Contingencies and Other Matters	3 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2014
Contingencies And Other Matters [Abstract]
Contingencies and Other Matters	Note 16 ― Contingencies and Other Matters The Company, through its subsidiaries, is contingently liable for various guarantees provided in the ordinary course of business. A. Financial Guarantees: Retiree and Life Insurance Benefits Separate account assets are contractholder funds maintained in accounts with specific investment objectives. The Company records separate account liabilities equal to separate account assets. In certain cases, the Company guarantees a minimum level of benefits for retirement and insurance contracts written in separate accounts. The Company establishes an additional liability if management believes that the Company will be required to make a payment under these guarantees. The Company guarantees that separate account assets will be sufficient to pay certain retiree or life benefits. The sponsoring employers are primarily responsible for ensuring that assets are sufficient to pay these benefits and are required to maintain assets that exceed a certain percentage of benefit obligations. This percentage varies depending on the asset class within a sponsoring employer's portfolio (for example, a bond fund would require a lower percentage than a riskier equity fund) and thus will vary as the composition of the portfolio changes. If employers do not maintain the required levels of separate account assets, the Company or an affiliate of the buyer of the retirement benefits business (see Note 5 for additional information) has the right to redirect the management of the related assets to provide for benefit payments. As of March 31, 2014, employers maintained assets that exceeded the benefit obligations. Benefit obligations under these arrangements were $513 million as of March 31, 2014 and approximately 14% of these are reinsured by an affiliate of the buyer of the retirement benefits business. The remaining guarantees are provided by the Company with minimal reinsurance from third parties. There were no additional liabilities required for these guarantees as of March 31, 2014. Separate account assets supporting these guarantees are classified in Levels 1 and 2 of the GAAP fair value hierarchy. See Note 7 for further information on the fair value hierarchy. The Company does not expect that these financial guarantees will have a material effect on the Company's consolidated results of operations, liquidity or financial condition. B. Guaranteed Minimum Income Benefit Contracts The Company has retrocessional coverage in place that covers the exposures on these contracts. See Notes 5, 7 and 9 for further information on GMIB contracts. Under these guarantees, the future payment amounts are dependent on equity and bond fund market and interest rate levels prior to and at the date of annuitization election that must occur within 30 days of a policy anniversary after the appropriate waiting period. Therefore, the future payments are not fixed and determinable under the terms of these contracts. Accordingly, the Company's maximum potential undiscounted future payment of $760 million, without considering any retrocessional coverage, was determined using the following hypothetical assumptions: no annuitants surrendered their accounts; all annuitants lived to elect their benefit; all annuitants elected to receive their benefit on the next available date (2014 through 2019); and all underlying mutual fund investment values remained at the March 31, 2014 value of $1.2 billion with no future returns. The Company bears the risk of loss if its GMIB retrocessionaires do not meet or are unable to meet their reinsurance obligations to the Company. C. Certain Other Guarantees The Company had indemnification obligations to lenders of up to $313 million as of March 31, 2014, related to borrowings by certain real estate joint ventures that the Company either records as an investment or consolidates. These borrowings, that are nonrecourse to the Company, are secured by the joint ventures' real estate properties with fair values in excess of the loan amounts and mature at various dates beginning in 2014 through 2042. The Company's indemnification obligations would require payment to lenders for any actual damages resulting from certain acts such as unauthorized ownership transfers, misappropriation of rental payments by others or environmental damages. Based on initial and ongoing reviews of property management and operations, the Company does not expect that payments will be required under these indemnification obligations. Any payments that might be required could be recovered through a refinancing or sale of the assets. In some cases, the Company also has recourse to partners for their proportionate share of amounts paid. There were no liabilities required for these indemnification obligations as of March 31, 2014. As of March 31, 2014, the Company guaranteed that it would compensate the lessors for a shortfall of up to $41 million in the market value of certain leased equipment at the end of the leases. Guarantees of $16 million expire in 2016 and $25 million expire in 2025. The Company had liabilities for these guarantees of $5 million as of March 31, 2014. The Company had indemnification obligations as of March 31, 2014 in connection with acquisition, disposition and reinsurance transactions. These indemnification obligations are triggered by the breach of representations or covenants provided by the Company, such as representations for the presentation of financial statements, actuarial models, the filing of tax returns, compliance with law or the identification of outstanding litigation. These obligations are typically subject to various time limitations, defined by the contract or by operation of law, such as statutes of limitation. In some cases, the maximum potential amount due is subject to contractual limitations based on a percentage of the transaction purchase price, while in other cases limitations are not specified or applicable. The Company does not believe that it is possible to determine the maximum potential amount due under these obligations, because not all amounts due under these indemnification obligations are subject to limitation. There were no liabilities for these indemnification obligations as of March 31, 2014. The Company does not expect that these guarantees will have a material adverse effect on the Company's consolidated results of operations, financial condition or liquidity. D. Guaranty Fund Assessments The Company operates in a regulatory environment that may require the Company to participate in assessments under state insurance guaranty association laws. The Company's exposure to assessments for certain obligations of insolvent insurance companies to policyholders and claimants is based on its share of business written in the relevant jurisdictions. For the three months ended March 31, 2014 and 2013, charges related to guaranty fund assessments were immaterial to the Company's results of operations. The Company is aware of an insurer that is in rehabilitation, an intermediate action before insolvency. In 2012, the state court denied the regulator's amended petitions for liquidation and set forth specific requirements and a deadline for the regulator to develop a plan of rehabilitation without liquidating the insurer. The regulator has appealed the court's decision. During the second quarter of 2013, the regulator submitted a rehabilitation plan to the court that calls for significant benefit reductions to current policyholders. If the rehabilitation plan is approved by the court, guaranty fund payments may be required to restore to policyholders some of the benefit reductions mandated by the rehabilitation plan. In addition, if the actions taken in the rehabilitation plan fail to improve this insurer's financial condition, or if the state court's ruling is overturned on appeal, this insurer may be forced to liquidate. In that event, the Company would be required to pay additional future assessments. Due to the uncertainties surrounding this matter, the Company is unable to estimate the amount of potential guaranty fund assessments. The Company will continue to monitor this situation. E. Legal and Regulatory Matters The Company is routinely involved in numerous claims, lawsuits, regulatory audits, investigations and other legal matters arising, for the most part, in the ordinary course of managing a health services business. These actions may include benefit disputes, breach of contract claims, tort claims, provider disputes, disputes regarding reinsurance arrangements, employment and employment discrimination-related suits, employee benefit claims, wage and hour claims, privacy, intellectual property claims and real estate related disputes. There are currently, and may be in the future, attempts to bring class action lawsuits against the industry. The Company also is regularly engaged in IRS audits and may be subject to examinations by various state and foreign taxing authorities. Disputed income tax matters arising from these examinations, including those resulting in litigation, are accounted for under the FASB's guidance for uncertain tax positions. Further information on income tax matters can be found in Note 14. The business of administering and insuring health services programs, particularly health care and group insurance programs, is heavily regulated by federal and state laws and administrative agencies, such as state departments of insurance and the U.S. Departments of Labor and Justice, as well as the courts. Health care regulation and legislation in its various forms, including the implementation of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, other regulatory reform initiatives, such as those relating to Medicare programs, or additional changes in existing laws or regulations or their interpretations, could have a material adverse effect on the Company's business, results of operations and financial condition. In addition, there is heightened review by federal and state regulators of the health care, disability and life insurance industry business and related reporting practices. Cigna is frequently the subject of regulatory market conduct reviews and other examinations of its business and reporting practices, audits and investigations by state insurance and health and welfare departments, state attorneys general, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (“CMS”) and the Office of Inspector General (“OIG”). With respect to Cigna's Medicare Advantage business, CMS and OIG perform audits to determine a health plan's compliance with federal regulations and contractual obligations, including compliance with proper coding practices (sometimes referred to as Risk Adjustment Data Validation audits or RADV audits), that may result in retrospective adjustments to payments made to health plans. Regulatory actions can result in assessments, civil or criminal fines or penalties or other sanctions, including loss of licensing or exclusion from participation in government programs. Regulation, legislation and judicial decisions have resulted in changes to industry and the Company's business practices, financial liability or other sanctions and will continue to do so in the future. When the Company (in the course of its regular review of pending litigation and legal or regulatory matters) has determined that a material loss is reasonably possible, the matter is disclosed. In accordance with GAAP, when litigation and regulatory matters present loss contingencies that are both probable and estimable, the Company accrues the estimated loss by a charge to income. The amount accrued represents the Company's best estimate of the probable loss at the time. If only a range of estimated losses can be determined, the Company accrues an amount within the range that, in the Company's judgment, reflects the most likely outcome; if none of the estimates within that range is a better estimate than any other amount, the Company accrues the minimum amount of the range. In cases when the Company has accrued an estimated loss, the accrued amount may differ materially from the ultimate amount of the loss. In many proceedings, it is inherently difficult to determine whether any loss is probable or even possible or to estimate the amount or range of any loss. The Company provides disclosure in the aggregate for material pending litigation and legal or regulatory matters, including accruals, range of loss, or a statement that such information cannot be estimated. As a litigation or regulatory matter develops, the Company monitors the matter for further developments that could affect the amount previously accrued, if any, and updates such amount accrued or disclosures previously provided as appropriate. The outcome of litigation and other legal or regulatory matters is always uncertain, and unfavorable outcomes that are not justified by the evidence or existing law can occur. The Company believes that it has valid defenses to the matters pending against it and is defending itself vigorously. Except as otherwise noted, the Company believes that the legal actions, regulatory matters, proceedings and investigations currently pending against it should not have a material adverse effect on the Company's results of operation, financial condition or liquidity based upon current knowledge and taking into consideration current accruals. The Company had pre-tax reserves as of March 31, 2014 of $189 million ($123 million after-tax) for the matters discussed below. Due to numerous uncertain factors presented in these cases, it is not possible to estimate an aggregate range of loss (if any) for these matters at this time. In light of the uncertainties involved in these matters, there is no assurance that their ultimate resolution will not exceed the amounts currently accrued by the Company. An adverse outcome in one or more of these matters could be material to the Company's results of operations, financial condition or liquidity for any particular period. Litigation Matters Amara cash balance pension plan litigation. On December 18, 2001, Janice Amara filed a class action lawsuit, captioned Janice C. Amara, Gisela R. Broderick, Annette S. Glanz, individually and on behalf of all others similarly situated v. Cigna Corporation and Cigna Pension Plan, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut against Cigna Corporation and the Cigna Pension Plan (the “Plan”) on behalf of herself and other similarly situated participants in the Cigna Pension Plan affected by the 1998 conversion to a cash balance formula. The plaintiffs allege various ERISA violations including, among other things, that the Plan's cash balance formula discriminates against older employees; that the conversion resulted in a wear-away period (when the pre-conversion accrued benefit exceeded the post-conversion benefit); and that the Plan description contained inaccurate or inadequate disclosure about these conditions. In 2008, the District Court found in favor of the plaintiffs on the disclosure claim only, and ordered payment of enhanced benefits, requiring that class members receive pre-1998 benefits under the pre-conversion traditional formula and post-1997 accrued benefits under the post-conversion cash balance formula. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit affirmed the decision on all issues, following which the U.S. Supreme Court granted the Company's petition to review the case. In May 2011, the Supreme Court held that the District Court erred in ordering enhanced benefits under a section of ERISA that allows recovery of plan benefits only, and directed that the District Court consider alternate remedies under a different section of ERISA that allows for “appropriate equitable relief.” In December 2012, the District Court interpreted the Supreme Court's opinion and ordered the Company to reform the Plan to pay substantially the same benefits as had been ordered in 2008. In addition, the District Court denied the Company's motion to decertify the class. Both parties appealed, and the Second Circuit heard oral arguments in February 2014. The Company will continue to vigorously defend its position in this case. Ingenix. In April 2004, the Company was named as a defendant in a number of putative nationwide class actions alleging that the Company improperly underpaid claims for out-of-network providers through the use of data provided by Ingenix, Inc., a subsidiary of one of the Company's competitors. These actions were consolidated into Franco v. Connecticut General Life Insurance Company et al., pending in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey. The consolidated amended complaint, filed on August 7, 2009, asserts claims related to benefits and disclosure under ERISA, the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (“RICO”) Act, the Sherman Antitrust Act and New Jersey state law on behalf of subscribers, health care providers and various medical associations and seeks recovery for alleged underpayments from 1998 through the present. Other major health insurers are the subject of, or have settled, similar litigation. In September 2011, the District Court dismissed all claims by the health care provider and medical association plaintiffs for lack of standing, the antitrust claims, the New Jersey state law claims and the disclosure claim under ERISA. In January 2013 and again in April 2014, the District Court denied separate motions by the plaintiffs to certify a nationwide class of subscriber plaintiffs. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit denied plaintiff's request for an immediate appeal of the January 2013 ruling. At present, the case is proceeding in the District Court on behalf of the named plaintiffs only. The Company's motion for summary judgment remains pending. In addition, the Company and other health insurers were subject to an investigation by the New York State Attorney General in 2008, the industry-wide resolution of which included the Company's $10 million contribution to a non-profit organization that manages the data formerly provided by Ingenix. It is reasonably possible that others could initiate similar additional litigation or action against the Company. The Company will continue to vigorously defend itself in these matters. Regulatory Matters Disability claims regulatory matter. During the second quarter of 2013, the Company finalized an agreement with the Departments of Insurance for Maine, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Connecticut and California (together, the “monitoring states”) related to an examination of the Company's long-term disability claims handling practices. The agreement requires, among other things: (1) enhanced claims handling procedures related to documentation and disposition; (2) monitoring the Company's implementation of these procedures during a two-year period following the execution date of the agreement; and (3) a reassessment of claims denied or closed during a two-year prior period, except California for which the reassessment period is three years. In connection with the terms of the agreement, the Company recorded a charge of $77 million before-tax ($51 million after-tax) in the first quarter of 2013. The charge was comprised of two elements: (1) $48 million of benefit costs and reserves from reassessed claims expected to be reopened,; and (2) $29 million in additional costs for open claims as a result of the claims handling changes being implemented. The Company will be subject to re-examination 24 months after the execution date of the agreement. If the monitoring states find material non-compliance with the agreement upon re-examination, the Company may be subject to additional costs and penalties. Most other jurisdictions have joined the agreement as participating, non-monitoring states.

Contingencies and Other Matters

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2014

Contingencies And Other Matters [Abstract]

Note 16 ― Contingencies and Other Matters

The Company, through its subsidiaries, is contingently liable for various guarantees provided in the ordinary course of business.

A. Financial Guarantees: Retiree and Life Insurance Benefits

Separate account assets are contractholder funds maintained in accounts with specific investment objectives. The Company records separate account liabilities equal to separate account assets. In certain cases, the Company guarantees a minimum level of benefits for retirement and insurance contracts written in separate accounts. The Company establishes an additional liability if management believes that the Company will be required to make a payment under these guarantees.

The Company guarantees that separate account assets will be sufficient to pay certain retiree or life benefits. The sponsoring employers are primarily responsible for ensuring that assets are sufficient to pay these benefits and are required to maintain assets that exceed a certain percentage of benefit obligations. This percentage varies depending on the asset class within a sponsoring employer's portfolio (for example, a bond fund would require a lower percentage than a riskier equity fund) and thus will vary as the composition of the portfolio changes. If employers do not maintain the required levels of separate account assets, the Company or an affiliate of the buyer of the retirement benefits business (see Note 5 for additional information) has the right to redirect the management of the related assets to provide for benefit payments. As of March 31, 2014, employers maintained assets that exceeded the benefit obligations. Benefit obligations under these arrangements were $513 million as of March 31, 2014 and approximately 14% of these are reinsured by an affiliate of the buyer of the retirement benefits business. The remaining guarantees are provided by the Company with minimal reinsurance from third parties. There were no additional liabilities required for these guarantees as of March 31, 2014. Separate account assets supporting these guarantees are classified in Levels 1 and 2 of the GAAP fair value hierarchy. See Note 7 for further information on the fair value hierarchy.

The Company does not expect that these financial guarantees will have a material effect on the Company's consolidated results of operations, liquidity or financial condition.

B. Guaranteed Minimum Income Benefit Contracts

The Company has retrocessional coverage in place that covers the exposures on these contracts. See Notes 5, 7 and 9 for further information on GMIB contracts.

Under these guarantees, the future payment amounts are dependent on equity and bond fund market and interest rate levels prior to and at the date of annuitization election that must occur within 30 days of a policy anniversary after the appropriate waiting period. Therefore, the future payments are not fixed and determinable under the terms of these contracts. Accordingly, the Company's maximum potential undiscounted future payment of $760 million, without considering any retrocessional coverage, was determined using the following hypothetical assumptions:

no annuitants surrendered their accounts;
all annuitants lived to elect their benefit;
all annuitants elected to receive their benefit on the next available date (2014 through 2019); and
all underlying mutual fund investment values remained at the March 31, 2014 value of $1.2 billion with no future returns.

The Company bears the risk of loss if its GMIB retrocessionaires do not meet or are unable to meet their reinsurance obligations to the Company.

C. Certain Other Guarantees

The Company had indemnification obligations to lenders of up to $313 million as of March 31, 2014, related to borrowings by certain real estate joint ventures that the Company either records as an investment or consolidates. These borrowings, that are nonrecourse to the Company, are secured by the joint ventures' real estate properties with fair values in excess of the loan amounts and mature at various dates beginning in 2014 through 2042. The Company's indemnification obligations would require payment to lenders for any actual damages resulting from certain acts such as unauthorized ownership transfers, misappropriation of rental payments by others or environmental damages. Based on initial and ongoing reviews of property management and operations, the Company does not expect that payments will be required under these indemnification obligations. Any payments that might be required could be recovered through a refinancing or sale of the assets. In some cases, the Company also has recourse to partners for their proportionate share of amounts paid. There were no liabilities required for these indemnification obligations as of March 31, 2014.

As of March 31, 2014, the Company guaranteed that it would compensate the lessors for a shortfall of up to $41 million in the market value of certain leased equipment at the end of the leases. Guarantees of $16 million expire in 2016 and $25 million expire in 2025. The Company had liabilities for these guarantees of $5 million as of March 31, 2014.

The Company had indemnification obligations as of March 31, 2014 in connection with acquisition, disposition and reinsurance transactions. These indemnification obligations are triggered by the breach of representations or covenants provided by the Company, such as representations for the presentation of financial statements, actuarial models, the filing of tax returns, compliance with law or the identification of outstanding litigation. These obligations are typically subject to various time limitations, defined by the contract or by operation of law, such as statutes of limitation. In some cases, the maximum potential amount due is subject to contractual limitations based on a percentage of the transaction purchase price, while in other cases limitations are not specified or applicable. The Company does not believe that it is possible to determine the maximum potential amount due under these obligations, because not all amounts due under these indemnification obligations are subject to limitation. There were no liabilities for these indemnification obligations as of March 31, 2014.

The Company does not expect that these guarantees will have a material adverse effect on the Company's consolidated results of operations, financial condition or liquidity.

D. Guaranty Fund Assessments

The Company operates in a regulatory environment that may require the Company to participate in assessments under state insurance guaranty association laws. The Company's exposure to assessments for certain obligations of insolvent insurance companies to policyholders and claimants is based on its share of business written in the relevant jurisdictions. For the three months ended March 31, 2014 and 2013, charges related to guaranty fund assessments were immaterial to the Company's results of operations.

The Company is aware of an insurer that is in rehabilitation, an intermediate action before insolvency. In 2012, the state court denied the regulator's amended petitions for liquidation and set forth specific requirements and a deadline for the regulator to develop a plan of rehabilitation without liquidating the insurer. The regulator has appealed the court's decision. During the second quarter of 2013, the regulator submitted a rehabilitation plan to the court that calls for significant benefit reductions to current policyholders. If the rehabilitation plan is approved by the court, guaranty fund payments may be required to restore to policyholders some of the benefit reductions mandated by the rehabilitation plan. In addition, if the actions taken in the rehabilitation plan fail to improve this insurer's financial condition, or if the state court's ruling is overturned on appeal, this insurer may be forced to liquidate. In that event, the Company would be required to pay additional future assessments. Due to the uncertainties surrounding this matter, the Company is unable to estimate the amount of potential guaranty fund assessments. The Company will continue to monitor this situation.

E. Legal and Regulatory Matters

The Company is routinely involved in numerous claims, lawsuits, regulatory audits, investigations and other legal matters arising, for the most part, in the ordinary course of managing a health services business. These actions may include benefit disputes, breach of contract claims, tort claims, provider disputes, disputes regarding reinsurance arrangements, employment and employment discrimination-related suits, employee benefit claims, wage and hour claims, privacy, intellectual property claims and real estate related disputes. There are currently, and may be in the future, attempts to bring class action lawsuits against the industry. The Company also is regularly engaged in IRS audits and may be subject to examinations by various state and foreign taxing authorities. Disputed income tax matters arising from these examinations, including those resulting in litigation, are accounted for under the FASB's guidance for uncertain tax positions. Further information on income tax matters can be found in Note 14.

The business of administering and insuring health services programs, particularly health care and group insurance programs, is heavily regulated by federal and state laws and administrative agencies, such as state departments of insurance and the U.S. Departments of Labor and Justice, as well as the courts. Health care regulation and legislation in its various forms, including the implementation of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, other regulatory reform initiatives, such as those relating to Medicare programs, or additional changes in existing laws or regulations or their interpretations, could have a material adverse effect on the Company's business, results of operations and financial condition.

In addition, there is heightened review by federal and state regulators of the health care, disability and life insurance industry business and related reporting practices. Cigna is frequently the subject of regulatory market conduct reviews and other examinations of its business and reporting practices, audits and investigations by state insurance and health and welfare departments, state attorneys general, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (“CMS”) and the Office of Inspector General (“OIG”). With respect to Cigna's Medicare Advantage business, CMS and OIG perform audits to determine a health plan's compliance with federal regulations and contractual obligations, including compliance with proper coding practices (sometimes referred to as Risk Adjustment Data Validation audits or RADV audits), that may result in retrospective adjustments to payments made to health plans. Regulatory actions can result in assessments, civil or criminal fines or penalties or other sanctions, including loss of licensing or exclusion from participation in government programs.

Regulation, legislation and judicial decisions have resulted in changes to industry and the Company's business practices, financial liability or other sanctions and will continue to do so in the future.

When the Company (in the course of its regular review of pending litigation and legal or regulatory matters) has determined that a material loss is reasonably possible, the matter is disclosed. In accordance with GAAP, when litigation and regulatory matters present loss contingencies that are both probable and estimable, the Company accrues the estimated loss by a charge to income. The amount accrued represents the Company's best estimate of the probable loss at the time. If only a range of estimated losses can be determined, the Company accrues an amount within the range that, in the Company's judgment, reflects the most likely outcome; if none of the estimates within that range is a better estimate than any other amount, the Company accrues the minimum amount of the range. In cases when the Company has accrued an estimated loss, the accrued amount may differ materially from the ultimate amount of the loss. In many proceedings, it is inherently difficult to determine whether any loss is probable or even possible or to estimate the amount or range of any loss. The Company provides disclosure in the aggregate for material pending litigation and legal or regulatory matters, including accruals, range of loss, or a statement that such information cannot be estimated. As a litigation or regulatory matter develops, the Company monitors the matter for further developments that could affect the amount previously accrued, if any, and updates such amount accrued or disclosures previously provided as appropriate.

The outcome of litigation and other legal or regulatory matters is always uncertain, and unfavorable outcomes that are not justified by the evidence or existing law can occur. The Company believes that it has valid defenses to the matters pending against it and is defending itself vigorously. Except as otherwise noted, the Company believes that the legal actions, regulatory matters, proceedings and investigations currently pending against it should not have a material adverse effect on the Company's results of operation, financial condition or liquidity based upon current knowledge and taking into consideration current accruals. The Company had pre-tax reserves as of March 31, 2014 of $189 million ($123 million after-tax) for the matters discussed below. Due to numerous uncertain factors presented in these cases, it is not possible to estimate an aggregate range of loss (if any) for these matters at this time. In light of the uncertainties involved in these matters, there is no assurance that their ultimate resolution will not exceed the amounts currently accrued by the Company. An adverse outcome in one or more of these matters could be material to the Company's results of operations, financial condition or liquidity for any particular period.

Litigation Matters

Amara cash balance pension plan litigation. On December 18, 2001, Janice Amara filed a class action lawsuit, captioned Janice C. Amara, Gisela R. Broderick, Annette S. Glanz, individually and on behalf of all others similarly situated v. Cigna Corporation and Cigna Pension Plan, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut against Cigna Corporation and the Cigna Pension Plan (the “Plan”) on behalf of herself and other similarly situated participants in the Cigna Pension Plan affected by the 1998 conversion to a cash balance formula. The plaintiffs allege various ERISA violations including, among other things, that the Plan's cash balance formula discriminates against older employees; that the conversion resulted in a wear-away period (when the pre-conversion accrued benefit exceeded the post-conversion benefit); and that the Plan description contained inaccurate or inadequate disclosure about these conditions.

In 2008, the District Court found in favor of the plaintiffs on the disclosure claim only, and ordered payment of enhanced benefits, requiring that class members receive pre-1998 benefits under the pre-conversion traditional formula and post-1997 accrued benefits under the post-conversion cash balance formula. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit affirmed the decision on all issues, following which the U.S. Supreme Court granted the Company's petition to review the case. In May 2011, the Supreme Court held that the District Court erred in ordering enhanced benefits under a section of ERISA that allows recovery of plan benefits only, and directed that the District Court consider alternate remedies under a different section of ERISA that allows for “appropriate equitable relief.” In December 2012, the District Court interpreted the Supreme Court's opinion and ordered the Company to reform the Plan to pay substantially the same benefits as had been ordered in 2008. In addition, the District Court denied the Company's motion to decertify the class. Both parties appealed, and the Second Circuit heard oral arguments in February 2014. The Company will continue to vigorously defend its position in this case.

Ingenix. In April 2004, the Company was named as a defendant in a number of putative nationwide class actions alleging that the Company improperly underpaid claims for out-of-network providers through the use of data provided by Ingenix, Inc., a subsidiary of one of the Company's competitors. These actions were consolidated into Franco v. Connecticut General Life Insurance Company et al., pending in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey. The consolidated amended complaint, filed on August 7, 2009, asserts claims related to benefits and disclosure under ERISA, the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (“RICO”) Act, the Sherman Antitrust Act and New Jersey state law on behalf of subscribers, health care providers and various medical associations and seeks recovery for alleged underpayments from 1998 through the present. Other major health insurers are the subject of, or have settled, similar litigation.

In September 2011, the District Court dismissed all claims by the health care provider and medical association plaintiffs for lack of standing, the antitrust claims, the New Jersey state law claims and the disclosure claim under ERISA. In January 2013 and again in April 2014, the District Court denied separate motions by the plaintiffs to certify a nationwide class of subscriber plaintiffs. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit denied plaintiff's request for an immediate appeal of the January 2013 ruling. At present, the case is proceeding in the District Court on behalf of the named plaintiffs only. The Company's motion for summary judgment remains pending.

In addition, the Company and other health insurers were subject to an investigation by the New York State Attorney General in 2008, the industry-wide resolution of which included the Company's $10 million contribution to a non-profit organization that manages the data formerly provided by Ingenix. It is reasonably possible that others could initiate similar additional litigation or action against the Company. The Company will continue to vigorously defend itself in these matters.

Regulatory Matters

Disability claims regulatory matter. During the second quarter of 2013, the Company finalized an agreement with the Departments of Insurance for Maine, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Connecticut and California (together, the “monitoring states”) related to an examination of the Company's long-term disability claims handling practices. The agreement requires, among other things: (1) enhanced claims handling procedures related to documentation and disposition; (2) monitoring the Company's implementation of these procedures during a two-year period following the execution date of the agreement; and (3) a reassessment of claims denied or closed during a two-year prior period, except California for which the reassessment period is three years.

In connection with the terms of the agreement, the Company recorded a charge of $77 million before-tax ($51 million after-tax) in the first quarter of 2013. The charge was comprised of two elements: (1) $48 million of benefit costs and reserves from reassessed claims expected to be reopened,; and (2) $29 million in additional costs for open claims as a result of the claims handling changes being implemented. The Company will be subject to re-examination 24 months after the execution date of the agreement. If the monitoring states find material non-compliance with the agreement upon re-examination, the Company may be subject to additional costs and penalties. Most other jurisdictions have joined the agreement as participating, non-monitoring states.

- Definition

The entire disclosure for commitments and contingencies.

+ References+ Details