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General
9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2019
General [Abstract]  
General General
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 September 30, 2019 and for the three and nine month periods ended September 30, 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.
Dividends
The Company paid cash dividends of $75 million to AIC in the second quarter of 2019.
Premiums and contract charges
The following table summarizes premiums and contract charges by product.
($ in millions)
Three months ended September 30,
 
Nine months ended September 30,
 
2019
 
2018
 
2019
 
2018
Premiums
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

Traditional life insurance
$
135

 
$
143

 
$
416

 
$
435

Accident and health insurance
30

 
31

 
90

 
91

Total premiums
165

 
174

 
506

 
526

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Contract charges
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

Interest-sensitive life insurance
165

 
165

 
505

 
508

Fixed annuities
3

 
5

 
9

 
11

Total contract charges
168

 
170

 
514

 
519

Total premiums and contract charges
$
333

 
$
344

 
$
1,020

 
$
1,045


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. 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 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 Company’s implementation activities, which remain in process, include review and validation of models, methodologies, data inputs and assumptions to be used to estimate expected credit losses. The implementation impacts relate primarily to the Company’s commercial mortgage loans, bank loans and reinsurance recoverables and will depend on economic conditions and judgments at the date of adoption as well as the size and composition of the loan portfolios and reinsurance balances. Based on current economic conditions and the balances at the reporting date, the Company anticipates application of the current expected credit loss requirements will result in total valuation allowances for credit losses of between $70 million and $110 million, pre-tax, as of the date of adoption. After consideration of existing valuation allowances maintained prior to adopting the new guidance, the Company would anticipate recognizing a cumulative effect decrease in retained income of between $45 million and $75 million, after-tax, to adjust existing valuation allowances to the basis in the new requirements.
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 introduces material changes to 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, reserves 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. Current GAAP requires reserves to utilize assumptions set at policy issuance unless updated current assumptions indicate that recorded reserves are deficient.
The new guidance also 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 lapse 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.
All market risk benefit product features will 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 expected to be included in the comparable financial statements issued in reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2021, 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. In October 2019, the FASB affirmed its decision to delay the effective date of the new guidance by one year to reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2021.
The Company is evaluating the anticipated impacts of applying the new guidance to both retained income and AOCI. The requirements of the new guidance represent a material change from existing GAAP, however, the underlying economics of the business and related cash flows are unchanged. The Company is evaluating the specific impacts of adopting the new guidance and anticipates the financial statement impact of adopting the new guidance to be material, largely attributed to the impact of transitioning to a discount rate based on an upper-medium grade fixed income investment yield and updates to mortality assumptions. 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.