Significant Accounting Policies Significant Accounting Policies

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2020

SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES

(a) Changes to Significant Accounting Policies

We have made no changes to our significant accounting policies as reported in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2019, except for the standards adopted in 2020 as noted below.

(b) Allowance for Expected Credit Losses

We are exposed to credit losses primarily through three different pools of assets based on similar risk characteristics: premiums receivable for direct written business; reinsurance recoverables from ceded losses to our reinsurers; and our note receivable. We estimate the expected credit losses based on historical trends, credit ratings assigned to reinsurers by rating agencies, average default rates, current economic conditions, and reasonable and supportable forecasts of future economic conditions that affect the collectability of the reported amounts over its expected life. Changes in the relevant information may significantly affect the estimates of expected credit losses.

The allowance for credit losses is deducted from the amortized cost basis of the assets to present their net carrying value at the amount expected to be collected. Each period, the allowance for credit losses is adjusted through earnings to reflect expected credit losses over the remaining lives of the assets.

The following table summarizes our allowance for expected credit losses by pooled asset for the nine months ended September 30, 2020:


	December 31, 2019		Provision for expected credit losses		Write-offs		September 30, 2020
Premiums Receivable	$	165	$	(235)	$	202	$	132
Reinsurance Recoverables	256		112		—		368
Note Receivable	141		(90)		—		51
Total	$	562	$	(213)	$	202	$	551

On March 27, 2020, President Trump signed into law the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act to mitigate the economic impacts of the COVID-19 crisis. Among other things, the CARES Act included technical corrections to the effective date language in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) enacted on December 22, 2017. We assessed two provisions of the CARES Act to determine the impact to our business.

First, the TCJA simplified the definition of "qualified improvement property" and removed the 15-year life for cost recovery, resulting in a 39-year life which excluded the assets from being eligible for bonus depreciation. The CARES Act reinstated the 15-year recovery period effective as if it had been included in the TCJA, making the change applicable to property placed in service after December 31, 2017. After performing our assessment, we concluded that this provision had no impact to our financial statements.

Second, the TCJA eliminated the two-year carryback period and provided for indefinite carryforward of net operating losses against future tax periods, with the future deduction limited to 80% of taxable income before consideration of net operating loss deduction. The CARES Act amended the law for net operating losses generated in taxable years beginning after December 31, 2017 and before January 1, 2021. Net operating losses generated by a corporation during these taxable years now have a five-year carryback period. In addition, these losses can be carried forward to future taxable years without being subject to the 80% limitation. After performing our assessment, we concluded that this provision increased our federal tax recoverable by $12,513,000 and decreased our deferred tax asset by $7,250,000.

(d) Recently Adopted Accounting Pronouncements

In August 2018, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) issued Accounting Standards Update (ASU) No. 2018-13, Fair Value Measurement (Topic 820): Disclosure Framework - Changes to the Disclosure Requirements for Fair Value Measurement (ASU 2018-13). This update modifies the existing disclosure requirements on fair value measurements in Topic 820 by changing requirements regarding Level 1, Level 2 and Level 3 investments. ASU 2018-13 is effective for annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2019, including interim periods within those annual periods. Entities are permitted to early adopt any removed or modified disclosures of ASU 2018-13 immediately and delay the adoption of the additional disclosures until their effective date. We early adopted the guidance on removed and modified disclosures and adopted the remainder of the guidance on January 1, 2020, which has not impacted the accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements.

In January 2017, the FASB issued ASU No. 2017-04, Intangibles—Goodwill and Other (Topic 350): Simplifying the Test for Goodwill Impairment (ASU 2017-04). This update simplifies the manner in which an entity is required to test goodwill for impairment by eliminating Step 2 from the goodwill impairment test. ASU 2017-04 is effective for annual periods beginning after December 15, 2019, including interim periods within those annual periods, with early adoption permitted for certain requirements. We adopted this guidance in the course of performing our annual assessment of goodwill during the fourth quarter of 2020 using data as of September 30, 2020. Any potential impairments will be recorded as of December 31, 2020. Any impact of the adoption of this standard on our consolidated financial statements and related disclosures will be dependent on market conditions of the reporting units at the time of our assessment and subsequent adoption.

In June 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-13, Financial Instruments- Credit Losses (Topic 326): Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments (ASU 2016-13). This update is intended to replace the incurred loss impairment methodology in current GAAP with a method that reflects expected credit losses and requires consideration of a broader range of reasonable and supportable information to inform credit loss estimates. ASU 2016-13 will provide users with more useful

information regarding the expected credit losses on financial instruments and other commitments to extend credit held by a reporting entity at each reporting date. In addition, credit losses on available-for-sale debt securities will now have to be presented as an allowance rather than as a write-down. ASU 2016-13 is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2019, including interim periods within those fiscal years. We adopted this guidance as of January 1, 2020 using a modified retrospective approach, which allowed us to initially apply the new credit loss guidance at the adoption date and recognize a cumulative effect adjustment to the opening balance of retained earnings for 2020, with no adjustment to prior periods presented. The cumulative effect to the opening balance of retained earnings for 2020 was a decrease of $262,000, net of reversals from allowances recorded under prior guidance.

(e) Pending Accounting Pronouncements

We have evaluated recent accounting pronouncements that have had or may have a significant effect on our financial statements or on our disclosures.

In December 2019, the FASB issued ASU No. 2019-12, Income Taxes (Topic 740) Simplifying the Accounting for Income Taxes (ASU 2019-12). This update enhances and simplifies various aspects of the income tax guidance, including intra-period tax allocation, the methodology for calculating income taxes in an interim period and the recognition of deferred tax liabilities for outside basis differences. ASU 2019-12 is effective for annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2020, including interim periods within those fiscal years, with early adoption permitted. We do not intend to early adopt and are assessing the impact of adopting this new accounting standard on our unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements and related disclosures.