Statutory financial information

Our subsidiaries file financial statements prepared in accordance with statutory accounting practices prescribed or permitted by insurance regulators. Statutory accounting differs from GAAP in the reporting of certain reinsurance contracts, investments, subsidiaries, acquisition expenses, fixed assets, deferred income taxes, and certain other items. Some jurisdictions impose complex regulatory requirements on insurance companies while other jurisdictions impose fewer requirements. In some jurisdictions, we must obtain licenses issued by governmental authorities to conduct local insurance business. These licenses may be subject to reserves and minimum capital and solvency tests. Jurisdictions may impose fines, censure, and/or criminal sanctions for violation of regulatory requirements. The 2017 amounts below are based on estimates.

Chubb's insurance and reinsurance subsidiaries are subject to insurance laws and regulations in the jurisdictions in which they operate. These regulations include restrictions that limit the amount of dividends or other distributions, such as loans or cash advances, available to shareholders without prior approval of the local insurance regulatory authorities. The amount of dividends available to be paid in 2018 without prior approval totals $5.8 billion.

The statutory capital and surplus of our insurance subsidiaries met regulatory requirements for 2017, 2016, and 2015. The minimum amounts of statutory capital and surplus necessary to satisfy regulatory requirements was $23.9 billion and $22.2 billion for December 31, 2017 and 2016, respectively. These minimum regulatory capital requirements were significantly lower than the corresponding amounts required by the rating agencies which review Chubb’s insurance and reinsurance subsidiaries.

The following tables present the combined statutory capital and surplus and statutory net income (loss) of our Property and casualty and Life subsidiaries:



	December 31
(in millions of U.S. dollars)	2017		2016
Statutory capital and surplus
Property and casualty	$	40,498	$	38,734
Life	$	1,507	$	1,225



	Year Ended December 31
(in millions of U.S. dollars)	2017		2016		2015
Statutory net income (loss)
Property and casualty	$	8,123	$	6,903	$	2,712
Life	$	74	$	55	$	(148	)

Several insurance subsidiaries follow accounting practices prescribed or permitted by the jurisdiction of domicile that differ from the applicable local statutory practice. The application of prescribed or permitted accounting practices does not have a material impact on Chubb's statutory surplus and income. As prescribed by the Restructuring discussed previously in Note 7, certain of our U.S. subsidiaries discount certain A&E liabilities, which increased statutory capital and surplus by approximately $169 million and $155 million at December 31, 2017 and 2016, respectively.

Federal Insurance Company (Federal), a direct subsidiary of Chubb INA Holdings Inc., has a permitted practice granted by the Indiana Department of Insurance that relates to its investments in foreign subsidiaries and affiliates. Under Statement of Statutory Accounting Principles No. 97, Investments in Subsidiary, Controlled and Affiliated Entities, A Replacement of SSAP No. 88, in order for a reporting entity to admit its investments in foreign subsidiaries and affiliates, audited financial statements of the subsidiary or affiliate must be obtained to support the carrying value. Such financial statements must be prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP, or alternatively, in accordance with the local statutory requirements in the subsidiary’s or affiliate’s country of domicile, with an audited footnote reconciliation of net income and shareholder’s equity as reported to a U.S. GAAP basis. With the explicit permission of the Indiana Department of Insurance, Federal obtains audited financial statements for its admitted foreign subsidiaries and affiliates, which had an aggregate carrying value of $156 million and $308 million at December 31, 2017 and 2016, respectively, prepared in accordance with their respective local statutory requirements and supplemented with a separate unaudited reconciliation of shareholder’s equity as reported to a U.S. GAAP basis.