General (Policies)

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2014

Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]

Basis of presentation

ACE Limited is a holding company incorporated in Zurich, Switzerland. ACE Limited, through its subsidiaries, provides a broad range of insurance and reinsurance products to insureds worldwide. ACE operates through five business segments: Insurance – North American P&C, Insurance – North American Agriculture, Insurance – Overseas General, Global Reinsurance, and Life. Refer to Note 10 for additional information.

The interim unaudited consolidated financial statements, which include the accounts of ACE Limited and its subsidiaries (collectively, ACE, we, us, or our), have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (GAAP) and, in the opinion of management, reflect all adjustments (consisting of normally recurring accruals) necessary for a fair statement of the results and financial position for such periods. All significant intercompany accounts and transactions have been eliminated.

The results of operations and cash flows for any interim period are not necessarily indicative of the results for the full year. These consolidated financial statements should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and related notes included in our 2013 Form 10-K.

Goodwill and Intangible Assets

Goodwill and other intangible assets

During the third quarter of 2014, we changed our annual goodwill impairment testing date from December 31 to September 30 of each year. We believe this change is preferable as it more closely aligns the goodwill impairment testing date with the timing of our strategic business planning process. This change does not result in any delay, acceleration or avoidance of impairment. Based on our impairment testing for 2014, we determined no impairment was required and none of our reporting units were at risk for impairment.