Significant Accounting Policies and Pronouncements

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2019

Significant Accounting Policies and Pronouncements

SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES AND PRONOUNCEMENTS

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

Changes to U.S. GAAP are established by the Financial Accounting Standards Board ("FASB") in the form of Accounting Standards Updates ("ASU") to the FASB Accounting Standards Codification. The Company considers the applicability and impact of all ASU. ASU listed below include those that have been adopted during the current fiscal year and/or those that have been issued but not yet adopted as of the date of this filing. ASU not listed below were assessed and determined to be either not applicable or not material.

ASU adopted during the three months ended March 31, 2019.



Standard	Description	Effective date and method of adoption	Effect on the financial statements or other significant matters
ASU 2017-08, Receivables - Nonrefundable Fees and Other Costs (Subtopic 310-20) Premium Amortization on Purchased Callable Debt Securities	This ASU requires certain premiums on callable debt securities to be amortized to the earliest call date.	January 1, 2019 using the modified retrospective method which included cumulative-effect adjustment on the balance sheet as of the beginning of the fiscal year of adoption.	Adoption of the ASU did not have a significant impact on the Company’s Financial Statements and Notes to the Financial Statements. The impact of the cumulative-effect adjustment to retained earnings was immaterial.
ASU 2017-12, Derivatives and Hedging (Topic 815): Targeted Improvements to Accounting for Hedging Activities	This ASU makes targeted changes to the existing hedge accounting model to better portray the economics of an entity’s risk management activities and to simplify the use of hedge accounting. The ASU eliminates separate measurement and recording of hedge ineffectiveness. It requires entities to present the earnings effect of the hedging instrument in the same income statement line item in which the hedged item is reported and also requires expanded disclosures.	January 1, 2019 using the modified retrospective method which included cumulative-effect adjustment on the balance sheet as of the beginning of the fiscal year of adoption.	Adoption of the ASU did not have a significant impact on the Company’s Financial Statements and Notes to the Financial Statements. The impact of the cumulative-effect adjustment to retained earnings and accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) ("AOCI") related to ineffectiveness of the hedge instruments outstanding at the date of the adoption was immaterial. See Note 4 for additional required disclosures.

ASU issued but not yet adopted as of March 31, 2019 — ASU 2018-12

ASU 2018-12, Financial Services - Insurance (Topic 944): Targeted Improvements to the Accounting for Long-Duration Contracts, was issued by the FASB on August 15, 2018 and is expected to have a significant impact on the Company’s Financial Statements and Notes to the Financial Statements. The ASU is effective January 1, 2021 (with early adoption permitted), and will impact, at least to some extent, the accounting and disclosure requirements for all long-duration insurance and investment contracts issued by the Company. Outlined below are four key areas of change, although there are other changes not noted below. In addition to the impacts to the balance sheet upon adoption, the Company also expects an impact to how earnings emerge thereafter.



ASU 2018-12 Amended Topic	Description	Method of adoption	Effect on the financial statements or other significant matters
Cash flow assumptions used to measure the liability for future policy benefits for non-participating traditional and limited-pay insurance products	Requires an entity to review, and if necessary, update the cash flow assumptions used to measure the liability for future policy benefits, for both changes in future assumptions and actual experience, at least annually using a retrospective update method with a cumulative catch-up adjustment recorded in a separate line item in the Statements of Operations.	An entity may choose one of two adoption methods for the liability for future policy benefits: (1) a modified retrospective transition method whereby the entity will apply the amendments to contracts in force as of the beginning of the earliest period presented on the basis of their existing carrying amounts, adjusted for the removal of any related amounts in AOCI or (2) a full retrospective transition method.	The options for method of adoption and the impacts of such methods are under assessment.
Discount rate assumption used to measure the liability for future policy benefits for non-participating traditional and limited-pay insurance products	Requires discount rate assumptions to be based on an upper-medium grade fixed income instrument yield and will be required to be updated each quarter with the impact recorded through Other Comprehensive Income ("OCI").	As noted above, an entity may choose either a modified retrospective transition method or full retrospective transition method for the liability for future policy benefits. Under either method, for balance sheet remeasurement purposes, the liability for future policy benefits will be remeasured using current discount rates as of the beginning of the earliest period presented with the impact recorded as a cumulative effect adjustment to AOCI.	Upon adoption, under either transition method, there will be an adjustment to AOCI as a result of remeasuring in force contract liabilities using current upper-medium grade fixed income instrument yields. The adjustment upon adoption will largely reflect the difference between the discount rate locked-in at contract inception versus current discount rates at transition. The magnitude of such adjustment is currently being assessed.
Amortization of DAC and other balances	Requires DAC and other balances, such as unearned revenue reserves and DSI, to be amortized on a constant level basis over the expected term of the related contract, independent of expected profitability.	An entity may apply one of two adoption methods: (1) a modified retrospective transition method whereby the entity will apply the amendments to contracts in force as of the beginning of the earliest period presented on the basis of their existing carrying amounts, adjusted for the removal of any related amounts in AOCI or (2) if an entity chooses a full retrospective transition method for its future policy benefits, as described above, it is required to also use a retrospective transition method for DAC and other balances.	The options for method of adoption and the impacts of such methods are under assessment. Under the modified retrospective transition method, the Company would not expect a significant impact to the balance sheet, other than the impact of the removal of any related amounts in AOCI.
Market Risk Benefits	Requires an entity to measure all market risk benefits (e.g., living benefit and death benefit guarantees associated with variable annuities) at fair value with changes in value attributable to changes in an entity’s non-performance risk ("NPR") to be recognized in OCI.	An entity will apply a retrospective transition method which will include a cumulative-effect adjustment on the balance sheet as of the earliest period presented.	Upon adoption, the Company expects an impact to retained earnings for the difference between the fair value and carrying value of benefits not currently measured at fair value (e.g., guaranteed minimum death benefits on variable annuities) and an impact from reclassifying the cumulative effect of changes in NPR from retained earnings to AOCI. The magnitude of such adjustments is currently being assessed.

Other ASU issued but not yet adopted as of March 31, 2019

Description

Effective date and method of adoption

Effect on the financial statements or other significant matters

ASU 2016-13,
Financial Instruments - Credit Losses (Topic 326):
Measurement of
Credit Losses on
Financial
Instruments

This ASU provides a new current expected credit loss model to account for credit losses on certain financial assets and off-balance sheet exposures (e.g., loans held for investment, debt securities held to maturity, reinsurance receivables, net investments in leases and loan commitments). The model requires an entity to estimate lifetime credit losses related to such financial assets and exposures based on relevant information about past events, current conditions, and reasonable and supportable forecasts that affect the collectability of the reported amount. The standard also modifies the current other-than-temporary impairment standard for available-for-sale debt securities to require the use of an allowance rather than a direct write down of the investment, and replaces existing standard for purchased credit deteriorated loans and debt securities.

January 1, 2020 using the modified retrospective method which will include a cumulative-effect adjustment on the balance sheet as of the beginning of the fiscal year of adoption. However, prospective application is required for purchased credit deteriorated assets previously accounted for under ASU 310-30 and for debt securities for which an other-than-temporary impairment was recognized prior to the date of adoption. Early adoption is permitted beginning January 1, 2019.

The Company does not plan to early adopt this ASU and is currently assessing its impact on the Company’s Financial Statements and Notes to the Financial Statements.