Balances, beginning of period, net	4,598			4,487
Incurred related to:
Current year	11,947			11,580
Prior years	(267		)	(231		)
Total incurred	11,680			11,349
Paid related to:
Current year	(7,775		)	(7,695		)
Prior years	(3,619		)	(3,451		)
Total paid	(11,394		)	(11,146		)
Reinsurance recoverable	77			71
Balances, end of period	$	4,961		$	4,761

Amounts incurred related to prior periods vary from previously estimated liabilities as the claims ultimately are settled. Negative amounts reported for incurred related to prior years result from claims being ultimately settled for amounts less than originally estimated (favorable development).

Our reserving practice is to consistently recognize the actuarial best estimate of our ultimate liability for claims. Actuarial standards require the use of assumptions based on moderately adverse experience, which generally results in favorable reserve development, or reserves that are considered redundant.

Benefits expense excluded from the previous table was as follows for the three months ended March 31, 2018 and 2017.



	For the three months ended March 31,
	2018			2017
	(in millions)
Future policy benefits:
Individual Commercial	$	(16	)	$	(33	)
Other Businesses	6			10
Total future policy benefits	$	(10	)	$	(23	)

Incurred and Paid Claims Development

The following discussion provides information about incurred and paid claims development for our Retail, Group and Specialty, and Individual Commercial segments as of March 31, 2018 and 2017, net of reinsurance, and the total of IBNR included within the net incurred claims amounts.

Retail Segment

Activity in benefits payable for our Retail segment was as follows for the three months ended March 31, 2018 and 2017:



	For the three months ended March 31,
	2018			2017
	(in millions)
Balances, beginning of period	$	3,963		$	3,507
Less: Reinsurance recoverables	(70		)	(76		)
Balances, beginning of period, net	3,893			3,431
Incurred related to:
Current year	10,739			10,255
Prior years	(187		)	(204		)
Total incurred	10,552			10,051
Paid related to:
Current year	(7,119		)	(7,014		)
Prior years	(3,082		)	(2,572		)
Total paid	(10,201		)	(9,586		)
Reinsurance recoverable	77			71
Balances, end of period	$	4,321		$	3,967

At March 31, 2018, benefits payable for our Retail segment included IBNR of approximately $2.8 billion, primarily associated with claims incurred in 2018.

Group and Specialty Segment

Activity in benefits payable for our Group and Specialty segment, excluding military services, was as follows for the three months ended March 31, 2018 and 2017:



	For the three months ended March 31,
	2018			2017
	(in millions)
Balances, beginning of period	$	568		$	578
Incurred related to:
Current year	1,307			1,306
Prior years	(34		)	(20		)
Total incurred	1,273			1,286
Paid related to:
Current year	(802		)	(824		)
Prior years	(463		)	(493		)
Total paid	(1,265		)	(1,317		)
Balances, end of period	$	576		$	547

At March 31, 2018, benefits payable for our Group and Specialty segment included IBNR of approximately $502 million, primarily associated with claims incurred in 2018.

Individual Commercial Segment

Activity in benefits payable for our Individual Commercial segment was as follows for the three months ended March 31, 2018 and 2017:



	For the three months ended March 31,
	2018			2017
	(in millions)
Balances, beginning of period	$	101		$	454
Incurred related to:
Current year	—			195
Prior years	(44		)	(6		)
Total incurred	(44		)	189
Paid related to:
Current year	—			(59		)
Prior years	(29		)	(363		)
Total paid	(29		)	(422		)
Balance, end of period	$	28		$	221

At March 31, 2018, benefits payable for our Individual Commercial segment included IBNR of approximately $19 million, associated with claims incurred in 2017 and prior.

Reconciliation to Consolidated

The reconciliation of the net incurred and paid claims development tables to benefits payable in the consolidated

statement of financial position is as follows:



Reconciliation of the Disclosure of Incurred and Paid Claims Development to Benefits Payable, net of reinsurance

	March 31,
	2018
Net outstanding liabilities
Retail	$	4,244
Group and Specialty	576
Individual Commercial	28
Other Businesses	36
Benefits payable, net of reinsurance	4,884

Reinsurance recoverable on unpaid claims
Retail	77
Total reinsurance recoverable on unpaid claims	77

Total benefits payable, gross	$	4,961