ACCRUED EXPENSES

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2019

Payables and Accruals [Abstract]

ACCRUED EXPENSES

ACCRUED EXPENSES

Accrued expenses consisted of the following (in thousands):

	December 31, 2019		December 31, 2018
Accrued insurance	$	74,376	$	70,217
Accrued interest	21,222		3,930
Accrued compensation and benefits	72,473		77,881
Accrued income, real estate, sales and other taxes	35,749		25,670
Accrued other	72,720		55,707
	$	276,540	$	233,405

As of December 31, 2019 and 2018, accrued insurance included employee medical insurance costs of $14.3 million and $14.7 million, respectively, and accruals for losses under our workers' compensation, comprehensive general liability and vehicle liability self-insurance programs of $59.4 million and $53.9 million, respectively.

The increase in accrued interest from the comparable period in 2018 is due to the timing of required interest payments which changed due to the redemption of the 2021 unsecured senior notes and the issuance of the 2027 and 2029 unsecured senior notes. For additional information relating to accrued interest, see Note 12, "Financing Arrangements."

The increase in accrued income, real estate, sales and other taxes from the comparable period in 2018 is due to an increase in accrued federal tax of $10.5 million driven by higher taxable income and the timing of tax payments.

As of December 31, 2019 and 2018, accrued other includes a derivative liability of $20.8 million and $8.8 million, respectively, related to the Company's cash flow hedges. The increase in the fair value of the derivative liability is mainly due to changes in variable interest rates. For additional information relating to the derivative liability, see Note 12, "Financing Arrangements."