General (Policy)

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2017

Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]

Consolidation and Basis of Presentation

The interim consolidated financial statements include the accounts of Mercury General Corporation and its subsidiaries (referred to herein collectively as the “Company”). For the list of the Company’s subsidiaries, see Note 1. Summary of Significant Accounting Policies of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2016. These interim financial statements have been prepared in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”), which differ in some respects from those filed in reports to insurance regulatory authorities. The financial data of the Company included herein are unaudited. In the opinion of management, all material adjustments of a normal recurring nature have been made to present fairly the Company’s financial position at September 30, 2017 and the results of operations and cash flows for the periods presented. All intercompany transactions and balances have been eliminated.

Certain financial information that is normally included in annual financial statements prepared in accordance with GAAP, but that is not required for interim reporting purposes, has been omitted from the accompanying interim consolidated financial statements and related notes. Readers are urged to review the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2016 for more complete descriptions and discussions. Operating results and cash flows for the nine months ended September 30, 2017 are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be expected for the year ending December 31, 2017.

Use of Estimates

The preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, disclosures of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements, and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. These estimates require the Company to apply complex assumptions and judgments, and often the Company must make estimates about the effects of matters that are inherently uncertain and will likely change in subsequent periods. The most significant assumptions in the preparation of these consolidated financial statements relate to reserves for losses and loss adjustment expenses. Actual results could differ from those estimates. See Note 1. Summary of Significant Accounting Policies of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2016

Earnings per Share

Potentially dilutive securities representing approximately 22,000 and 29,000 shares of common stock for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2016, respectively, were excluded from the computation of diluted earnings per common share because their effect would have been anti-dilutive.

Deferred Policy Acquisition Costs

Deferred policy acquisition costs consist of commissions paid to outside agents, premium taxes, salaries, and certain other underwriting costs that are incremental or directly related to the successful acquisition of new and renewal insurance contracts and are amortized over the life of the related policy in proportion to premiums earned. Deferred policy acquisition costs are limited to the amount that will remain after deducting from unearned premiums and anticipated investment income, the estimated losses and loss adjustment expenses, and the servicing costs that will be incurred as premiums are earned. The Company’s deferred policy acquisition costs are further limited by excluding those costs not directly related to the successful acquisition of insurance contracts. Deferred policy acquisition cost amortization was $136.3 million and $140.2 million for the three months ended September 30, 2017 and 2016, respectively, and $416.7 million and $421.7 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2017 and 2016, respectively. The Company does not defer advertising expenditures but expenses them as incurred. The Company recorded net advertising expense of approximately $32.0 million and $34.1 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2017 and 2016, respectively.

Recently Issued Accounting Standards

In May 2017, the Financial Accounting Standards Board ("FASB") issued Accounting Standards Update ("ASU") 2017-09, "Compensation - Stock Compensation (Topic 718), Scope of Modification Accounting." ASU 2017-09 provides guidance about which changes to the terms or conditions of a share-based payment award require an entity to apply modification accounting in Topic 718. ASU 2017-09 will be effective for the Company beginning January 1, 2018 with early adoption permitted. The Company does not anticipate that ASU 2017-09 will have a material impact on its consolidated financial statements and related disclosures.

In January 2017, the FASB issued ASU 2017-04, "Intangibles - Goodwill and Other (Topic 350), Simplifying the Test for Goodwill Impairment." ASU 2017-04 removes the requirement to compare the implied fair value of goodwill with its carrying amount as part of Step 2 of the goodwill impairment test and requires an entity to recognize an impairment charge for the amount by which the carrying amount of a reporting unit exceeds its fair value. An entity still has the option to perform the qualitative assessment for a reporting unit to determine if the quantitative impairment test is necessary. ASU 2017-04 will be effective for the Company beginning January 1, 2020 with early adoption permitted. The Company does not anticipate that ASU 2017-04 will have a material impact on its consolidated financial statements and related disclosures.

In October 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-16, "Income Taxes (Topic 740), Intra-Entity Transfers of Assets Other Than Inventory." ASU 2016-16 requires entities to recognize the income tax consequences of an intra-entity transfer of an asset other than inventory when the transfer occurs. Current GAAP prohibits the recognition of current and deferred income taxes for an intra-entity asset transfer until the asset has been sold to an outside party. ASU 2016-16 will be effective for the Company beginning January 1, 2018. The Company is evaluating the impact that ASU 2016-16 will have on its consolidated financial statements and related disclosures.

In August 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-15, "Classification of Certain Cash Receipts and Cash Payments (Topic 230)." The new guidance is intended to reduce diversity in how certain transactions are classified in the consolidated statement of cash flows. ASU 2016-15 will be effective for the Company beginning January 1, 2018. The Company is evaluating the impact that ASU 2016-15 will have on its consolidated financial statements and related disclosures.

In June 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-13, "Financial Instruments - Credit Losses (Topic 326)." The amendments in this ASU replace the "incurred loss" methodology for recognizing credit losses with a methodology that reflects expected credit losses and requires consideration of a broader range of information including past events, current conditions and reasonable and supportable forecasts that affect the collectibility of reported amounts of financial assets that are not accounted for at fair value through net income, such as loans, certain debt securities, trade receivables, net investment in leases, off-balance sheet credit exposures and reinsurance receivables. Under the current GAAP incurred loss methodology, recognition of the full amount of credit losses is generally delayed until the loss is probable of occurring. Current GAAP restricts the ability to record credit losses that are expected, but do not yet meet the probability threshold. ASU 2016-13 will be effective for the Company beginning with the first quarter ending March 31, 2020. While the Company is in the process of evaluating the impact of ASU 2016-13, it does not expect this ASU to have a material impact on its consolidated financial statements and related disclosures as most of its financial instruments with potential exposure to material credit losses are accounted for at fair value through net income.

In March 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-09, "Compensation - Stock Compensation (Topic 718)," which simplifies several aspects of the accounting for share-based payment transactions, including the income tax consequences, classification of awards as either equity or liabilities, and classification on the statement of cash flows. The Company adopted ASU 2016-09 for the quarter ended March 31, 2017. As a result of the adoption, the Company recognizes excess tax benefits in its provision for income taxes rather than paid-in capital. Additional amendments to accounting for income taxes and minimum statutory withholding tax requirements had no impact to retained earnings as of January 1, 2017, where the cumulative effect of these changes are required to be recorded. The Company elected to continue to estimate forfeitures expected to occur to determine the amount of compensation cost to be recognized in each period. The Company also elected to apply the presentation requirements for cash flows related to excess tax benefits retrospectively to all periods presented, which resulted in an increase to both net cash provided by operating activities and net cash used in financing activities of approximately $995,000 for the nine months ended September 30, 2016. The adoption of the presentation requirements for cash flows related to employee taxes paid with shares resulted in an increase to both net cash provided by operating activities and net cash used in financing activities of approximately $3,270,000 for the nine months ended September 30, 2016.

In February 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-02, "Leases (Topic 842)," which supersedes the guidance in Accounting Standards Codification ("ASC") 840, "Leases." ASU 2016-02 requires a lessee to recognize lease assets and lease liabilities resulting from all leases. ASU 2016-02 retains the distinction between a finance lease and an operating lease. Lessor accounting is largely unchanged from ASC 840. ASU 2016-02 will be effective for the Company beginning January 1, 2019. However, in transition, the Company will be required to recognize and measure leases at the beginning of the earliest period presented using a modified retrospective approach. While the Company is in the process of evaluating the impact of ASU 2016-02, it does not expect this ASU to have a material impact on its consolidated financial statements, except for recognizing lease assets and lease liabilities for its operating leases. The Company's lease obligations under various non-cancellable operating lease agreements amounted to approximately $27,000,000 at December 31, 2016.

In January 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-01, "Financial Instruments-Overall (Subtopic 825-10), Recognition and Measurement of Financial Assets and Financial Liabilities." The amendments in this ASU address certain aspects of recognition, measurement, presentation and disclosure of financial instruments. ASU 2016-01: (1) requires equity investments (except those accounted for under the equity method or those that result in the consolidation of the investee) to be measured at fair value with changes in the fair value recognized in net income; (2) simplifies the impairment assessment of equity investments without readily determinable fair values by requiring a qualitative assessment to identify impairment; (3) eliminates the requirement for public business entities to disclose the method(s) and significant assumptions used to estimate the fair value that is required to be disclosed for financial instruments measured at amortized cost on the balance sheet; (4) requires the use of the exit price notion when measuring the fair value of financial instruments for disclosure purposes; (5) requires separate presentation of financial assets and financial liabilities by measurement category and form of financial asset on the balance sheet or the notes to the financial statements; and (6) clarifies that an entity should evaluate the need for a valuation allowance on a deferred tax asset related to available-for-sale securities in combination with the entity’s other deferred tax assets. ASU 2016-01 will be effective for the Company beginning January 1, 2018. The Company does not anticipate that ASU 2016-01 will have a material impact on its consolidated financial statements and related disclosures.

In May 2014, the FASB issued ASU 2014-09, "Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606)." ASU 2014-09 requires entities to apply a five-step model to determine the amount and timing of revenue recognition. The model specifies, among other criteria, that revenue should be recognized when an entity transfers control of goods or services to a customer in the amount to which the entity expects to be entitled. In August 2015, the FASB issued ASU 2015-14, "Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606),Deferral of the Effective Date," which deferred the effective date of ASU 2014-09 for the Company to January 1, 2018. Subsequently, the FASB has issued additional ASUs on Topic 606 that do not change the core principle of the guidance in ASU 2014-09 but merely clarify certain aspects of it. The additional ASUs will also be effective for the Company beginning January 1, 2018. Two methods of transition are permitted upon adoption: full retrospective and modified retrospective. The Company is evaluating both methods of transition and it is currently anticipated that a modified retrospective adoption approach will be used. However, as the accounting for insurance contracts is outside of the scope of ASU 2014-09, the Company does not expect the adoption of this ASU to have a material impact on its consolidated financial statements and related disclosures.