Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2020

Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

Basis of Presentation

The Consolidated Financial Statements include the accounts of Cigna Corporation and its consolidated subsidiaries. Intercompany transactions and accounts have been eliminated in consolidation. These Consolidated Financial Statements were prepared in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”).

Amounts recorded in the Consolidated Financial Statements necessarily reflect management’s estimates and assumptions about medical costs, investment and receivable valuations, interest rates and other factors. Significant estimates are discussed throughout these Notes; however, actual results could differ from those estimates. The impact of a change in estimate is generally included in earnings in the period of adjustment.

These interim Consolidated Financial Statements are unaudited but include all adjustments (including normal recurring adjustments) necessary, in the opinion of management, for a fair statement of financial position and results of operations for the periods reported. The interim Consolidated Financial Statements and Notes should be read in conjunction with the Consolidated Financial Statements and Notes included in the 2019 Annual Report on Form 10-K (“2019 Form 10-K”). The preparation of interim Consolidated Financial Statements necessarily relies heavily on estimates. This and other factors, including the seasonal nature of portions of the health care and related benefits business, competitive and other market conditions, as well as COVID-19 related impacts, call for caution in estimating full-year results based on interim results of operations.

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

The Company's 2019 Form 10-K includes discussion of significant recent accounting pronouncements that either have impacted our financial statements or may impact them in the future. The following information provides updates on recently adopted or recently issued accounting pronouncements that have occurred since the Company filed its 2019 Form 10-K.

Recently Adopted Accounting Guidance


Accounting Standard and Adoption Date	Requirements and Effects of Adopting New Guidance
Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments (Accounting Standards Update (ASU) 2016-13 and related amendments) Adopted as of January 1, 2020	Requires:
	•	A new approach using expected credit losses to estimate and recognize credit losses for certain financial instruments (such as mortgage loans, reinsurance recoverables and other receivables) when such instruments are first originated or acquired, and in each subsequent reporting period, compared with the incurred loss model previously followed under GAAP. At adoption, the Company recorded an allowance for estimated credit losses and subsequent changes in the allowance will be reported in current period earnings.
	•	Changes in the criteria for impairment of available-for-sale debt securities
	Effects of adoption:
	•	Adopted using a modified retrospective approach
	•	Cumulative effect adjustment of $30 million after-tax was recorded as a reduction to retained earnings as of January 1, 2020, reflecting an additional allowance for future expected credit losses required under the new model, primarily related to reinsurance recoverables.
	•	See additional information regarding the Company’s accounting policy for establishing the allowance for credit losses in Note 4, Accounts Receivable, Net, Note 10, Reinsurance, and Note 11, Investments.
Simplifying the Test for Goodwill Impairment (ASU 2017-04) Adopted as of January 1, 2020	Requires:
	•	A simplified approach to the accounting for goodwill impairment by eliminating the need to determine the fair value of individual assets and liabilities of a reporting unit to measure a goodwill impairment
	•	The amount of goodwill impairment to equal the amount by which a reporting unit’s carrying value exceeds its fair value, limited to the total amount of goodwill of the reporting unit
	Effects of adoption:
	•	Adopted on a prospective basis
	•	There was no impact of adopting this new standard to the Company’s financial statements because our quarterly qualitative assessments did not result in a triggering event for impairment of goodwill, and the results of our annual quantitative evaluation performed in the third quarter of 2020 indicated that the estimated fair value of each of our reporting units exceeded their carrying values by significant margins.

Accounting Guidance Not Yet Adopted


Accounting Standard and Effective Date	Requirements and Expected Effects of New Guidance Not Yet Adopted
Facilitation of the Effects of Reference Rate Reform on Financial Reporting (ASU 2020-04) Optional, effective upon issuance (March 12, 2020) through December 31, 2022	Guidance:
	•	Provides temporary optional relief to ease the potential burden of accounting for reference rate reform under existing GAAP. Amendments are elective and apply to all entities that have contracts, hedging relationships and other transactions that reference interbank offered rates, including LIBOR, expected to be discontinued by December 31, 2021.
	•	Permits optional expedients and exceptions to simplify the accounting for contract modifications, hedging arrangements and held-to-maturity investments, when certain changes are made to a contract or instrument to facilitate reference rate reform.
	•	An entity may elect to apply the amendments, by topic or subsection, at any point prospectively through December 31, 2022. When elected, the optional expedients must be applied consistently for all eligible contracts or transactions.
	Expected effects:
	•	To date, the Company has identified minimal exposure to LIBOR and does not anticipate that LIBOR’s phase-out will have a material impact on its operations or financial results.

The Financial Accounting Standards Board voted to propose the deferral of the effective date of ASU 2018-12, Targeted Improvements to the Accounting for Long-Duration Contracts and, in September 2020, affirmed its decision to extend the effective date by one year, or until January 1, 2023 for the Company. A final standard is expected in the fourth quarter.