Reinsurance

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2016

Reinsurance Disclosures [Abstract]

Reinsurance

Note 6― Reinsurance

The Company's insurance subsidiaries enter into agreements with other insurance companies to assume and cede reinsurance.  Reinsurance is ceded primarily to limit losses from large exposures and to permit recovery of a portion of direct or assumed losses. Reinsurance is also used in acquisition and disposition transactions when the underwriting company is not being acquired. Reinsurance does not relieve the originating insurer of liability.  The Company regularly evaluates the financial condition of its reinsurers and monitors concentrations of its credit risk.

Effective Exit of GMDB and GMIB Business

In 2013, the Company entered into an agreement with Berkshire Hathaway Life Insurance Company of Nebraska (“Berkshire”) to effectively exit the guaranteed minimum death benefit (“GMDB”) and guaranteed minimum income benefit (“GMIB”) businesses via a reinsurance transaction. Berkshire reinsured 100% of the Company's future claim payments in these businesses, net of other reinsurance arrangements existing at that time. The Berkshire reinsurance agreement is subject to an overall limit with approximately $3.6 billion remaining.

Because this effective exit was accomplished via a reinsurance contract, the amounts related to the reinsured GMDB and GMIB contractscannot be netted, so the gross assets and liabilities must continue to be measured and reported. The following disclosures provide further context for the methods and assumptions used to determine GMDB assets and liabilities.

GMDB

The Company estimates this liability with an internal model based on the Company's experience and future expectations over an extended period, consistent with the long-term nature of this product. Because the product is premium deficient, the Company records increases to the reserve if it is inadequate based on the model. As a result of the reinsurance transaction, reserve increases have a corresponding increase in the recorded reinsurance recoverable, provided the increased recoverable remains within the overall Berkshire limit (including the GMIB assets).

Activity in the future policy benefit reserve for the GMDB business was as follows:

	For the period ended
	March 31,		December 31,
(In millions)	2016		2015
Balance at January 1	$	1,252	$	1,270
Add: Unpaid claims		18		16
Less: Reinsurance and other amounts recoverable		1,164		1,186
Balance at January 1, net		106		100
Add: Incurred benefits		1		3
Less: Paid benefits		-		(3)
Ending balance, net		107		106
Less: Unpaid claims		22		18
Add: Reinsurance and other amounts recoverable		1,201		1,164
Ending balance	$	1,286	$	1,252

Benefits paid and incurred are net of ceded amounts. The ending net retained reserve is to cover ongoing administrative expenses, as well as the minor claims exposure retained by the Company.

The table below presents the account value, net amount at risk and number of underlying contractholders for guarantees assumed by the Company in the event of death. The net amount at risk is the amount that the Company would have to pay if all contractholders died as of the specified date. Unless the Berkshire limit is exceeded, the Company should be reimbursed in full for these payments.

(Dollars in millions, excludes impact of reinsurance ceded)	March 31, 2016		December 31, 2015
Account value	$	10,977	$	11,355
Net amount at risk	$	2,854	$	2,870
Number of contractholders		318,000		324,000

Effects of Reinsurance

In the Company's Consolidated Statements of Income, premiums were reported net of amounts ceded to reinsurers and Global Health Care medical costs and other benefit expenses were reported net of reinsurance recoveries in the following amounts:

	Three Months Ended
	March 31,
(In millions)	2016		2015
Ceded premiums
Individual life insurance and annuity business sold	$	41	$	41
Other		95		89
Total	$	136	$	130
Reinsurance recoveries
Individual life insurance and annuity business sold	$	68	$	86
Other		96		73
Total	$	164	$	159

Reinsurance Recoverables

Components of the Company's reinsurance recoverablesare presented below:

(In millions)
		March 31,		December 31,		Collateral and Other Terms
Line of Business	Reinsurer(s)	2016		2015		at March 31, 2016
GMDB	Berkshire	$	1,156	$	1,123	100% secured by assets in a trust.
	Other		45		41	100% secured by assets in a trust or letter of credit.
Individual Life and Annuity (sold in 1998)	Lincoln National Life and Lincoln Life & Annuity of New York		3,659		3,705	Both companies' ratings are sufficient to avoid triggering a contractual obligation to fully secure the outstanding balance.
Retirement Benefits Business (sold in 2004)	Prudential Retirement Insurance and Annuity		976		995	100% secured by assets in a trust.
Supplemental Benefits Business (2012 acquisition)	Great American Life		312		315	100% secured by assets in a trust.
Global Health Care, Global Supplemental Benefits, Group Disability and Life	Various		497		553	Recoverables from approximately 80 reinsurers, including the U.S. Government, used in the ordinary course of business. Excluding the recoverable from the U.S. Government of approximately $100 million, current balances range from less than $1 million up to $90 million, with 18% secured by assets in trusts or letters of credit.
Other run-off reinsurance	Various		80		81	100% of this balance is secured by assets in trusts.
Total reinsurance recoverables		$	6,725	$	6,813

Over 90% of the Company's reinsurance recoverables were from companies that were rated A or higher by Standard & Poor's at March 31, 2016. The Company reviews its reinsurance arrangements and establishes reserves against the recoverablesif recovery is not considered probable. As of March 31, 2016, the Company's recoverables were net of a reserve of approximately $3 million. The Company bears the risk of loss if its reinsurers and retrocessionaires do not meet or are unable to meet their reinsurance obligations to the Company.