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Insurance Company Regulatory Requirements
9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2018
Insurance Company Regulatory Requirements [Abstract]  
Insurance Company Regulatory Requirements
Insurance Company Regulatory Requirements
 
The table below presents the distributions from AGL's insurance company subsidiaries to the various holding companies.

Distributions by
Insurance Company Subsidiaries

 
Third Quarter
 
Nine Months
 
2018
 
2017
 
2018
 
2017
 
(in millions)
Dividends paid by AGC to AGUS
$
15

 
$
15

 
$
91

 
$
66

Dividends paid by AGM to AGMH
58

 
63

 
131

 
142

Dividends paid by AG Re to AGL
18

 
45

 
98

 
125

Dividends paid by MAC to Municipal Assurance Holdings Inc. (MAC Holdings) (1)
12

 
12

 
27

 
36

Redemption of common stock by MAC from MAC Holdings (1)

 
250

 

 
250

Repurchase of common stock by AGC from AGUS

 

 
200

 

____________________
(1)
MAC Holdings distributed nearly the entire amounts to AGM and AGC, in proportion to their ownership percentages.


Dividend Restrictions and Capital Requirements

United States

Under New York insurance law, AGM and MAC may only pay dividends out of "earned surplus," which is the portion of the company's surplus that represents the net earnings, gains or profits (after deduction of all losses) that have not been distributed to shareholders as dividends, transferred to stated capital or capital surplus, or applied to other purposes permitted by law, but does not include unrealized appreciation of assets. AGM and MAC may each pay dividends without the prior approval of the New York Superintendent of Financial Services (New York Superintendent) that, together with all dividends declared or distributed by it during the preceding 12 months, do not exceed the lesser of 10% of its policyholders' surplus (as of its last annual or quarterly statement filed with the New York Superintendent) or 100% of its adjusted net investment income during that period.

The maximum amount available during 2018 for AGM to distribute to AGMH as dividends without regulatory approval is estimated to be approximately $171 million. Of such $171 million, $40 million is estimated to be available for distribution in the fourth quarter of 2018. The maximum amount available during 2018 for MAC to distribute as dividends to MAC Holdings, which is owned by AGM and AGC, without regulatory approval is estimated to be approximately $27 million, all of which has already been distributed.

Under Maryland's insurance law, AGC may, with prior notice to the Maryland Insurance Commissioner, pay an ordinary dividend that, together with all dividends paid in the prior 12 months, does not exceed the lesser of 10% of its policyholders' surplus (as of the prior December 31) or 100% of its adjusted net investment income during that period. The maximum amount available during 2018 for AGC to distribute as ordinary dividends is approximately $133 million. Of such $133 million, approximately $42 million is available for distribution in the fourth quarter of 2018.

Bermuda

For AG Re, any distribution (including repurchase of shares) of any share capital, contributed surplus or other statutory capital that would reduce its total statutory capital by 15% or more of its total statutory capital as set out in its previous year's financial statements requires the prior approval of the Bermuda Monetary Authority (Authority). Separately, dividends are paid out of an insurer's statutory surplus and cannot exceed that surplus. Further, annual dividends cannot exceed 25% of total statutory capital and surplus as set out in its previous year's financial statements, which is $324 million, without AG Re certifying to the Authority that it will continue to meet required margins. Based on the foregoing limitations, in 2018 AG Re has the capacity to (i) make capital distributions in an aggregate amount up to $128 million without the prior approval of the Authority and (ii) declare and pay dividends in an aggregate amount up to approximately $324 million as of September 30, 2018. Such dividend capacity can be further limited by the actual amount of AG Re’s unencumbered assets, which amount changes from time to time due in part to collateral posting requirements. As of September 30, 2018, AG Re had unencumbered assets of approximately $437 million.

United Kingdom

U.K. company law prohibits each of AGE, AGLN and AGUK from declaring a dividend to its shareholders unless it has “profits available for distribution.” The determination of whether a company has profits available for distribution is based on its accumulated realized profits less its accumulated realized losses. While the U.K. insurance regulatory laws impose no statutory restrictions on a general insurer's ability to declare a dividend, the Prudential Regulation Authority's capital requirements may in practice act as a restriction on dividends. In addition, AGLN currently must confirm that the Prudential Regulation Authority does not object to the payment of any dividend to its parent company before AGLN makes any dividend payment.