General

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2019

Basis of presentation

The accompanying condensed consolidated financial statements include the accounts of Allstate Life Insurance Company (“ALIC”) and its wholly owned subsidiaries (collectively referred to as the “Company”). ALIC is wholly owned by Allstate Insurance Company (“AIC”), which is wholly owned by Allstate Insurance Holdings, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of The Allstate Corporation (the “Corporation”). These condensed consolidated financial statements have been prepared in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”).

The condensed consolidated financial statements and notes as of March 31, 2019 and for the three month periods ended March 31, 2019 and 2018 are unaudited. The condensed consolidated financial statements reflect all adjustments (consisting only of normal recurring accruals) which are, in the opinion of management, necessary for the fair presentation of the financial position, results of operations and cash flows for the interim periods. These condensed consolidated financial statements and notes should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and notes thereto included in the Company’s annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2018. The results of operations for the interim periods should not be considered indicative of results to be expected for the full year. All significant intercompany accounts and transactions have been eliminated.

Premiums and contract charges

The following table summarizes premiums and contract charges by product.



($ in millions)	Three months ended March 31,
	2019		2018
Premiums
Traditional life insurance	$	141	$	147
Accident and health insurance	30		30
Total premiums	171		177

Contract charges
Interest-sensitive life insurance	173		173
Fixed annuities	3		3
Total contract charges	176		176
Total premiums and contract charges	$	347	$	353

Adopted accounting standard

Accounting for Hedging Activities

Effective January 1, 2019, the Company adopted new Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) guidance intended to better align hedge accounting with an organization’s risk management activities. The new guidance expands hedge accounting to nonfinancial and financial risk components and revises the measurement methodologies to better align with an organization’s risk management activities. Separate presentation of hedge ineffectiveness is eliminated with the intention to provide greater transparency to the full impact of hedging by requiring presentation of the results of the hedged item and hedging instrument in a single financial statement line item. In addition, the amendments were designed to reduce complexity by simplifying hedge effectiveness testing. The adoption had no impact on the Company’s results of operations or financial position.

Pending accounting standards

Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments

In June 2016, the FASB issued guidance which revises the credit loss recognition criteria for certain financial assets measured at amortized cost, including reinsurance recoverables. The new guidance replaces the existing incurred loss recognition model with an expected loss recognition model. The objective of the expected credit loss model is for a reporting entity to recognize its estimate of expected credit losses for affected financial assets in a valuation allowance that when deducted from the amortized cost basis of the related financial assets results in a net carrying value of affected financial assets at the amount expected to be collected. The reporting entity must consider all relevant information available when estimating expected credit losses, including details about past events, current conditions, and reasonable and supportable forecasts over the life of an asset. Financial assets may be evaluated individually or on a pooled basis when they share similar risk characteristics. The measurement of credit losses for available-for-sale debt securities measured at fair value is not affected except that credit losses recognized are limited to the amount by which fair value is below amortized cost and the carrying value adjustment is recognized through a valuation allowance

which may change over time but once recorded cannot subsequently be reduced to an amount below zero. The guidance is effective for reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2019, and for most affected instruments must be adopted using a modified retrospective approach, with a cumulative effect adjustment recorded to beginning retained income. The impact of adoption is not expected to be material to the Company’s results of operations or financial position.

Accounting for Long-Duration Insurance Contracts

In August 2018, the FASB issued guidance revising the accounting for certain long-duration insurance contracts. The new guidance changes the measurement of the Company’s reserves for traditional life, life-contingent immediate annuities and certain voluntary accident and health insurance products. Under the new guidance, measurement assumptions, including those for mortality, morbidity and policy terminations, will be required to be reviewed and updated at least annually. The effect of updating measurement assumptions other than the discount rate are required to be measured on a retrospective basis and reported in net income. In addition, cash flows under the new guidance are required to be discounted using an upper-medium grade fixed income instrument yield required to be updated through OCI at each reporting date. These changes will replace current GAAP, which utilizes assumptions set at policy issuance until such time as the assumptions result in reserves that are deficient when compared to reserves computed using current assumptions. Under current GAAP, premium deficiency reserves are recognized when a reserve deficiency is computed using current assumptions.

The new guidance requires deferred policy acquisition costs (“DAC”) and other capitalized balances currently amortized in proportion to premiums or gross profits to be amortized on a constant level basis over the expected term for all long-duration insurance contracts. DAC will not be subject to loss recognition testing but will be reduced when actual experience exceeds expected experience. The new guidance will no longer require adjustments to DAC and deferred sales inducement costs (“DSI”) related to unrealized gains and losses on investment securities supporting the related business.

Market risk benefit product features are required to be measured at fair value with changes in fair value recorded in net income with the exception of changes in the fair value attributable to changes in the reporting entity’s own credit risk, which are required to be recognized in OCI. Substantially all of the Company’s market risk benefits are reinsured and therefore these impacts are not expected to be material to the Company.

The new guidance is to be included in the comparable financial statements issued in reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2020, thereby requiring restatement of prior periods presented. Early adoption is permitted. The new guidance will be applied to affected contracts and DAC on the basis of existing carrying amounts at the earliest period presented or retrospectively using actual historical experience as of contract inception. The new guidance for market risk benefits is required to be adopted retrospectively.

The Company is evaluating the anticipated impacts of applying the new guidance to both retained income and AOCI. While the requirements of the new guidance represent a material change from existing GAAP, the underlying economics of the business and related cash flows are unchanged. The Company has not completed its evaluation of the specific impacts of adopting the new guidance, but anticipates the financial statement impact of migrating from existing GAAP to that required by the new guidance to be material, largely attributed to the impact of transitioning from an original investment-based discount rate to one based on an upper-medium grade fixed income investment yield and updates to mortality assumptions previously locked in at issuance and subject to premium deficiency testing. The Company expects the most significant impacts will occur in the run-off annuity business. The revised accounting for DAC will be applied prospectively using the new model and any DAC effects existing in AOCI as a result of applying existing GAAP at the date of adoption will be reversed.

Codification Improvements related to Credit Losses, Derivatives and Hedging, and Financial Instruments

In April 2019, the FASB issued new guidance related to credit losses, derivatives and hedging, and financial instruments. The guidance for credit losses and financial instruments is effective for reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2019. The guidance for derivatives and hedging is effective January 1, 2020. The Company is in the process of evaluating the impact of adoption, which is not expected to be material to the Company’s results of operations or financial position.