Commitments and Contingencies Level 1 (Notes)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2015

Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]

Commitments and Contingencies

Commitments and Contingencies

Contingencies Relating to Corporate Litigation and Regulatory Matters

Management evaluates each contingent matter separately. A loss is recorded if probable and reasonably estimable. Management establishes reserves for these contingencies at its “best estimate,” or, if no one number within the range of possible losses is more probable than any other, the Company records an estimated liability at the low end of the range of losses.

Litigation

Lease Commitments

The rent paid to Hartford Fire Insurance Company ("Hartford Fire") for operating leases was $9, $7 and $2 for the years ended December 31, 2015, 2014 and 2013, respectively. Future minimum lease commitments as of December 31, 2015 are immaterial.

Unfunded Commitments

As of December 31, 2015, the Company has outstanding commitments totaling $378, of which $299 is committed to fund limited partnership and other alternative investments, which may be called by the partnership during the commitment period to fund the purchase of new investments and partnership expenses. Additionally, $76 of the outstanding commitments are related to various funding obligations associated with private placement securities. The remaining outstanding commitments of $3 relate to mortgage loans the Company is expecting to fund in the first half of 2016.

Guaranty Fund and Other Insurance-related Assessments

In all states, insurers licensed to transact certain classes of insurance are required to become members of a guaranty fund. In most states, in the event of the insolvency of an insurer writing any such class of insurance in the state, members of the funds are assessed to pay certain claims of the insolvent insurer. A particular state’s fund assesses its members based on their respective written premiums in the state for the classes of insurance in which the insolvent insurer was engaged. Assessments are generally limited for any year to one or two percent of premiums written per year depending on the state.

Liabilities for guaranty funds and other insurance-related assessments are accrued when an assessment is probable, when it can be reasonably estimated, and when the event obligating the Company to pay an imposed or probable assessment has occurred. Liabilities for guaranty funds and other insurance-related assessments are not discounted and are included as part of other liabilities in the Consolidated Balance Sheets. As of December 31, 2015 and 2014, the liability balance was $15. As of December 31, 2015 and 2014, $27 related to premium tax offsets was included in other assets.

Derivative Commitments

Certain of the Company’s derivative agreements contain provisions that are tied to the financial strength ratings, as set by nationally recognized statistical agencies, of the individual legal entity that entered into the derivative agreement. If the legal entity’s financial strength were to fall below certain ratings, the counterparties to the derivative agreements could demand immediate and ongoing full collateralization and in certain instances demand immediate settlement of all outstanding derivative positions traded under each impacted bilateral agreement. The settlement amount is determined by netting the derivative positions transacted under each agreement. If the termination rights were to be exercised by the counterparties, it could impact the legal entity’s ability to conduct hedging activities by increasing the associated costs and decreasing the willingness of counterparties to transact with the legal entity. The aggregate fair value of all derivative instruments with credit-risk-related contingent features that are in a net liability position as of December 31, 2015, was $870. Of this $870 the legal entities have posted collateral of $998 in the normal course of business. In addition, the Company has posted collateral of $34 associated with a customized GMWB derivative. Based on derivative market values as of December 31, 2015, a downgrade of one or two levels below the current financial strength ratings by either Moody’s or S&P would not require additional assets to be posted as collateral. These collateral amounts could change as derivative market values change, as a result of changes in our hedging activities or to the extent changes in contractual terms are negotiated. The nature of the collateral that we would post, if required, would be primarily in the form of U.S. Treasury bills, U.S. Treasury notes and government agency securities.