Significant Accounting Policies (Policies)

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2016

Accounting Policies [Abstract]

Principles of Consolidation and Basis of Presentation

The accompanying condensed consolidated financial statements include the accounts of The National Security Group, Inc. (the Company) and its wholly-owned subsidiaries:  National Security Insurance Company (NSIC), National Security Fire and Casualty Company (NSFC) and NATSCO, Inc. (NATSCO).  NSFC includes a wholly-owned subsidiary, Omega One Insurance Company (Omega).  The accompanying condensed consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (GAAP).  In the opinion of management, all adjustments, consisting of normal and recurring items, necessary for the fair presentation of the condensed consolidated financial statements have been included. All significant intercompany transactions and accounts have been eliminated. The financial information presented herein should be read in conjunction with the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2015, which includes information and disclosures not presented herein.

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 and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the condensed consolidated financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Among the more significant estimates included in these condensed consolidated financial statements are reserves for future life insurance policy benefits, liabilities for losses and loss adjustment expenses, reinsurance recoverable associated with loss and loss adjustment expense liabilities, deferred policy acquisition costs, deferred income tax assets and liabilities, assessments of other-than-temporary impairments on investments and accruals for contingencies.  Actual results could differ from these estimates.

Earnings Per Share

Earnings per share of common stock is based on the weighted average number of shares outstanding during each year. The adjusted weighted average shares outstanding were 2,514,828 at September 30, 2016 and 2,509,857 at September 30, 2015. The Company did not have any dilutive securities as of September 30, 2016 and 2015.

Reclassifications

Certain 2015 amounts have been reclassified from the prior year condensed consolidated financial statements to conform to the 2016 presentation.

Concentration of Credit Risk

The Company maintains cash balances which are generally held in non-interest bearing demand deposit accounts subject to FDIC insured limits of $250,000 per entity. At September 30, 2016, the net amount exceeding FDIC insured limits was $2,527,000 at two financial institutions. The Company has not experienced any losses in such accounts. Management of the Company reviews financial information of financial institutions on a quarterly basis and believes the Company is not exposed to any significant credit risk on cash and cash equivalents.

Policy receivables are reported at unpaid balances. Policy receivables are generally offset by associated unearned premium liabilities and are not subject to significant credit risk. Receivables from agents, less provision for credit losses, are composed of balances due from independent agents. At September 30, 2016, the single largest balance due from one agent totaled $857,000.

Reinsurance contracts do not relieve the Company of its obligations to policyholders. A failure of a reinsurer to meet their obligation could result in losses to the insurance subsidiaries. Allowances for losses are established if amounts are believed to be uncollectible. At September 30, 2016 and December 31, 2015, no amounts were deemed uncollectible. The Company, at least annually, evaluates the financial condition of all reinsurers and evaluates any potential concentrations of credit risk. At September 30, 2016, management does not believe the Company is exposed to any significant credit risk related to its reinsurance program.

Change in Accounting Principle

Change in Accounting Principle:

Effective January 1, 2016, the Company elected to change its method of presentation relating to placement fees associated with the issuance of trust preferred securities in accordance with FASB ASU 2015-03. Prior to 2016, the Company’s policy was to present these fees in Other Assets on the balance sheet, net of accumulated amortization. Beginning in 2016, the Company has presented these fees as a direct reduction in the related note payable.

Accounting Changes Not Yet Adopted

Revenue from Contracts with Customers

In May 2014, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) issued guidance on a comprehensive new revenue recognition standard. This standard will not impact accounting for insurance contracts, leases, financial instruments and guarantees. For those contracts that are impacted by the new guidance, the guidance will require an entity to recognize revenue upon the transfer of promised goods or services to customers in an amount that reflects the consideration to which the entity expects to be entitled to, in exchange for those goods or services. The guidance requires additional disclosure about the nature, amount, timing and uncertainty of revenue and cash flows arising from customer contracts, including significant judgments and changes in judgments and assets recognized from costs incurred to obtain or fulfill a contract. In August 2015, the FASB issued a deferral of the effective date by one year. This guidance is effective retrospectively for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2017 and interim periods within those years. Early adoption of this standard is permitted only as of annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2016, including interim reporting periods within that reporting period. Although insurance contracts are specifically scoped out of this new guidance, the Company has minor services that may be subject to the new revenue recognition guidance and are still in the process of evaluating the impact, if any, the guidance may have on its condensed consolidated financial statements.

Presentation of Financial Statements - Going Concern

In August 2014, the FASB issued guidance on determining when and how to disclose going concern uncertainties in the financial statements, and requires management to perform interim and annual assessments of an entity’s ability to continue as a going concern within one year of the date the financial statements are issued. The updated guidance is effective for annual periods ending after December 15, 2016 and interim periods thereafter. Early adoption is permitted. The Company does not expect the adoption to have a material impact on its financial position, results of operations or disclosures.

Recognition and Measurement of Financial Assets and Financial Liabilities

In January 2016, the FASB issued guidance that requires equity investments (except those accounted for under the equity method of accounting or those that result in consolidation of the investee) to be measured at fair value with changes in fair value recognized in net income. The guidance requires entities to use the exit price notion when measuring the fair value of financial instruments for disclosure purposes and requires separate presentation of financial assets and financial liabilities by measurement category and form of financial asset. The guidance eliminates the requirement for public companies 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. This guidance is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2017 and interim periods within those fiscal years. The Company does not expect the adoption to have a material impact on its financial position or results of operations.

Leases

In February 2016, the FASB issued guidance that requires lessees (for capital and operating leases) to recognize the lease liability and right-of-use asset at the commencement date of the lease. This guidance is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2018, including interim periods within those years. The Company does not expect the adoption to have a material impact on its financial position or results of operations.

Contingent Put and Call Options in Debt Instruments

In March 2016, the FASB issued guidance that clarifies the requirements for assessing whether contingent call (put) options that can accelerate the payment of principal on debt instruments are clearly and closely related to their debt hosts. This guidance is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2019, including interim periods within those years. The Company does not expect the adoption to have a material impact on its financial position or results of operations.

Financial Instruments - Credit Losses

In June 2016, the FASB issued guidance that replaces the incurred loss impairment methodology in current GAAP with a methodology that reflects expected credit losses and requires consideration of a broader range of reasonable and supportable information to inform credit loss estimates. This guidance is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2016, including interim periods within those years. The Company does not expect the adoption to have a material impact on its financial position or results of operations.

Classification of Certain Cash Receipts and Cash Payments

In August 2016, the FASB issued guidance that clarifies how certain cash receipts and cash payments shall be presented and classified in the statement of cash flows. This guidance addresses eight specific cash flow issues with the objective of reducing the existing diversity in practice. The guidance is effective for annual and interim reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2017. The Company does not expect the adoption of this new guidance to have a significant impact on our financial position, results of operations or cash flows.

Recently Adopted Accounting Standards

Simplifying Income Statement Presentation by Eliminating the Concept of Extraordinary Items

In January 2015, the FASB issued guidance that eliminates from GAAP the concept of extraordinary items. The Company adopted this standard on January 1, 2016. This guidance did not have a material effect on results of operations or financial position.

Amendments to the Consolidation Analysis

In February 2015, the FASB issued additional guidance regarding the consolidation of certain legal entities. The guidance modifies the evaluation of whether or not limited partnerships and similar legal entities are variable interest entities (VIEs) and the consolidation analysis of entities involved with VIEs, particularly those that have fee arrangements and related party relationships. The Company adopted this standard on January 1, 2016. This guidance did not have a material effect on results of operations or financial position.

Interest - Imputation of Interest: Simplifying the Presentation of Debt Issuance Costs.

In April 2015, the FASB issued guidance to simplify the presentation of debt issuance costs. This ASU requires that debt issuance costs related to a recognized debt liability be presented in the balance sheet as a direct deduction from the carrying amount of the debt liability. The Company adopted this standard retrospectively on January 1, 2016, which resulted in the reclassification of $258,000 of unamortized debt issuance costs related to Company borrowings from other assets to long-term debt within our condensed consolidated balance sheet as of December 31, 2015. The adoption also resulted in the reclassification of $10,000 from general expenses to interest expense for the nine months ended September 30, 2015.

Disclosure about Short-Duration Contracts

In May 2015, the FASB issued guidance that enhances disclosure about short-duration insurance liabilities to help users understand the nature, amount, timing and uncertainty of future cash flows related to insurance liabilities and the effect of those cash flows on the statement of comprehensive income. The Company adopted this standard on January 1, 2016. Required disclosures will be included in the notes to consolidated financial statements included in the Company's 2016 Annual Report on Form 10-K and in interim reports beginning in 2017.

Simplifying the Accounting for Measurement-Period Adjustments

In September 2015, the FASB issued guidance that requires an acquirer to recognize adjustments to provisional amounts that are identified during the measurement period in the reporting period in which the adjustment amounts are determined. The acquirer must record, in the same period's financial statements, the effect on earnings of changes in depreciation, amortization, or other income effects, if any, as a result of the change to the provisional amounts, calculated as if the accounting had been completed at the acquisition date. The guidance requires an entity to present on the face of the income statement or to disclose in the notes the portion of the amount recorded in current-period earnings by line item that would have been recorded in previous reporting periods if the adjustment to the provisional amounts had been recognized as of the acquisition date. The Company adopted this standard on January 1, 2016. This guidance did not have a material effect on results of operations or financial position.

Consolidation, Variable Interest Entity

The Company holds a passive interest in a limited partnership that is considered to be a Variable Interest Entity (VIE) under the provisions of ASC 810 Consolidation. The Company is not the primary beneficiary of the entity and is not required to consolidate under ASC 810. The entity is a private placement investment fund formed for the purpose of investing in private equity investments. The Company owns less than 1% of the limited partnership. The carrying value of the investment totals $228,000 and is included as a component of Other Invested Assets in the accompanying condensed consolidated balance sheets.

Marketable Securities

 In evaluating whether or not the equity loss positions were other-than-temporary impairments, Management evaluated financial information on each company and where available, reviewed analyst reports from at least two independent sources.

For securities in an unrealized loss position, the Company assesses whether the Company has the intent to sell the security or more-likely-than-not will be required to sell the security before the anticipated recovery.  If either of these conditions is met, the Company is required to recognize an other-than-temporary impairment with the entire unrealized loss reported in earnings.  For securities in an unrealized loss position that do not meet these conditions, the Company assesses whether the impairment of a security is other-than-temporary.  If the impairment is determined to be other-than-temporary, the Company is required to separate the other-than-temporary impairments into two components:  the amount representing the credit loss and the amount related to all other factors.  The credit loss is the portion of the amortized book value in excess of the net present value of the projected future cash flows discounted at the effective interest rate implicit in the debt security prior to impairment.  The credit loss component of other-than-temporary impairments is reported in earnings, whereas the amount relating to factors other than credit losses are recorded in other comprehensive income, net of taxes.

Fair Value

Fixed maturities available-for-sale — The fair values of the Company’s public fixed maturity securities are generally based on prices obtained from independent pricing services. Consistent with the fair value hierarchy described above, securities with validated quotes from pricing services are generally reflected within Level 2, as they are primarily based on observable pricing for similar assets and/or other market observable inputs.

Trading securities — Trading securities consist primarily of mutual funds whose fair values are determined consistent with similar instruments described above under “Fixed Maturities” and below under “Equity Securities.”

Equity securities — Equity securities consist principally of investments in common and preferred stock of publicly traded companies and privately traded securities. The fair values of our publicly traded equity securities are based on quoted market prices in active markets for identical assets and are classified within Level 1 in the fair value hierarchy.

Estimated fair values for our privately traded equity securities require a substantial level of judgment. Privately traded equity securities are classified within Level 3.

Interest rate swaps — Interest rate swaps are recorded at fair value either as assets, within other assets or as liabilities, within other liabilities. The fair values of our interest rate swaps are provided by a third-party broker and are classified within Level 3.

Our available-for-sale securities consists of fixed maturity and equity securities which are recorded at fair value in the accompanying consolidated balance sheets.  The change in the fair value of these investments, unless deemed to be other-than-temporarily impaired, is recorded as a component of other comprehensive income.

We are permitted to elect to measure financial instruments and certain other items at fair value, with the change in fair value recorded in earnings.  We elected not to measure any eligible items using the fair value option.

Accounting standards define fair value as the price that would be received to sell an asset or would be paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date, and establishes a framework to make the measurement of fair value more consistent and comparable.  In determining fair value, we primarily use prices and other relevant information generated by market transactions involving identical or comparable assets.

The Company categorizes assets and liabilities carried at their fair value based upon a fair value hierarchy:

Level 1 – Quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities that the Company has the ability to access at the measurement date.

Level 1 assets and liabilities consist of money market fund deposits and certain of our marketable debt and equity instruments, including equity instruments offsetting deferred compensation, that are traded in an active market with sufficient volume and frequency of transactions.

Level 2 - Observable inputs other than Level 1 prices such as quoted prices for similar assets or liabilities; quoted prices in markets with insufficient volume or infrequent transactions (less active markets); or model-derived valuations in which all significant inputs are observable or can be derived principally from or corroborated by observable market data for substantially the full term of the assets or liabilities.

Level 2 assets include certain of our marketable debt and equity instruments with quoted market prices that are traded in less active markets or priced using a quoted market price for similar instruments. Level 2 assets also include marketable equity instruments with security-specific restrictions that would transfer to the buyer, marketable debt instruments priced using indicator prices which represent non-binding market consensus prices that can be corroborated by observable market quotes, as well as derivative contracts and debt instruments priced using inputs that are observable in the market or can be derived principally from or corroborated by observable market data.  Marketable debt instruments in this category generally include commercial paper, bank time deposits, repurchase agreements for fixed-income instruments, and a majority of floating-rate notes, corporate bonds, and municipal bonds.

Level 3 - Unobservable inputs to the valuation methodology that are significant to the measurement of fair value of assets or liabilities.

Level 3 assets and liabilities include marketable debt instruments, non-marketable equity investments, derivative contracts, and company issued debt whose values are determined using inputs that are both unobservable and significant to the values of the instruments being measured. Level 3 assets also include marketable debt instruments that are priced using indicator prices that we were unable to corroborate with observable market quotes.

Marketable debt instruments in this category generally include asset-backed securities and certain floating-rate notes, corporate bonds, and municipal bonds.

The following methods and assumptions were used to estimate fair value of each class of financial instrument for which it is practical to estimate that value:

Cash and cash equivalents — the carrying amount is a reasonable estimate of fair value.

Fixed maturities held-to-maturity — the carrying amount is amortized cost; the fair values of the Company’s public fixed maturity securities that are classified as held-to-maturity are generally based on prices obtained from independent pricing services.

Mortgage loans — the carrying amount is a reasonable estimate of fair value due to the restrictive nature and limited marketability of the mortgage notes.

Policy loans — the carrying amount is a reasonable estimate of fair value.

Company owned life insurance — the carrying amount is a reasonable estimate of fair value.

Other invested assets — the carrying amount is a reasonable estimate of fair value.

Other policyholder funds — the carrying amount is a reasonable estimate of fair value.

Debt — the carrying amount is a reasonable estimate of fair value.

Derivatives

The Company is exposed to certain risks in the normal course of its business operations.  The primary risk that is managed through the use of derivatives is interest rate risk on floating rate borrowings.  This risk is managed through the use of interest rate swap agreements which are designated as cash flow hedges.  For cash flow hedges, the effective portion of the gain or loss on the interest rate swap is included as a component of other comprehensive income and reclassified into earnings in the same period during which the hedged transaction is recognized in earnings.  The Company does not hold or issue derivatives that are not designated as hedging instruments. 

The swap liability is reported as a component of other liabilities on the consolidated balance sheets.

We use dollar offset at the hedge's inception and for each reporting period thereafter to assess whether the derivative used in a hedging transaction is expected to be, and has been, effective in offsetting changes in the fair value of the hedged item. Since inception, no portion of the hedged item has been deemed ineffective. For all hedges, we discontinue hedge accounting if it is determined that a derivative is not expected to be, or has ceased to be, effective as a hedge.

Income Taxes

Net deferred tax liabilities are determined based on the estimated future tax effects of differences between the financial statement and tax basis of assets and liabilities given the provisions of the enacted tax laws. 

The Company recognizes tax-related interest and penalties as a component of tax expense. 

Reinsurance

Amounts recoverable from re-insurers are estimated in a manner consistent with the claim liability associated with the underlying insurance policies.  Amounts paid for prospective reinsurance contracts are reported as prepaid reinsurance premiums and amortized over the remaining contract period.

In the normal course of business, NSIC seeks to limit its exposure to loss on any single insured and to recover a portion of benefits paid by ceding reinsurance to reinsurance companies under excess coverage contracts.  NSIC retains a maximum of $50,000 of coverage per individual life.  The cost of reinsurance is amortized over the contract period of the reinsurance.

The Company's insurance operations utilize reinsurance in order to limit losses, minimize exposure to large risks, provide additional capacity for future growth and effect business-sharing arrangements. Life reinsurance is accomplished through yearly renewable term coverage. Property and casualty reinsurance is placed on an excess of loss basis to cover losses from catastrophe events. Reinsurance ceded arrangements do not discharge the insurance subsidiaries as the primary insurer, except for cases involving a novation. Failure of re-insurers to honor their obligations could result in losses to the insurance subsidiaries. The insurance subsidiaries evaluate the financial conditions of their reinsurance companies and monitor concentrations of credit risk arising from similar geographic regions, activities, or economic characteristics of the companies to minimize their exposure to significant losses from reinsurance insolvencies.

In the normal course of business, NSFC seeks to reduce the loss that may arise from catastrophes or other individually significant large loss events that cause unfavorable underwriting results by re-insuring certain levels of risk in various areas of exposure with reinsurance companies.  NSFC maintains a catastrophe reinsurance agreement to cover losses from catastrophic events, primarily hurricanes.

Business Segment

The Company’s property and casualty insurance operations comprise one business segment. The property and casualty insurance segment primarily underwrites home insurance coverage with primary lines of business consisting of dwelling fire and extended coverage, homeowners (including mobile homeowners) and other liability. 

The Company’s life and accident and health operations comprise the second business segment.  The life and accident and health insurance segment consists of two lines of business: traditional life insurance and accident and health insurance.