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Accounting Policies
 12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2019
Accounting Policies [Abstract]  
Accounting Policies Accounting Policies
Organization and Nature of Business
ProAssurance Corporation (ProAssurance, PRA or the Company), a Delaware corporation, is an insurance holding company primarily for wholly owned specialty property and casualty insurance entities including an entity that provides capital to Syndicate 1729 and is the sole (100%) capital provider of an SPA, Syndicate 6131, at Lloyd's. Risks insured are primarily liability risks located within the U.S.
ProAssurance operates in five reportable segments as follows: Specialty P&C, Workers' Compensation Insurance, Segregated Portfolio Cell Reinsurance, Lloyd's Syndicates and Corporate. For more information on the Company's segment reporting, including the nature of products and services provided and financial information by segment, refer to Note 17.
Principles of Consolidation
The accompanying consolidated financial statements include the accounts of ProAssurance Corporation and its wholly owned subsidiaries. Investments in entities where ProAssurance holds a greater than minor interest but does not hold a controlling interest are accounted for using the equity method. All significant intercompany accounts and transactions are eliminated in consolidation. ProAssurance subsidiaries located in the U.K. are normally reported on a quarter lag due to timing issues regarding the availability of information, except when information is available that is material to the current period. Furthermore, investment results associated with ProAssurance's FAL investments and certain U.S. paid administrative expenses are reported concurrently as that information is available on an earlier time frame.
Basis of Presentation
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, revenues and expenses, and disclosures related to these amounts at the date of the financial statements. Actual results could differ from those estimates.
Certain insignificant prior year amounts have been reclassified to conform to the current year presentation.
Accounting Policies
The significant accounting policies followed by ProAssurance in making estimates that materially affect financial reporting are summarized in these Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements.
Recognition of Revenues
Insurance premiums are recognized as revenues pro rata over the terms of the policies, which are principally one year in duration.
Credit Losses
ProAssurance's premium and agency receivables are exposed to credit losses but to-date have not experienced any significant amount of credit losses. Recorded allowances for credit losses were $1.6 million and $1.3 million for the years ended December 31, 2019 and 2018, respectively. Estimated credit losses and actual credit write-offs, net of recoveries, were $0.3 million during the year ended December 31, 2019 and nominal in amount during the year ended December 31, 2018.
Earned But Unbilled Premiums
Workers’ compensation premiums are determined based upon the payroll of the insured, the applicable premium rates and an experience-based modification factor, where applicable. An audit of the policyholders’ records is conducted after policy expiration to make a final determination of applicable premiums. Audit premium due from or due to a policyholder as a result of an audit is reflected in net premiums written and earned when billed. ProAssurance tracks, by policy, the amount of additional premium billed in final audit invoices as a percentage of payroll exposure and uses this information to estimate the probable additional amount of EBUB premium as of the balance sheet date. Changes to the EBUB estimate are included in net premiums written and earned in the period recognized. As of December 31, 2019 and 2018, ProAssurance carried EBUB of $4.3 million as a part of premiums receivable.
Losses and Loss Adjustment Expenses
ProAssurance establishes its reserve for losses and LAE ("reserve for losses" or "reserve") based on estimates of the future amounts necessary to pay claims and expenses associated with the investigation and settlement of claims. The reserve for losses is determined on the basis of individual claims and payments thereon as well as actuarially determined estimates of future losses based on past loss experience, available industry data and projections as to future claims frequency, severity, inflationary trends, judicial trends, legislative changes and settlement patterns.
 Management establishes the reserve for losses after taking into consideration a variety of factors including premium rates, claims frequency and severity, historical paid and incurred loss development trends, the expected effect of inflation, general economic and social trends, the legal and political environment and the conclusions reached by internal and consulting actuaries. Management updates and reviews the data underlying the estimation of the reserve for losses each reporting period and makes adjustments to loss estimation assumptions that best reflect emerging data. Both internal and consulting actuaries perform an in-depth review of the reserve for losses on at least a semi-annual basis using the loss and exposure data of ProAssurance's subsidiaries. Consulting actuaries provide reports to management regarding the adequacy of reserves.
Estimating casualty insurance reserves, and particularly long-tailed insurance reserves, is a complex process. Long-tailed insurance is characterized by the extended period of time typically required both to assess the viability of a claim and potential damages, if any, and to reach a resolution of the claim. For a high proportion of the risks insured or reinsured by ProAssurance, the period of time required to resolve a claim is often five years or more, and claims may be subject to litigation. Estimating losses for these long-tailed claims requires ProAssurance to make and revise judgments and assessments regarding multiple uncertainties over an extended period of time. As a result, reserve estimates may vary significantly from the eventual outcome. Reserve estimates and the assumptions on which these estimates are predicated are regularly reviewed and updated as new information becomes available. Any adjustments necessary are reflected in then current operations. Due to the size of ProAssurance’s reserve for losses, even a small percentage adjustment to these estimates could have a material effect on earnings in the period in which the adjustment is made, as was the case in 2019, 2018 and 2017.
The effect of adjustments made to reinsured losses is mitigated by the corresponding adjustment that is made to reinsurance recoveries. Thus, in any given year, ProAssurance may make significant adjustments to gross losses that have little effect on its net losses.
Reinsurance Receivables
ProAssurance enters into reinsurance agreements whereby other insurance entities agree to assume a portion of the risk associated with certain policies issued by ProAssurance. In return, ProAssurance agrees to pay a premium to the reinsurer. ProAssurance uses reinsurance to provide capacity to write larger limits of liability, to provide reimbursement for losses incurred under the higher limit coverages the Company offers, to provide protection against losses in excess of policy limits, and, in the case of risk sharing arrangements, to align the Company's objectives with those of its strategic business partners and to provide custom insurance solutions for large customer groups.
Receivable from reinsurers on paid losses and LAE is the estimated amount of losses already paid that will be recoverable from reinsurers. Receivable from reinsurers on unpaid losses and LAE is the estimated amount of future loss payments that will be recoverable from reinsurers. Reinsurance recoveries are the portion of losses incurred during the period that are estimated to be allocable to reinsurers. Premiums ceded are the estimated premiums that will be due to reinsurers with respect to premiums earned and losses incurred during the period.
These estimates are based upon management’s estimates of ultimate losses and the portion of those losses that are allocable to reinsurers under the terms of the related reinsurance agreements. Given the uncertainty of the ultimate amounts of losses, these estimates may vary significantly from the ultimate outcome. Management regularly reviews these estimates and any adjustments necessary are reflected in the period in which the estimate is changed. Due to the size of the receivable from reinsurers, even a small adjustment to the estimates could have a material effect on ProAssurance’s results of operations for the period in which the change is made.
Reinsurance contracts do not relieve ProAssurance from its obligations to policyholders. ProAssurance continually monitors its reinsurers to minimize its exposure to significant losses from reinsurer insolvencies. Any amount determined to be uncollectible is written off in the period in which the uncollectible amount is identified. See Note 5 for further information.
Retroactive Insurance Contracts
In certain instances, ProAssurance’s insurance contracts cover losses both on a prospective basis and retroactive basis, and accordingly, ProAssurance bifurcates the prospective and retroactive provisions of these contracts and accounts for each component separately, where practicable.
Under the retroactive provisions of a contract, all premiums received and losses assumed are recognized immediately in earnings at the inception of the contract as all of the underlying loss events occurred in the past. If the estimated losses assumed differ from the premium received related to the retroactive provision of a contract, the resulting difference is deferred and recognized over the estimated claim payment period with the periodic amortization reflected in earnings as a component of net losses and LAE. Deferred gains are included as a component of the reserve for losses and LAE, and deferred losses are included as a component of other assets on the Consolidated Balance Sheet. Subsequent changes to the estimated timing or amount of future loss payments in relation to the losses assumed under retroactive provisions also produce changes in deferred balances. Changes in such estimates are applied retrospectively, and the resulting changes in deferred balances, together with periodic amortization, are included in earnings in the period of change.
Lloyd’s Premium Estimates
For certain insurance policies and reinsurance contracts written in the Lloyd’s Syndicates segment, premiums are initially recognized based upon estimates of ultimate premium. Estimated ultimate premium consists primarily of premium written under delegated underwriting authority arrangements, which consist primarily of binding authorities, and certain assumed reinsurance agreements. These estimates of ultimate premium are judgmental and are dependent upon certain assumptions, including historical premium trends for similar agreements. As reports are received from programs, ultimate premium estimates are revised, if necessary, with changes reflected in current operations.
Deferred Policy Acquisition Costs; Ceding Commission Income
Costs that vary with and are directly related to the successful production of new and renewal premiums (primarily premium taxes, commissions and underwriting salaries) are deferred to the extent they are recoverable against unearned premiums and are amortized as related premiums are earned. Unearned ceding commission income is reported as an offset to DPAC, and ceding commission earned is reported as an offset to DPAC amortization.
ProAssurance evaluates the recoverability of DPAC typically at the segment level each reporting period, or in a manner that is consistent with the way the Company manages its business. Any amounts estimated to be unrecoverable are charged to expense in the current period. As part of the evaluation of the recoverability of DPAC, ProAssurance also evaluates unearned premium for premium deficiencies. A premium deficiency is recognized if the sum of anticipated losses and loss adjustment expenses, unamortized DPAC and maintenance costs, net of anticipated investment income, exceeds the related unearned premium. If a premium deficiency is identified, the associated DPAC is written off, and a PDR is recorded for the excess deficiency as a component of net losses and loss adjustment expenses in the Consolidated Statement of Income and Comprehensive Income and as a component of the reserve for losses on the Consolidated Balance Sheet.
Investments
Recurring Fair Value Measurements
Fair values of investment securities are primarily provided by independent pricing services. The pricing services provide an exchange-traded price, if available, or provide an estimated price determined using multiple observable inputs, including exchange-traded prices for similar assets. Management reviews valuations of securities obtained from the pricing services for accuracy based upon the specifics of the security, including class, maturity, credit rating, durations, collateral and comparable markets for similar securities. Multiple observable inputs are not available for certain of the Company's investments, including corporate debt not actively traded, other asset-backed securities and investments in LPs/LLCs. Management values the corporate debt not actively traded and the other asset-backed securities either using dealer quotes for similar securities or discounted cash flow models using yields currently available for similar securities. Management values certain investment funds, primarily LPs/LLCs, based on the NAV of the interest held, as provided by the fund.
Nonrecurring Fair Value Measurements
Management measures the fair value of certain assets on a nonrecurring basis either quarterly, annually or when events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of the assets may not be recoverable. These assets include investments carried principally at cost, investments in tax credit partnerships and equity method investments that do not provide a NAV, fixed assets, goodwill and other intangible assets.
Fixed Maturities
Fixed maturities are considered as either available-for-sale or trading securities.
Available-for-sale securities are carried at fair value, determined as described above and in Note 2. Exclusive of OTTI losses, discussed in a separate section that follows, unrealized holding gains and losses on available-for-sale securities are included, net of related tax effects, as a component of OCI in the Consolidated Statement of Income and Comprehensive Income during the period of change and as a component AOCI in shareholders' equity on the Consolidated Balance Sheet.
Investment income includes amortization of premium and accretion of discount related to available-for-sale debt securities acquired at other than par value. Debt securities and mandatorily redeemable preferred stock with maturities beyond one year when purchased are classified as fixed maturities.
Trading securities are carried at fair value, determined as described above, with the unrealized holding gains and losses included as a component of net realized investment gains (losses) in the Consolidated Statement of Income and Comprehensive Income during the period of change.
Equity Investments
Equity investments are carried at fair value, as described above, with the holding gains and losses included as a component of net realized investment gains (losses) in the Consolidated Statement of Income and Comprehensive Income during the period of change. Equity investments are primarily comprised of stocks, bond funds and investment funds.
Short-term Investments
Short-term investments, which have a maturity at purchase of one year or less, are primarily comprised of investments in U.S. Treasury obligations, commercial paper and money market funds. All balances are carried at fair value which approximates the cost of the securities due to their short-term nature.
Other Investments
Investments in convertible bond securities are carried at fair value as permitted by the accounting guidance for hybrid financial instruments, with changes in fair value recognized in income as a component of net realized investment gains (losses) during the period of change. Interest on convertible bond securities is recorded on an accrual basis based on contractual interest rates and is included in net investment income.
Investment in Unconsolidated Subsidiaries
Equity investments, primarily investments in LPs/LLCs, where ProAssurance is deemed to have influence because it holds a greater than a minor interest are accounted for using the equity method. Under the equity method, the recorded basis of the investment is adjusted each period for the investor’s pro rata share of the investee’s income or loss. Investments in unconsolidated subsidiaries include tax credit partnerships accounted for using the equity method, whereby ProAssurance’s proportionate share of income or loss is included in equity in earnings (loss) of unconsolidated subsidiaries. Tax credits received from the partnerships are recognized in the period received in the Consolidated Statement of Income and Comprehensive Income as either a reduction to current tax expense or as a component of deferred tax expense if they cannot be utilized in the period received.
Business Owned Life Insurance
ProAssurance owns life insurance contracts on certain management employees. The life insurance contracts are carried at their current cash surrender value. Changes in the cash surrender value are included in income in the current period as investment income. Death proceeds from the contracts are recorded when the proceeds become payable under the policy terms.
Realized Gains and Losses
Realized investment gains and losses are recognized on the first-in, first-out basis for GAAP purposes and on the specific identification basis for tax purposes.
Other-than-temporary Impairments
ProAssurance evaluates its available-for-sale investment securities, which at December 31, 2019 and 2018 consisted entirely of fixed maturity securities, on at least a quarterly basis for the purpose of determining whether declines in fair value below recorded cost basis represent OTTI. The Company considers an OTTI to have occurred:
•
if there is intent to sell the security;
•
if it is more likely than not that the security will be required to be sold before full recovery of its amortized cost basis; or
•
if the entire amortized basis of the security is not expected to be recovered.
The assessment of whether the amortized cost basis of a security, particularly an asset-backed debt security, is expected to be recovered requires management to make assumptions regarding various matters affecting future cash flows. The choice of assumptions is subjective and requires the use of judgment. Actual credit losses experienced in future periods may differ from management’s estimates of those credit losses. Methodologies used to estimate the present value of expected cash flows are:
For non-structured fixed maturities (obligations of states, municipalities and political subdivisions and corporate debt) the estimate of expected cash flows is determined by projecting a recovery value and a recovery time frame and assessing whether further principal and interest will be received. ProAssurance considers various factors in projecting recovery values and recovery time frames, including the following:
•
third-party research and credit rating reports;
•
the current credit standing of the issuer, including credit rating downgrades, whether before or after the balance sheet date;
•
the extent to which the decline in fair value is attributable to credit risk specifically associated with the security or its issuer;
•
internal assessments and the assessments of external portfolio managers regarding specific circumstances surrounding an investment, which indicate the investment is more or less likely to recover its amortized cost than other investments with a similar structure;
•
for asset-backed securities, the origination date of the underlying loans, the remaining average life, the probability that credit performance of the underlying loans will deteriorate in the future and the Company's assessment of the quality of the collateral underlying the loan;
•
failure of the issuer of the security to make scheduled interest or principal payments;
•
any changes to the rating of the security by a rating agency; and
•
recoveries or additional declines in fair value subsequent to the balance sheet date.
For structured securities (primarily asset-backed securities), ProAssurance estimates the present value of the security’s cash flows using the effective yield of the security at the date of acquisition (or the most recent implied rate used to accrete the security if the implied rate has changed as a result of a previous impairment or changes in expected cash flows). ProAssurance considers the most recently available six month averages of the levels of delinquencies, defaults, severities and prepayments for the collateral (loans) underlying the securitization or, if historical data is not available, sector based assumptions to estimate expected future cash flows of these securities.
Exclusive of securities where there is an intent to sell or where it is not more likely than not that the security will be required to be sold before recovery of its amortized cost basis, OTTI for debt securities is separated into a credit component and a non-credit component. The credit component of an OTTI is the difference between the security’s amortized cost basis and the present value of its expected future cash flows, while the non-credit component is the remaining difference between the security’s fair value and the present value of expected future cash flows. The credit component of the OTTI is recognized in earnings while the non-credit component is recognized in OCI.
Investments in tax credit partnerships are evaluated for OTTI by considering both qualitative and quantitative factors. These factors include, but are not limited to:
•
ProAssurance's ability and intent to hold the investment until the recovery of its carrying value; and
•
in situations where there was not a previous OTTI for the investment, whether the current expected cash flows from the investment, primarily tax benefits, are less than those expected at the time the investment was acquired due to various factors, such as a change in the statutory tax rate; or
•
in situations where there was a previous OTTI for the investment, whether the expected cash flows from the investment at the time of the OTTI, primarily tax benefits, are less than its current carrying value.
Investments which are accounted for under the equity method are evaluated for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying value of the investment might not be recoverable. These circumstances include, but are not limited to, evidence of the inability to recover the carrying value of the investment, the inability of the investee to sustain an earnings capacity that would justify the carrying value of the investment or the current fair value of the investment is less than the carrying value.
ProAssurance recognizes OTTI, exclusive of non-credit OTTI, in earnings as a part of net realized investment gains (losses). In subsequent periods, any measurement of gain, loss or impairment is based on the revised amortized basis of the security. Non-credit OTTI on debt securities and declines in fair value of available-for-sale securities not considered to be other-than-temporary are recognized in OCI.
Asset-backed debt securities that have been impaired due to credit reasons or are below investment grade quality are accounted for under the effective yield method. Under the effective yield method, estimates of cash flows expected over the life of asset-backed securities are used to recognize income on the investment balance for subsequent accounting periods.
Derivatives
ProAssurance records derivative instruments at fair value in the Consolidated Balance Sheets. ProAssurance accounts for the changes in fair value of derivatives depending on whether the derivative is designated as a hedging instrument and if so, the type of hedging relationship. For derivative instruments not designated as hedging instruments, ProAssurance recognizes the change in fair value of the derivative in earnings during the period of change. As of December 31, 2019, ProAssurance has not designated any derivative instruments as hedging instruments and does not use derivative instruments for trading purposes.
Foreign Currency
The functional currency of all ProAssurance foreign subsidiaries is the U.S. dollar. In recording foreign currency transactions, revenue and expense items are converted to U.S. dollars at the exchange rate prevailing at the transaction date. Monetary assets and liabilities originating in currencies other than the U.S. dollar are remeasured to U.S. dollars at the rates of exchange in effect as of the balance sheet date. The resulting foreign currency gains or losses are recognized in the Consolidated Statements of Income and Comprehensive Income as a component of other income. Monetary assets and liabilities include investments, cash and cash equivalents, accrued expenses and other liabilities. In addition, monetary assets and liabilities include certain premiums receivable and reserve for losses and LAE as a result of reinsurance transactions conducted with foreign cedants denominated in their local functional currencies.
Cash and Cash Equivalents
For purposes of the Consolidated Balance Sheets and Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows, ProAssurance considers all demand deposits and overnight investments to be cash equivalents.
Income Taxes/Deferred Taxes
ProAssurance files a consolidated federal income tax return. Tax-related interest and penalties are recognized as components of tax expense.
ProAssurance evaluates tax positions taken on tax returns and recognizes positions in the financial statements when it is more likely than not that the position will be sustained upon resolution with a taxing authority. If recognized, the benefit is measured as the largest amount of benefit that has a greater than fifty percent probability of being realized. Uncertain tax positions are reviewed each period by considering changes in facts and circumstances, such as changes in tax law, interactions with taxing authorities and developments in case law, and adjustments would be made if considered necessary. Adjustments to unrecognized tax benefits may affect income tax expense, and the settlement of uncertain tax positions may require the use of cash. Other than differences related to timing, no significant adjustments were considered necessary during the years ended December 31, 2019 or 2018.
Deferred federal income taxes arise from the recognition of temporary differences between the basis of assets and liabilities determined for financial reporting purposes and the basis determined for income tax purposes. ProAssurance’s temporary differences principally relate to loss reserves, unearned premium, DPAC, tax credit carryforwards, unrealized investment gains (losses) and basis differentials in fixed assets and investments. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are measured using the enacted tax rates expected to be in effect when such benefits are realized. ProAssurance reviews its deferred tax assets
quarterly for impairment. If management determines that it is more likely than not that some or all of a deferred tax asset will not be realized, a valuation allowance is recorded to reduce the carrying value of the asset. In assessing the need for a valuation allowance, management is required to make certain judgments and assumptions about the future operations of ProAssurance based on historical experience and information as of the measurement date regarding reversal of existing temporary differences, carryback capacity, future taxable income, including its capital and operating characteristics, and tax planning strategies.
A valuation allowance has been established against the full value of the deferred tax asset related to the NOL carryforwards for the U.K. operations, as management concluded that it was more likely than not that the deferred tax asset will not be realized. ProAssurance has also established a valuation allowance against the deferred tax assets of certain SPCs at its wholly owned Cayman Islands reinsurance subsidiary, Inova Re, as these SPCs are in a cumulative pre-tax loss position, and management concluded that a valuation allowance was required based upon the weight of this negative evidence. See further discussion in Note 6.
Changes in tax laws and rates could also affect recorded deferred tax assets and liabilities in the future. On December 22, 2017, the TCJA was signed into law and contains several key provisions that impact ProAssurance, including the reduction of the corporate tax rate to 21% effective January 1, 2018, the reduction in the amount of executive compensation that could qualify as a tax deduction, a minimum tax on payments made to related foreign entities, a change in how property and casualty taxpayers discount loss reserves, a minimum tax on payments made to related foreign entities and a new tax on certain income of controlled foreign corporations. See Note 6 for further discussion of the TCJA.
Leases
ProAssurance is involved in a number of leases, primarily for office facilities. The Company determines if an arrangement is a lease at the inception date of the contract and classifies all leases as either financing or operating. Due to the adoption of ASU 2016-02 (see further discussion that follows), operating leases are included in operating lease ROU assets and operating lease liabilities on the Consolidated Balance Sheet as of December 31, 2019. The ROU asset represents the right to use the underlying asset for the lease term. As of December 31, 2019, ProAssurance has no leases that are classified as financing leases.
Operating ROU assets and operating lease liabilities are initially recognized as of the lease commencement date based on the present value of the remaining lease payments, discounted over the term of the lease using a discount rate determined based on information available as of the commencement date. As the majority of ProAssurance's lessors do not provide an implicit discount rate, the Company uses its collateralized incremental borrowing rate in determining the present value of remaining lease payments. Due to the adoption of ASU 2016-02 (see further discussion that follows), the Company used its collateralized incremental borrowing rate as of January 1, 2019 for operating leases that commenced prior to that date. Subsequent to the initial recognition, the operating ROU asset and operating lease liability are amortized and accreted, respectively, over the lease term in a manner that results in a straight-line operating lease expense. Operating lease expense is included as a component of operating expense on the Consolidated Statements of Income and Comprehensive Income for the year ended December 31, 2019 and 2018. Leases with an initial term of twelve months or less are considered short-term and are not recorded on the Consolidated Balance Sheet; lease expense for these leases is also recognized on a straight-line basis over the lease term. Additionally, for leases entered into or reassessed after the adoption of ASU 2016-02, ProAssurance accounts for lease and non-lease components of a contract as a single lease component.
Operating lease ROU assets are evaluated for impairment at the asset group level whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of the asset group may not be recoverable. The carrying amount of an asset group, which includes the operating lease ROU asset and the related operating lease liability, is not recoverable if the carrying amount exceeds the sum of the undiscounted cash flows expected to result from the use of the asset group over the life of the primary asset in the asset group. That assessment is based on the carrying amount of the asset group, including the operating lease ROU asset and the related operating lease liability, at the date it is tested for recoverability and an impairment loss is measured and recognized as the amount by which the carrying amount of the asset group exceeds its fair value. Any impairment loss is allocated to each asset in the asset group, including the operating ROU asset.
When a lease of an office facility is to be abandoned and will not be subleased, the Company first evaluates whether or not the operating lease ROU asset’s inclusion in an existing asset group continues to be appropriate and if the commitment to abandon the lease constitutes a change in circumstances requiring the operating lease ROU asset, or the larger asset group, to be tested for impairment. If an impairment test is required, it is performed in the same manner as discussed above. Any remaining carrying value of the operating lease ROU asset is amortized from the date the Company commits to a plan to abandon the lease to the expected date that the Company will cease to use the leased property. Leases to be abandoned in which the Company has the intent or practical ability to sublease continue to be accounted for under a held and use model, with no change to the amortization period of the operating lease ROU asset, and are evaluated for impairment as a separate asset group at the date the sublease is executed.
Real Estate
Real Estate balances are reported at cost or, for properties acquired in business combinations, estimated fair value on the date of acquisition, less accumulated depreciation. Real estate principally consists of properties in use as corporate offices. Depreciation is computed over the estimated useful lives of the related property using the straight-line method. Excess office capacity is leased or made available for lease; rental income is included in other income, and real estate expenses are included in operating expense.
Real estate accumulated depreciation was approximately $25.7 million and $25.2 million at December 31, 2019 and 2018, respectively. Real estate depreciation expense was $1.0 million, $1.2 million and $1.1 million for the years ended December 31, 2019, 2018 and 2017, respectively.
Intangible Assets
Intangible assets with definite lives are amortized over the estimated useful life of the asset. Amortizable intangible assets primarily consist of policyholder relationships, renewal rights and trade names. Intangible assets with an indefinite life, primarily state licenses, are not amortized. All intangible assets are evaluated for impairment on an annual basis or upon the occurrence of certain triggering events or substantive changes in circumstances that indicate the fair value of the asset may be impaired. The following table provides additional information regarding ProAssurance's intangible assets.
 
Gross Carrying Value
 
Accumulated Amortization
 
Amortization Expense
 
December 31
 
December 31
 
Year Ended December 31
(In millions)
2019
 
2018
 
2019
 
2018
 
2019
 
2018
 
2017
Intangible Assets
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Non-amortizable
$
25.8

 
$
25.8

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Amortizable
97.7

 
97.5

 
$
52.7

 
$
46.5

 
$
6.1

 
$
6.2

 
$
5.8

Total Intangible Assets
$
123.5

 
$
123.3

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Aggregate amortization expense for intangible assets is estimated to be $6.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2020, $6.0 million for each of the years ended December 31, 2021, 2022 and 2023 and $5.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2024.
Goodwill
Goodwill is recognized in conjunction with business acquisitions as the excess of the purchase consideration for the business acquisition over the fair value of identifiable assets acquired and liabilities assumed. The fair value of identifiable assets and liabilities, and thus goodwill, is subject to redetermination within a measurement period of up to one year following completion of a business acquisition.
Management evaluates goodwill for impairment annually on October 1, upon the occurrence of certain triggering events or substantive changes in circumstances that indicate the fair value of goodwill may be impaired and immediately before and after a reorganization that affects the composition of one or more of the Company's reporting units. Impairment of goodwill is tested at the reporting unit level, which is consistent with the reportable segments identified in Note 17. Of the five reporting units, three have goodwill: Specialty P&C, Workers' Compensation Insurance and Segregated Portfolio Cell Reinsurance.
Annual Goodwill Impairment Test
When testing goodwill for impairment, management has the option to first assess qualitative factors to determine whether the existence of events or circumstances leads to a determination that it is more likely than not that the estimated fair value of a reporting unit is less than its carrying amount. If management elects to perform a qualitative assessment and determines that an impairment is more likely than not, management is then required to perform the two-step quantitative impairment test; otherwise, no further analysis is required. Management also may elect not to perform the qualitative assessment and, instead, proceed directly to the two-step quantitative impairment test.
In the first step of the two-step quantitative impairment test, the fair value of a reporting unit is determined using income and market approaches and is compared to its carrying value, as described above. The estimate of fair value derived from the income approach is based on the present value of expected future cash flows, including terminal value, utilizing a market based weighted average cost of capital determined separately for each reporting unit. The estimate of fair value derived from the market approach is based on earnings multiple data derived from market information. The determination of fair value involves
the use of significant estimates and assumptions, including revenue growth rates, operating margins, capital expenditures, working capital requirements, tax rates, terminal growth rates, discount rates, comparable public companies and synergistic benefits available to market participants. In addition, management makes certain judgments and assumptions in allocating shared assets and liabilities to individual reporting units to determine the carrying amount of each reporting unit. To corroborate the reporting units’ valuation, management performs a reconciliation of the estimate of the aggregate fair value of the reporting units to ProAssurance's market capitalization, including consideration of a control premium. Because not all of ProAssurance's reporting units have goodwill, management makes certain assumptions regarding the fair value of the Company's other reporting units in reconciling to ProAssurance's market capitalization.
If the carrying value of a reporting unit exceeds its fair value, the second step of the impairment test is performed for purposes of measuring the impairment of goodwill, if any. In the second step, the fair value of the reporting unit is allocated to all of the assets and liabilities of the reporting unit to determine an implied fair value of goodwill. If the carrying amount of the reporting unit's goodwill exceeds the implied fair value of goodwill, an impairment loss will be recognized in an amount equal to that excess.
As of the most recent evaluation date on October 1, 2019, management performed a qualitative goodwill impairment test for the Specialty P&C, Workers' Compensation Insurance and Segregated Portfolio Cell Reinsurance segments. The Specialty P&C, Workers' Compensation Insurance and Segregated Portfolio Cell Reinsurance segments have historically had an excess of fair value over book value and based on current operations are expected to continue to have an excess of fair value over book value; therefore, management's annual impairment test for the three segments was performed qualitatively. In applying the qualitative approach, management considered macroeconomic factors, industry and market conditions, cost factors that could have a negative impact on the reporting units, actual financial performance of the reporting units versus expectations and management’s future business expectations. As a result of the qualitative assessments, management concluded that it was not more likely than not that the fair value of the reporting unit was less than its carrying value as of the testing date; therefore, no further impairment testing was required. No goodwill impairment was recorded in 2019, 2018 or 2017.
Other Liabilities
Other liabilities at December 31, 2019 and 2018 consisted of the following:
(In thousands)
 
2019
 
2018
SPC dividends payable
 
$
55,763

 
$
53,604

Unpaid shareholder dividends
 
16,676

 
43,446

All other
 
100,817

 
102,245

Total other liabilities
 
$
173,256

 
$
199,295


SPC dividends payable represents the undistributed equity contractually payable to the external cell participants of SPCs operated by ProAssurance's Cayman Islands subsidiaries, Inova Re and Eastern Re.
Unpaid dividends represent common stock dividends declared by ProAssurance's Board that had not yet been paid. Unpaid dividends at December 31, 2018 included a special dividend declared in the fourth quarter of 2018 that was paid in January 2019.
Treasury Shares
Treasury shares are reported at cost and are reflected on the Consolidated Balance Sheets as an unallocated reduction of total equity.
Share-Based Payments
Compensation cost for share-based payments is measured based on the grant-date fair value of the award, recognized over the period in which the employee is required to provide service in exchange for the award. Excess tax benefits (tax deductions realized in excess of the compensation costs recognized for the exercise of the awards, multiplied by the incremental tax rate) are reported as operating cash inflows.
Subsequent Events
ProAssurance evaluates events that occurred subsequent to December 31, 2019 for recognition or disclosure in its Consolidated Financial Statements. See Note 21 for further discussion of subsequent events.
Accounting Changes Adopted
Leases (ASU 2016-02)
Effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2018 and interim periods within those fiscal years, the FASB issued guidance that requires a lessee to recognize for all leases (with the exception of short-term leases) a lease liability, which is a lessee's obligation to make lease payments arising from a lease, measured on a discounted basis, and a right-of-use asset, which is an asset that represents the lessee's right to use, or control the use of, a specified asset for the lease term. ProAssurance adopted the guidance as of January 1, 2019 using a modified retrospective application and elected the transition option provided that allows companies to continue to apply legacy GAAP in comparative periods. Also, ProAssurance elected the package of practical expedients permitted under the guidance, which allowed the Company to carryforward its historical lease classification, its assessment on whether a contract is or contains a lease and its initial direct costs for any leases that existed prior to adoption of the new standard. Furthermore, ProAssurance elected to combine lease and non-lease components and to keep leases with an initial term of 12 months or less off the Consolidated Balance Sheet and recognize the associated lease payments in the Consolidated Statements of Income and Comprehensive Income on a straight-line basis over the lease term. ProAssurance recognized total ROU assets and total lease liabilities of approximately $19 million on the Consolidated Balance Sheet as of January 1, 2019 which relate to ProAssurance's real estate operating leases; the Company does not consider these leases to be material to its financial position. Adoption of this guidance had no material impact on ProAssurance's results of operation or cash flows.
ProAssurance's Revolving Credit Agreement contains a financial covenant regarding permitted leverage ratios based upon Consolidated Funded Indebtedness to Consolidated Total Capitalization; however, adoption of this guidance had no material impact on this covenant. ProAssurance’s Mortgage Loans also contain a financial covenant regarding permitted leverage ratios, principally based upon SAP Consolidated Net Worth; however, as the NAIC did not adopt the principles found in ASU 2016-02, adoption of the guidance had no impact on this covenant.
Premium Amortization on Purchased Callable Debt Securities (ASU 2017-08)
Effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2018 and interim periods within those fiscal years, the FASB issued guidance that requires the premium for certain callable debt securities to be amortized over a shorter period than was previously required. Previously, amortization was permitted over the contractual life of the instrument, and the guidance shortened the amortization to the earliest call date. The purpose of the guidance is to more closely align the amortization period of premiums to expectations incorporated in market pricing on the underlying securities. ProAssurance adopted the guidance as of January 1, 2019. As ProAssurance amortizes the premium on callable debt securities to the earliest call date, adoption of the guidance had no material effect on ProAssurance’s results of operations, financial position or cash flows.
Derivatives and Hedging (ASU 2017-12)
Effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2018 and interim periods within those fiscal years, the FASB issued guidance to improve financial reporting of hedging relationships to better portray the entity's risk management activities in the consolidated financial statements. The new guidance eliminated the requirement to separately measure and report hedge ineffectiveness and requires the entire change in the fair value of a hedging instrument to be presented in the same income statement line as the hedged item. ProAssurance adopted the guidance as of January 1, 2019. ProAssurance's derivative instrument at December 31, 2019 is not designated as a hedging instrument; therefore, adoption had no material effect on ProAssurance's results of operations, financial position or cash flows.
Improvements to Nonemployee Share-Based Payment Accounting (ASU 2018-07)
Effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2018 and interim periods within those fiscal years, the FASB issued guidance which reduces the complexity in accounting for nonemployee share-based payment awards. The new guidance substantially aligns the accounting for nonemployee share-based payment awards with the accounting guidance for employee share-based payment awards with certain exceptions, including the inputs used in estimating the fair value of the nonemployee awards and the period of time and pattern of expense recognition. ProAssurance adopted the guidance as of January 1, 2019 using a modified retrospective application and recorded a cumulative-effect adjustment of approximately $0.4 million to beginning retained earnings in the consolidated Statement of Changes in Capital for the year ended December 31, 2019. Adoption had no material effect on ProAssurance’s results of operations, financial position or cash flows.
Derivatives and Hedging - Inclusion of the Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR) Overnight Index Swap as a Benchmark Interest Rate for Hedge Accounting Purposes (ASU 2018-16)
Effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2018 and interim periods within those fiscal years, the FASB issued new guidance that permits the use of the Overnight Index Swap Rate based on the Secured Financing Rate as a U.S.
benchmark interest rate for hedge accounting purposes. ProAssurance adopted the guidance as of January 1, 2019. As of December 31, 2019, ProAssurance's derivative instrument is not designated as a hedging instrument; therefore, adoption had no material effect on ProAssurance's results of operations, financial position or cash flows.
Accounting Changes Not Yet Adopted
Improvements to Financial Instruments - Credit Losses (ASU 2016-13)
Effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2019 and interim periods within those fiscal years, the FASB issued guidance that replaces the incurred loss impairment methodology, which delays recognition of credit losses until a probable loss has been incurred, 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. Under the new guidance, credit losses are required to be recorded through an allowance for credit losses account and the income statement will reflect the initial recognition of lifetime expected credit losses for any newly recognized financial assets, as well as increases or decreases of expected credit losses that have taken place during the period. Credit losses on available-for-sale fixed maturity securities will be required to be presented as an allowance, rather than as a write-down of the asset, limited to the amount by which the fair value is below amortized cost. Adoption of this guidance is not expected to have a material impact on ProAssurance's available-for-sale fixed maturity portfolio. In addition, ProAssurance's premiums receivable and receivables from reinsurers are also included in the scope of this new guidance; however, ProAssurance has not historically experienced material credit losses due to the financial condition of an insured or reinsurer. Subsequent to issuing ASU 2016-13, the FASB has issued additional standards for the purpose of clarifying certain aspects of ASU 2016-13, as well as providing codification improvements and targeted transition relief under the standard. ProAssurance plans to adopt this guidance beginning January 1, 2020 using a modified retrospective application for the portion of the new guidance that relates to its premiums and reinsurance receivables and a prospective application for the portion of the new guidance that relates to its available-for-sale fixed maturity securities. Upon adoption, ProAssurance estimates that it will record a cumulative-effect adjustment of between $4 million to $6 million, net of related tax impacts, to beginning retained earnings as of January 1, 2020 to increase its consolidated allowance for credit losses related to its premiums receivable, which was $1.6 million at December 31, 2019. The Company does not consider this adjustment to its allowance to be material to its financial position. In addition, ProAssurance had no allowance for credit losses related to its reinsurance receivables at December 31, 2019, and expects that its allowance for credit losses associated with its reinsurance receivables upon adoption of this new guidance will be nominal.
Simplifying the Test for Goodwill Impairment (ASU 2017-04)
Effective for the fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2019 and interim periods within those fiscal years, the FASB issued guidance that simplifies the requirements to test goodwill for impairment for business entities that have goodwill reported in their financial statements. The guidance eliminates the second step of the impairment test which measures a goodwill impairment loss by comparing the implied fair value of a reporting unit's goodwill with the carrying amount which is expected to reduce the complexity and cost of future tests of goodwill for impairment. In addition, the guidance also eliminates the requirements for any reporting unit with a zero or negative carrying amount to perform a qualitative assessment. ProAssurance plans to adopt the guidance beginning January 1, 2020. Adoption is not expected to have a material effect on ProAssurance’s results of operations, financial position or cash flows.
Changes to the Disclosure Requirements for Fair Value Measurement (ASU 2018-13)
Effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2019 and interim periods within those fiscal years, the FASB issued guidance that eliminates, modifies and adds certain disclosure requirements related to fair value measurements. The new guidance eliminates the requirements to disclose the transfers between Level 1 and Level 2 of the fair value hierarchy, the policy for the timing of transfers between levels of the fair value hierarchy and the valuation process for Level 3 fair value measurements while it modifies existing disclosure requirements related to measurement uncertainty and the requirement to disclose the timing of liquidation of an investee's assets for investments in certain entities that calculate NAV. The new guidance also adds requirements to disclose changes in unrealized gains and losses included in OCI for recurring Level 3 fair value measurements as well as the range and weighted average used to develop significant unobservable inputs for Level 3 fair value measurements. An entity is permitted to early adopt any eliminated or modified disclosure requirements and delay adoption of the additional disclosure requirements until the guidance is effective. During the third quarter of 2018, ProAssurance elected to early adopt the provisions that eliminate and modify certain disclosure requirements within Note 2 on a retrospective basis and adoption of these certain provisions had no material effect on ProAssurance’s results of operations, financial position or cash flows as it affected disclosures only. ProAssurance plans to adopt the additional disclosure requirements beginning January 1, 2020, and adoption is not expected to have a material effect on ProAssurance’s results of operations, financial position or cash flows.
Intangibles - Goodwill and Other-Internal-Use Software (ASU 2018-15)
Effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2019 and interim periods within those fiscal years, the FASB amended the new standard regarding accounting for implementation costs in cloud computing arrangements. The amended guidance substantially aligns the requirements for capitalizing implementation costs incurred in a hosting arrangement that is a service contract with the requirements for capitalizing implementation costs incurred to develop or obtain internal-use software. ProAssurance plans to adopt the guidance beginning January 1, 2020. Adoption is not expected to have a material effect on ProAssurance’s results of operations, financial position or cash flows.
Targeted Improvements to Related Party Guidance for VIEs (ASU 2018-17)
Effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2019 and interim periods within those fiscal years, the FASB amended guidance which improves the consistency of the application of the VIE guidance for common control arrangements. The amended guidance requires an entity to consider indirect interests held through related parties under common control on a proportional basis rather than as the equivalent of a direct interest in its entirety when determining whether a decision-making fee is a variable interest. ProAssurance plans to adopt the guidance beginning January 1, 2020. As of December 31, 2019, ProAssurance does not have any material indirect interests held through related parties under common control; therefore, adoption is not expected to have a material effect on ProAssurance’s results of operations, financial position or cash flows.
Collaborative Arrangements (ASU 2018-18)
Effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2019 and interim periods within those fiscal years, the FASB issued new guidance which clarifies how to assess whether certain transactions between participants in a collaborative arrangement should be accounted for under the revenue from contracts with customers accounting standard when the counterpart is a customer. In addition, the guidance precludes an entity from presenting consideration from a transaction in a collaborative arrangement as revenue from contracts with customers if the counterparty is not a customer for that transaction. ProAssurance plans to adopt the guidance beginning January 1, 2020, and adoption is not expected to have a material effect on ProAssurance’s results of operations, financial position or cash flows.
Simplifying the Accounting for Income Taxes (ASU 2019-12)
Effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2020 and interim periods within those fiscal years, the FASB issued new guidance which is intended to simplify various aspects related to accounting for income taxes. In addition, it removes certain exceptions to the general principles in the income tax guidance in the codification and also clarifies and amends existing guidance to improve consistent application. ProAssurance plans to adopt the guidance beginning January 1, 2021, and adoption is not expected to have a material effect on ProAssurance's results of operations, financial position or cash flows.
Clarifying the Interactions between Investments - Equity Securities, Investments - Equity Method and Joint Ventures, and Derivatives and Hedging (ASU 2020-01)
Effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2020 and interim periods within those fiscal years, the FASB amended guidance that clarifies the accounting for the transition into and out of the equity method and measuring certain purchased options and forward contracts to acquire investments. ProAssurance plans to adopt the guidance beginning January 1, 2021, and adoption is not expected to have a material effect on ProAssurance's results of operations, financial position or cash flows.