Goodwill and Other Intangibles

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2019

Goodwill and Intangible Assets Disclosure [Abstract]

The Company is required to assess goodwill and any indefinite-lived intangible assets for impairment annually, or more frequently if circumstances indicate impairment may have occurred. The Company performs the annual impairment assessment for each of its reporting units during the third quarter of each year. In accordance with applicable accounting guidance, a company can assess qualitative factors to determine whether it is necessary to perform a goodwill impairment test. Alternatively, the company may elect to proceed directly to the quantitative goodwill impairment test. In 2019, the Company elected to perform a quantitative impairment assessment. Fair values of the reporting units were estimated using a market approach. Carrying values for the reporting units are based on balances at the prior quarter end and include directly identified assets and liabilities, as well as an allocation of those assets and liabilities not recorded at the reporting unit level. The Company completed its 2019 annual assessment in the third quarter and concluded goodwill was not impaired, as the fair value of each reporting unit exceeded its carrying value by a substantial margin.

Other intangible assets that are not deemed to have an indefinite life are amortized over their estimated lives and reviewed for impairment upon the occurrence of certain triggering events in accordance with applicable accounting literature. The Company does not have any indefinite lived intangible assets.

Changes in the carrying amount of goodwill are as follows:



(In millions of dollars)	2019			2018
Balance as of January 1, as reported	$	9,599		$	9,089
Goodwill acquired (a)	5,124			626
Other adjustments (b)	(52		)	(116		)
Balance at December 31,	$	14,671		$	9,599

(a) Includes $4.9 billion from the acquisition of JLT in 2019.

(b) Primarily reflects the impact of dispositions in 2019 and foreign exchange translation in 2018.

The goodwill acquired of $5.1 billion in 2019 (approximately $213 million of which is deductible for tax purposes) is comprised of $5 billion related to the Risk and Insurance Services segment and $167 million related to the Consulting segment.

Goodwill allocable to the Company’s reportable segments is as follows: Risk and Insurance Services, $11.7 billion and Consulting, $3 billion.

The gross cost and accumulated amortization of intangible assets at December 31, 2019 and 2018 are as follows:



(In millions of dollars)	2019						2018
	Gross Cost		Accumulated Amortization		Net Carrying Amount		Gross Cost		Accumulated Amortization		Net Carrying Amount
Customer relationships	$	3,494	$	897	$	2,597	$	1,970	$	639	$	1,331
Other (a)	380		203		177		259		153		106
Amortized intangibles	$	3,874	$	1,100	$	2,774	$	2,229	$	792	$	1,437

(a) Primarily non-compete agreements, trade names and developed technology.

Aggregate amortization expense was $314 million for the year ended December 31, 2019, $183 million for the year ended December 31, 2018 and $169 million for the year ended December 31, 2017. The estimated future aggregate amortization expense is as follows:



For the Years Ending December 31,
(In millions of dollars)
2020	$	344
2021	328
2022	299
2023	278
2024	267
Subsequent years	1,258
	$	2,774