Deferred Policy Acquisition Costs

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2022

Deferred Costs, Capitalized, Prepaid, and Other Assets Disclosure [Abstract]

8. Deferred Policy Acquisition Costs

DAC represent those costs that are incremental and directly related to the successful acquisition of new or renewal of existing insurance contracts. We defer incremental costs that result directly from, and are essential to, the acquisition or renewal of an insurance contract. Such deferred policy acquisition costs generally include agent or broker commissions and bonuses, premium taxes, and medical and inspection fees that would not have been incurred if the insurance contract had not been acquired or renewed. Each cost is analyzed to assess whether it is fully deferrable. We partially defer costs, including certain commissions, when we do not believe that the entire cost is directly related to the acquisition or renewal of insurance contracts. Commissions that are not deferred to DAC are recorded in Non-deferrable insurance commissions in the Consolidated Statements of Income.

We also defer a portion of employee total compensation and payroll-related fringe benefits directly related to time spent performing specific acquisition or renewal activities, including costs associated with the time spent on underwriting, policy issuance and processing, and sales force contract selling. The amounts deferred are derived based on successful efforts for each distribution channel and/or cost center from which the cost originates.

Short-duration insurance contracts: Policy acquisition costs are deferred and amortized over the period in which the related premiums written are earned, generally 12 months. DAC is grouped consistent with the manner in which the insurance contracts are acquired, serviced and measured for profitability and is reviewed for recoverability based on the profitability of the underlying insurance contracts. Investment income is anticipated in assessing the recoverability of DAC. We assess the recoverability of DAC on an annual basis or more frequently if circumstances indicate an impairment may have occurred. This assessment is performed by comparing recorded net unearned premiums and anticipated investment income on in-force business to the sum of expected losses and loss adjustment expenses incurred, unamortized DAC and maintenance costs. If the sum of these costs exceeds the amount of recorded net unearned premiums and anticipated investment income, the excess is recognized as an offset against the asset established for DAC. This offset is referred to as a premium deficiency charge. Increases in expected losses and loss adjustment expenses incurred can have a significant impact on the likelihood and amount of a premium deficiency charge.

Long-duration insurance contracts: Policy acquisition costs for participating life, traditional life and accident and health insurance products are generally deferred and amortized, with interest, over the premium paying period. The assumptions used to calculate the benefit liabilities and DAC for these traditional products are set when a policy is issued and do not change with changes in actual experience, unless a loss recognition event occurs. These “locked-in” assumptions include mortality, morbidity, persistency, maintenance expenses and investment returns, and include margins for adverse deviation to reflect uncertainty given that actual experience might deviate from these assumptions. A loss recognition event occurs when there is a shortfall between the carrying amount of future policy benefit liabilities, net of DAC, and what the future policy benefit liabilities, net of DAC, would be when applying updated current assumptions. When we determine a loss recognition event has occurred, we first reduce any DAC related to that block of business through amortization of acquisition expense, and after DAC is depleted, we record additional liabilities through a charge to Policyholder benefits and losses incurred. Groupings for loss recognition testing are consistent with our manner of acquiring, servicing and measuring the profitability of the business and applied by product groupings. We perform separate loss recognition tests for traditional life products, payout annuities and long-term care products. Our policy is to perform loss recognition testing net of reinsurance. Once loss recognition has been recorded for a block of business, the old assumption set is replaced, and the assumption set used for the loss recognition would then be subject to the lock-in principle.

Investment-oriented contracts: Certain policy acquisition costs and policy issuance costs related to investment-oriented contracts, for example universal life, variable and fixed annuities, and fixed index annuities, are deferred and amortized, with interest, in relation to the incidence of estimated gross profits to be realized over the estimated lives of the contracts. DAC on investment-oriented contracts were approximately $11.0 billion and $5.8 billion at December 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively. Estimated gross profits are affected by a number of factors, including levels of current and expected interest rates, net investment income and spreads, net realized gains and losses, fees, surrender rates, mortality experience, policyholder behavior experience and equity market returns and volatility. In each reporting period, current period amortization expense is adjusted to reflect actual gross profits. If the assumptions used for estimating gross profit change significantly, DAC is recalculated using the new assumptions, including actuarial assumptions such as mortality, lapse, benefit utilization, and premium persistency, and any resulting adjustment is included in income. If the new assumptions indicate that future estimated gross profits are higher than previously estimated, DAC will be increased resulting in a decrease in amortization expense and increase in income in the current period; if future estimated gross profits are lower than previously estimated, DAC will be decreased resulting in an increase in amortization expense and decrease in income in the current

period. Updating such assumptions may result in acceleration of amortization in some products and deceleration of amortization in other products. DAC is grouped consistent with the manner in which the insurance contracts are acquired, serviced and measured for profitability and is reviewed for recoverability based on the current and projected future profitability of the underlying insurance contracts.

To estimate future estimated gross profits for variable life and annuity products, a long-term annual asset growth assumption is applied to determine the future growth in assets and related asset-based fees. In determining the asset growth rate, the effect of short-term fluctuations in the equity markets is partially mitigated through the use of a “reversion to the mean” methodology for variable annuities, whereby short-term asset growth above or below long-term annual rate assumptions impacts the growth assumption applied to the five-year period subsequent to the current balance sheet date. The reversion to the mean methodology allows us to maintain our long-term growth assumptions, while also giving consideration to the effect of actual investment performance. When actual performance significantly deviates from the annual long-term growth assumption, as evidenced by growth assumptions in the five-year reversion to the mean period falling below a certain rate (floor) or rising above a certain rate (cap) for a sustained period, judgment may be applied to revise or “unlock” the growth rate assumptions to be used for both the five-year reversion to the mean period as well as the long-term annual growth assumption applied to subsequent periods.

Unrealized Appreciation (Depreciation) of Investments: DAC related to investment-oriented contracts is also adjusted to reflect the effect of unrealized gains or losses on fixed maturity securities available for sale on estimated gross profits, with related changes recognized through Other comprehensive income. The adjustment is made at each balance sheet date, as if the securities had been sold at their stated aggregate fair value and the proceeds reinvested at current yields. Similarly, for long-duration traditional insurance contracts, if the assets supporting the liabilities are in a net unrealized gain position at the balance sheet date, loss recognition testing assumptions are updated to exclude such gains from future cash flows by reflecting the impact of reinvestment rates on future yields. If a future loss is anticipated under this basis, any additional shortfall indicated by loss recognition tests is recognized as a reduction in accumulated other comprehensive income. Similar to other loss recognition on long-duration insurance contracts, such shortfall is first reflected as a reduction in DAC and secondly as an increase in liabilities for future policy benefits. The change in these adjustments, net of tax, is included with the change in net unrealized appreciation of investments that is credited or charged directly to Other comprehensive income.

Internal Replacements of Long-duration and Investment-oriented Products: For some products, policyholders can elect to modify product benefits, features, rights or coverages by exchanging a contract for a new contract or by amendment, endorsement, or rider to a contract, or by the election of a feature or coverage within a contract. These transactions are known as internal replacements. If the modification does not substantially change the contract, we do not change the accounting and amortization of existing DAC and related actuarial balances. If an internal replacement represents a substantial change, the original contract is considered to be extinguished and any related DAC or other policy balances are charged or credited to income, and any new deferrable costs associated with the replacement contract are deferred.

Value of Business Acquired (VOBA): VOBA is determined at the time of acquisition and is reported in the Consolidated Balance Sheets with DAC. As of December 31, 2022 and 2021, the VOBA balances were $94 million and $111 million, respectively.

The following table presents a rollforward of DAC:


Years Ended December 31,
(in millions)		2022		2021		2020
Balance, beginning of year	$	10,403	$	9,679	$	10,890
Acquisition costs deferred		4,643		4,666		4,292
Amortization expense		(4,954)		(4,562)		(4,188)
Change related to unrealized appreciation (depreciation) of investments		5,631		773		(1,116)
Dispositions		—		—		(298)
Other, including foreign exchange		(298)		(153)		99
Balance, end of year(a)	$	15,425	$	10,403	$	9,679

(a)Net of cumulative additions (reductions) in DAC of $3.3 billion, $(2.4) billion and $(3.1) billion at December 31, 2022, 2021 and 2020, respectively, related to the effect of net unrealized gains and losses on available for sale securities.

We offer deferred sales inducements which include enhanced crediting rates or bonus payments to contract holders (bonus interest) on certain annuity and investment contract products. Such amounts are deferred and amortized over the life of the contract using the same methodology and assumptions used to amortize DAC. The deferred bonus interest and other deferred sales inducement assets, recorded in Other assets, totaled $889 million and $307 million at December 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively.

DAC, VOBA and DSI for insurance-oriented and investment-oriented products are reviewed for recoverability, which involves estimating the future profitability of current business. This review involves significant management judgment. If actual profitability is substantially lower than estimated, AIG’s DAC, VOBA and DSI may be subject to an impairment charge and AIG’s results of operations could be significantly affected in the period the impairment charge is recognized and in future periods.