REINSURANCE

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2019

Insurance [Abstract]

REINSURANCE

REINSURANCE

Certain blocks of insurance assumed in acquisitions, primarily life and annuities in run-off status and, prior to its sale in 2018, long-term care, are subject to reinsurance where some or all of the underwriting risk related to these policies has been ceded to a third party. In addition, a large portion of our reinsurance takes the form of 100% coinsurance agreements where, in addition to all of the underwriting risk, all administrative responsibilities, including premium collections and claim payment, have also been ceded to a third party. We acquired these policies and related reinsurance agreements with the purchase of stock of companies in which the policies were originally written. We acquired these companies for business reasons unrelated to these particular policies, including the companies’ other products and licenses necessary to fulfill strategic plans.

A reinsurance agreement between two entities transfers the underwriting risk of policyholder liabilities to a reinsurer while the primary insurer retains the contractual relationship with the ultimate insured. As such, these reinsurance agreements do not completely relieve us of our potential liability to the ultimate insured. However, given the transfer of underwriting risk, our potential liability is limited to the credit exposure which exists should the reinsurer be unable to meet its obligations assumed under these reinsurance agreements.

Reinsurance recoverables represent the portion of future policy benefits payable and benefits payable that are covered by reinsurance. Amounts recoverable from reinsurers are estimated in a manner consistent with the methods used to determine future policy benefits payable as detailed in Note 2. Reinsurance recoverables, included in other current and long-term assets, were $267 million at December 31, 2019 and $314 million at December 31, 2018. The amount of these reinsurance recoverables resulting from 100% coinsurance agreements was approximately $267 million at December 31, 2019 and approximately $313 million at December 31, 2018. Premiums ceded were $1 billion in 2019, $976 million in 2018 and $969 million in 2017. Benefits ceded were $881 million in 2019, $980 million in 2018, and $844 million in 2017. Historical ceded premium and benefits reflect the activity associated with ceding all risk under a Medicaid contract to a third party reinsurer. The reinsurance agreement ceding all risk under the Medicaid contract was terminated effective January 1, 2020.

We evaluate the financial condition of our reinsurers on a regular basis. Protective Life Insurance Company with $174 million in reinsurance recoverables is well-known and well-established with a AM Best rating of A+ (superior) at December 31, 2019 . The remaining reinsurance recoverables of $94 million are divided between 11 other reinsurers, with $72 million subject to funds withheld accounts or other financial guarantees supporting the repayment of these amounts.