Income Taxes (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2019

Components Of Income Before Income Taxes

Income (loss) before income taxes includes the following components.



	Years Ended December 31,
(dollars in thousands)	2019		2018			2017
Domestic operations	$	1,664,762	$	99,373		$	337,704
Foreign operations	621,046		(107,228		)	(250,409		)
Income (loss) before income taxes	$	2,285,808	$	(7,855	)	$	87,295

Components Of Income Tax Expense (Benefit)

Income tax expense (benefit) includes the following components.



	Years Ended December 31,
(dollars in thousands)	2019		2018			2017
Current:
Domestic	$	139,597	$	77,936		$	(19,255	)
Foreign	23,364		41,833			29,882
Total current tax expense	162,961		119,769			10,627
Deferred:
Domestic	217,928		(77,255		)	(222,427		)
Foreign	105,457		79,984			(101,663		)
Total deferred tax expense (benefit)	323,385		2,729			(324,090		)
Income tax expense (benefit)	$	486,346	$	122,498		$	(313,463	)

Reconciliations Of United States Corporate Income Tax Rate To Effective Tax Rate On Income Before Income Taxes

The following table presents a reconciliation of income taxes computed using the U.S. corporate tax rate to the Company's income tax expense (benefit).



	Years Ended December 31,
(dollars in thousands)	2019			2018			2017
Income taxes at U.S. corporate tax rate	$	480,020		$	(1,650	)	$	30,553
Increase (decrease) resulting from:
Foreign operations	14,718			4,951			37,207
Tax-exempt investment income	(18,430		)	(18,927		)	(41,565		)
Change in tax status of U.K. subsidiaries	(6,658		)	103,281			—
Tax credits	(4,104		)	(3,617		)	(10,236		)
Nondeductible loss on investments managed by MCIM	—			26,552			16,231
TCJA	—			(5,699		)	(339,899		)
Other	20,800			17,607			(5,754		)
Income tax expense (benefit)	$	486,346		$	122,498		$	(313,463	)

Components Of Domestic And Foreign Deferred Tax Assets And Liabilities

The following table presents the components of domestic and foreign deferred tax assets and liabilities.



	December 31,
(dollars in thousands)	2019			2018
Assets:
Unpaid losses and loss adjustment expenses	$	163,522		$	164,497
Unearned premiums recognized for income tax purposes	102,020			85,952
Life and annuity benefits	84,890			78,370
Lease liabilities	55,362			—
Tax credit carryforwards	47,233			39,877
Net operating loss carryforwards	39,429			46,662
Accrued incentive compensation	35,132			30,308
Other differences between financial reporting and tax bases	52,604			39,763
Total gross deferred tax assets	580,192			485,429
Less valuation allowance	(45,544		)	(36,286		)
Total gross deferred tax assets, net of allowance	534,648			449,143
Liabilities:
Investments	996,543			590,250
Goodwill and other intangible assets	134,573			124,953
Deferred policy acquisition costs	113,243			89,716
Right-of-use lease assets	49,583			—
Other differences between financial reporting and tax bases	101,426			90,269
Total gross deferred tax liabilities	1,395,368			895,188
Net deferred tax liability	$	860,720		$	446,045