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REINSURANCE
12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2021
REINSURANCE  
REINSURANCE

7. Reinsurance

In the ordinary course of business, our insurance companies may use both treaty and facultative reinsurance to minimize their net loss exposure to any single catastrophic loss event or to an accumulation of losses from a number of smaller events or to provide greater diversification of our businesses. In addition, our General Insurance subsidiaries assume reinsurance from other insurance companies. We determine the portion of the incurred but not reported (IBNR) loss that will be recoverable under our reinsurance contracts by reference to the terms of the reinsurance protection purchased. This determination is necessarily based on the estimate of IBNR and accordingly, is subject to the same uncertainties as the estimate of IBNR. Reinsurance assets include the balances due from reinsurance and insurance companies under the terms of our reinsurance agreements for paid and unpaid losses and loss adjustment expenses incurred, ceded unearned premiums and ceded future policy benefits for life and accident and health insurance contracts and benefits paid and unpaid. Amounts related to paid and unpaid losses and benefits and loss expenses with respect to these reinsurance agreements are substantially collateralized. We remain liable to the extent that our reinsurers do not meet their obligation under the reinsurance contracts, and as such, we regularly evaluate the financial condition of our reinsurers and monitor concentration of our credit risk. The estimation of the allowance for credit losses and disputes requires judgment for which key inputs typically include historical trends regarding uncollectible balances, disputes and credit events as well as specific reviews of balances in dispute or subject to credit impairment. The allowance for credit losses and disputes on reinsurance assets was $333 million and $326 million at December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively. Changes in the allowance for credit losses and disputes on reinsurance assets are reflected in Policyholder benefits and losses incurred within the Consolidated Statements of Income (Loss).

The following table provides supplemental information for loss and benefit reserves, gross and net of ceded reinsurance:

At December 31,

 

2021

 

 

2020(b)

 

 

As

 

Net of

 

 

As

 

Net of

(in millions)

 

Reported

Reinsurance

 

 

Reported

Reinsurance

Liability for unpaid losses and loss adjustment expenses

$

(79,026)

$

(43,678)

 

$

(77,720)

$

(43,154)

Future policy benefits for life and accident and health insurance contracts

 

(59,950)

 

(33,964)

 

 

(56,878)

 

(30,692)

Policyholder contract deposits

 

(156,686)

 

(152,266)

 

 

(154,470)

 

(149,501)

Reserve for unearned premiums

 

(19,313)

 

(15,028)

 

 

(18,660)

 

(14,606)

Other policyholder funds

 

(3,476)

 

(2,885)

 

 

(3,548)

 

(2,933)

Reinsurance assets(a)

 

70,630

 

 

 

 

70,390

 

 

(a) Reinsurance assets excludes (i) allowance for credit losses and disputes of $333 million and $326 million (of which $135 million pertains to CECL reserve for Liability for unpaid losses and loss adjustment expenses) for both years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively, (ii) paid loss recoveries of $3,645 million and $3,157 million for the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively, and (iii) policy and contract claims recoverable of $342 million and $320 million for the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively.

(b) Liabilities for certain universal life products were reclassified from Policyholder contract deposits to Future policy benefits for life and accident and health insurance contracts. For additional information, see Note 1.

Short-Duration Reinsurance

Short-duration reinsurance is effected under reinsurance treaties and by negotiation on individual risks. Certain of these reinsurance arrangements consist of excess of loss contracts that protect us against losses above stipulated amounts. Ceded premiums are considered prepaid reinsurance premiums and are recognized as a reduction of premiums earned over the contract period in proportion to the protection received. Amounts recoverable from reinsurers on short-duration contracts are estimated in a manner consistent with the claims liabilities associated with the reinsurance and presented as a component of Reinsurance assets. Reinsurance premiums for assumed business are estimated based on information received from brokers, ceding companies and reinsurers. Any subsequent differences arising on such estimates are recorded in the periods in which they are determined. Assumed reinsurance premiums are earned primarily on a pro-rata basis over the terms of the reinsurance contracts and the portion of premiums relating to the unexpired terms of coverage is included in the reserve for unearned premiums. Reinsurance premiums for assumed business are estimated based on information received from brokers, ceding companies and reinsureds. Any subsequent differences arising on such estimates are recorded in the periods in which they are determined. For both ceded and assumed reinsurance, risk transfer requirements must be met for reinsurance accounting to apply. If risk transfer requirements are not met, the contract is accounted for as a deposit, resulting in the recognition of cash flows under the contract through a deposit asset or liability and not as revenue or expense. To meet risk transfer requirements, a reinsurance contract must include both insurance risk, consisting of both underwriting and timing risk, and a reasonable possibility of a significant loss for the assuming entity. Similar risk transfer criteria are used to determine whether directly written insurance contracts should be accounted for as insurance or as a deposit.

The following table presents short-duration insurance premiums written and earned:

 

Years Ended December 31,

(in millions)

 

2021

 

2020

 

2019

Premiums written:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Direct

$

30,910

$

28,521

$

29,338

Assumed

 

7,209

 

5,947

 

5,808

Ceded

 

(11,702)

 

(11,012)

 

(9,692)

Net

$

26,417

$

23,456

$

25,454

Premiums earned:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Direct

$

30,279

$

28,596

$

30,017

Assumed

 

6,640

 

5,984

 

6,395

Ceded

 

(11,301)

 

(10,435)

 

(9,526)

Net

$

25,618

$

24,145

$

26,886

For the years ended December 31, 2021, 2020 and 2019, reinsurance recoveries, which reduced losses and loss adjustment expenses incurred, amounted to $7.2 billion, $7.7 billion and $4.7 billion, respectively.

Retroactive reinsurance agreements are reinsurance agreements under which our reinsurer agrees to reimburse us as a result of past insurable events. For these agreements, the excess of the amounts ultimately collectible under the agreement over the consideration paid is recognized as a deferred gain liability and amortized into income over the settlement period of the ceded reserves. The amount of the deferral is recalculated each period based on loss payments and updated estimates. If the consideration paid exceeds the ultimate losses collectible under the agreement, the net loss on the agreement is recognized in income immediately. Ceded loss reserves under retroactive agreements were $16.8 billion and $18.9 billion, and the deferred gain liability was $1.3 billion and $1.7 billion, as of December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively. The effect on income from amortization of the deferred gain was $191 million, $237 million and $219 million for the years ended December 31, 2021, 2020 and 2019, respectively.

 

In the first quarter of 2017, we entered into an adverse development reinsurance agreement with National Indemnity Company (NICO), a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway Inc., under which we transferred to NICO 80 percent of the reserve risk on substantially all of our U.S. Commercial long-tail exposures for accident years 2015 and prior. Under this agreement, we ceded to NICO 80 percent of the losses on subject business paid on or after January 1, 2016 in excess of $25 billion of net paid losses, up to an aggregate limit of $25 billion. We account for this transaction as retroactive reinsurance. This transaction resulted in a gain, which under U.S. GAAP retroactive reinsurance accounting is deferred and amortized into income over the settlement period. NICO created a collateral trust account as security for their claim payment obligations to us, into which they deposited the consideration paid under the agreement, and Berkshire Hathaway Inc. has provided a parental guarantee to secure NICO’s obligations under the agreement.

Long-Duration Reinsurance

Long-duration reinsurance is effected principally under yearly renewable term (YRT) treaties, along with a large modco treaty with a former affiliate, Fortitude Re, that was deconsolidated following the Majority Interest Fortitude Sale. This modco treaty reinsures the majority of our long-duration run-off business. The premiums with respect to YRT treaties are earned over the contract period in proportion to the protection provided, while ceded premiums related to modco treaties are recognized when due. Amounts recoverable on YRT treaties are recognized when claims are incurred on the reinsured policies and are presented as a component of reinsurance assets. Amounts recoverable from reinsurers related to coinsurance or modco contracts are estimated in a manner consistent with the assumptions used for the underlying policy benefits. Amounts recoverable from reinsurers are presented as a component of Reinsurance assets.

The following table presents premiums earned and policy fees for our long-duration life insurance and annuity operations:

Years Ended December 31,

 

 

 

 

 

 

(in millions)

 

2021

 

2020

 

2019

Premiums

 

 

 

 

 

 

Direct

$

4,596

$

4,381

$

4,363

Assumed

 

2,265

 

1,058

 

228

Ceded

 

(1,220)

 

(1,061)

 

(916)

Net

$

5,641

$

4,378

$

3,675

Policy Fees

 

 

 

 

 

 

Direct

$

3,130

$

2,957

$

3,016

Assumed

 

-

 

-

 

-

Ceded

 

(79)

 

(40)

 

(1)

Net

$

3,051

$

2,917

$

3,015

Long-duration reinsurance recoveries, which reduced Policyholder benefits and losses incurred, was approximately $1.3 billion, $1.1 billion and $1.0 billion for the years ended December 31, 2021, 2020 and 2019, respectively.

The following table presents long-duration insurance in-force ceded to other insurance companies:

At December 31,

 

 

 

 

 

 

(in millions)

 

2021

 

2020*

 

2019

Long-duration insurance in force ceded

$

363,008

$

349,453

$

264,732

*The Long-duration insurance in force ceded in 2020 has been revised from $292.5 billion to $349.5 billion to correct Long-duration insurance in force ceded in 2020. This correction has no impact on AIG’s consolidated financial statements and is not considered material to previously issued financial statements.

Long-duration insurance in-force assumed as a percentage of gross long-duration insurance in-force was 0.01 percent, 0.02 percent, and 0.02 percent at December 31, 2021, 2020 and 2019, respectively; and premiums assumed represented 33 percent, 19.5 percent and 5 percent of gross premiums for the years ended December 31, 2021, 2020 and 2019, respectively.

The U.S. Life and Retirement companies manage the capital impact of their statutory reserve requirements, including those resulting from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) Model Regulation “Valuation of Life Insurance Policies” (Regulation XXX) and NAIC Actuarial Guideline 38 (Guideline AXXX), through unaffiliated and affiliated reinsurance transactions. Effective July 1, 2016, one of the U.S. Life and Retirement companies entered into an agreement to cede approximately $5 billion of statutory reserves for certain whole life and universal life policies to an unaffiliated reinsurer. Effective December 31, 2016, the same life insurance subsidiary recaptured term and universal life reserves subject to Regulation XXX and Guideline AXXX, previously ceded to an affiliate, and ceded approximately $14 billion of such statutory reserves to an unaffiliated reinsurer under an amendment to the December 31, 2016 agreement. Under U.S. GAAP, these unaffiliated reinsurance transactions use deposit accounting with a reinsurance risk charge recorded in income, whereas such affiliated transactions are eliminated in consolidation. Under one affiliated reinsurance arrangement, one of the U.S. Life and Retirement companies obtains letters of credit to support statutory recognition of the ceded reinsurance. As of December 31, 2021, this subsidiary had a bilateral letter of credit totaling $250 million, which was issued on February 7, 2014 and expires on February 7, 2025. The letter of credit is subject to reimbursement by AIG Parent in the event of a drawdown.

In addition, a domestic life insurance subsidiary domiciled in Texas further manages the capital impact of statutory reserve requirements related to fixed index annuities with guaranteed living benefits through two unaffiliated excess of loss reinsurance agreements effective December 31, 2019 and 2020, respectively. Pursuant to a permitted statutory accounting practice, the subsidiary recognizes an admitted asset of approximately $0.6 billion related to the notional value of coverage defined in the excess of loss reinsurance agreements, net of specified amounts. Under U.S. GAAP, an asset will only be recognized if claims accumulate in an amount in excess of the attachment point specified in the agreements.

For additional information on the use of affiliated reinsurance for Regulation XXX and Guideline AXXX reserves see Note 18.

Sale of Fortitude Holdings

On June 2, 2020, we completed the Majority Interest Fortitude Sale. AIG established Fortitude Re, a wholly owned subsidiary of Fortitude Holdings, in 2018 in a series of reinsurance transactions related to AIG’s Run-Off operations. As of December 31, 2021, approximately $29.6 billion of reserves from AIG’s Life and Retirement Run-Off Lines and approximately $3.8 billion of reserves from AIG’s General Insurance Run-Off Lines, related to business written by multiple wholly-owned AIG subsidiaries, had been ceded to Fortitude Re under these reinsurance transactions. As of closing of the Majority Interest Fortitude Sale, these reinsurance transactions are no longer considered affiliated transactions and Fortitude Re is the reinsurer of the majority of AIG’s Run-Off operations. Additionally, the Majority Interest Fortitude Sale was subject to a post-closing purchase price adjustment pursuant to which AIG would pay Fortitude Re for certain adverse development in property casualty related reserves, based on an agreed methodology, that may occur through December 31, 2023, up to a maximum payment of $500 million. Effective in the second quarter of 2021, AIG, Fortitude Holdings, Carlyle FRL, T&D and Carlyle amended the Purchase Agreement to finalize the post-closing purchase price adjustment for adverse reserve development. As a result of this amendment, during 2021, AIG recorded a $21 million benefit through Policyholder benefits and losses incurred and eliminated further net exposure to adverse development on the reserves ceded to Fortitude Re.

These reinsurance transactions between AIG and Fortitude Re were structured as modco and loss portfolio transfer arrangements with funds withheld (funds withheld). In modco and funds withheld arrangements, the investments supporting the reinsurance agreements, and which reflect the majority of the consideration that would be paid to the reinsurer for entering into the transaction, are withheld by, and therefore continue to reside on the balance sheet of, the ceding company (i.e., AIG) thereby creating an obligation for the ceding company to pay the reinsurer (i.e., Fortitude Re) at a later date. Additionally, as AIG maintains ownership of these investments, AIG will maintain its existing accounting for these assets (e.g., the changes in fair value of available for sale securities will be recognized within Other comprehensive income (loss)). As a result of the deconsolidation resulting from the Majority Interest Fortitude Sale, AIG has established a funds withheld payable to Fortitude Re while simultaneously establishing a reinsurance asset representing reserves for the insurance coverage that Fortitude Re has assumed. The funds withheld payable contains an embedded derivative and changes in fair value of the embedded derivative related to the funds withheld payable are recognized in earnings through Net realized gains (losses). This embedded derivative is considered a total return swap with contractual returns that are attributable to various assets and liabilities associated with these reinsurance agreements.

There is a diverse pool of assets supporting the funds withheld arrangements with Fortitude Re. The following summarizes the composition of the pool of assets:

 

December 31, 2021

 

December 31, 2020

 

 

 

Carrying

 

Fair

 

Carrying

 

Fair

 

 

(in millions)

 

Value

 

Value

 

 

Value

 

Value

 

Corresponding Accounting Policy

Fixed maturity securities - available for sale(a)

$

31,815

$

31,815

 

$

36,047

$

36,047

 

Fair value through other comprehensive income (loss)

Fixed maturity securities - fair value option

 

1,983

 

1,983

 

 

200

 

200

 

Fair value through net investment income

Commercial mortgage loans

 

3,637

 

3,859

 

 

3,679

 

4,010

 

Amortized cost

Real estate investments

 

201

 

395

 

 

358

 

585

 

Amortized cost

Private equity funds / hedge funds

 

1,606

 

1,606

 

 

1,168

 

1,168

 

Fair value through net investment income

Policy loans

 

380

 

380

 

 

413

 

413

 

Amortized cost

Short-term investments

 

50

 

50

 

 

34

 

34

 

Fair value through net investment income

Funds withheld investment assets

 

39,672

 

40,088

 

 

41,899

 

42,457

 

 

Derivative assets, net(b)

 

81

 

81

 

 

(1)

 

(1)

 

Fair value through net realized gains (losses)

Other(c)

 

602

 

602

 

 

604

 

604

 

Amortized cost

Total

$

40,355

$

40,771

 

$

42,502

$

43,060

 

 

(a) The change in the net unrealized gains (losses) on available for sale securities related to the Fortitude Re funds withheld assets was $(2.2) billion ($(1.8) billion after-tax) for 2021 and $1.0 billion ($812 million after-tax) during the post deconsolidation period (June 2, 2020-December 31, 2020).

 

(b) The derivative assets and liabilities have been presented net of cash collateral. The derivative assets and liabilities supporting the Fortitude Re funds withheld arrangements had a fair market value of $389 million and $10 million, respectively, as of December 31, 2021. The derivative assets supporting the Fortitude Re funds withheld arrangements had a fair market value of $357 million as of December 31, 2020. These derivative assets and liabilities are fully collateralized either by cash or securities.

(c) Primarily comprised of Cash and Accrued investment income.

 

The impact of the funds withheld arrangements with Fortitude Re was as follows:

Years Ended December 31,

 

 

 

 

 

(in millions)

 

2021

 

 

2020

Net underwriting income(a)

$

-

 

$

-

Net investment income - Fortitude Re funds withheld assets

 

1,971

 

 

1,053

Net realized gains (losses) on Fortitude Re funds withheld assets:

 

 

 

 

 

Net realized gains - Fortitude Re funds withheld assets

 

1,003

 

 

463

Net realized losses - Fortitude Re embedded derivatives

 

(603)

 

 

(2,645)

Net realized gains (losses) on Fortitude Re funds withheld assets

 

400

 

 

(2,182)

Income (loss) from continuing operations before income tax expense (benefit)

 

2,371

 

 

(1,129)

Income tax expense (benefit)(b)

 

499

 

 

(237)

Net income (loss)

 

1,872

 

 

(892)

Change in unrealized appreciation (depreciation) of all other investments(b)

 

(1,760)

 

 

812

Comprehensive income (loss)

$

112

 

$

(80)

(a) Effective in the second quarter of 2021, an amendment was made to the purchase agreement to finalize the post-closing purchase price adjustment for adverse reserve development and as a result, during 2021, AIG recognized a $21 million benefit through Policyholder benefits and losses incurred.

(b) The income tax expense (benefit) and the tax impact in AOCI was computed using AIG’s U.S. statutory tax rate of 21 percent.

Various assets supporting the Fortitude Re funds withheld arrangements are reported at amortized cost, and as such, changes in the fair value of these assets are not reflected in the financial statements. However, changes in the fair value of these assets are included in the embedded derivative in the Fortitude Re funds withheld arrangements and the appreciation of these assets is the primary driver of the comprehensive income (loss) reflected above.

Reinsurance Security

Our third-party reinsurance arrangements do not relieve us from our direct obligations to our beneficiaries. Thus, a credit exposure exists with respect to both short-duration and long-duration reinsurance ceded to the extent that any reinsurer fails to meet the obligations assumed under any reinsurance agreement. We hold substantial collateral as security under related reinsurance agreements in the form of funds, securities, and/or letters of credit. A provision has been recorded for estimated unrecoverable reinsurance. In light of collateral held, we believe that no exposure to a single reinsurer represents an inappropriate concentration of credit risk to AIG. Gross reinsurance assets due from reinsurers exceeding 5 percent of our total reinsurance assets were approximately $51.5 billion and $54.0 billion at December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively, of which approximately $3.1 billion and $2.6 billion at December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively, was not secured by collateral.

Reinsurance – Credit Losses

The estimation of reinsurance recoverables involves a significant amount of judgment, particularly for latent exposures, such as asbestos, due to their long-tail nature. Reinsurance assets include reinsurance recoverables on unpaid losses and loss adjustment expenses that are estimated as part of our loss reserving process and, consequently, are subject to similar judgments and uncertainties as the estimation of gross loss reserves. Similarly, Other assets include reinsurance recoverables for contracts which are accounted for as deposits.

We assess the collectability of reinsurance recoverable balances in each reporting period, through either historical trends of disputes and credit events or financial analysis of the credit quality of the reinsurer. We record adjustments to reflect the results of these assessments through an allowance for credit losses and disputes that reduces the carrying amount of reinsurance and other assets on the consolidated balance sheets (collectively, reinsurance recoverables). This estimate requires significant judgment for which key considerations include:

paid and unpaid amounts recoverable;

whether the balance is in dispute or subject to legal collection;

the relative financial health of the reinsurer as determined by the Obligor Risk Ratings (ORRs) we assign to each reinsurer based upon our financial reviews; reinsurers that are financially troubled (i.e., in run-off, have voluntarily or involuntarily been placed in receivership, are insolvent, are in the process of liquidation or otherwise subject to formal or informal regulatory restriction) are assigned ORRs that will generate a significant allowance; and

whether collateral and collateral arrangements exist.

An estimate of the reinsurance recoverables lifetime expected credit losses is established utilizing a probability of default and loss given default method, which reflects the reinsurer’s ORR rating. The allowance for credit losses excludes disputed amounts. An allowance for disputes is established for a reinsurance recoverable using the losses incurred model for contingencies.

The total reinsurance recoverables as of December 31, 2021 were $76.3 billion. As of that date, utilizing AIG’s ORRs, (i) approximately 92 percent of the reinsurance recoverables were investment grade, of which 52 percent related to General Insurance and 40 percent related to Life and Retirement; (ii) approximately 7 percent of the reinsurance recoverables were non-investment grade, the majority of which related to General Insurance; (iii) less than one percent of the non-investment grade reinsurance recoverables related to Life and Retirement and (iv) approximately one percent of the reinsurance recoverables related to entities that were not rated by AIG.

As of December 31, 2021, approximately 71 percent of our non-investment grade reinsurance exposure related to captive insurers. These arrangements are typically collateralized by letters of credit, funds withheld or trust agreements.

Reinsurance Recoverable Allowance

The following table presents a rollforward of the reinsurance recoverable allowance:

Years Ended December 31,

2021

 

2020

 

 

General

 

Life and

 

 

 

 

General

 

Life and

 

 

(in millions)

Insurance

Retirement

 

Total

 

Insurance

Retirement

 

Total

Balance, beginning of year

$

292

$

83

$

375

 

$

111

$

40

$

151

Initial allowance upon CECL adoption

 

-

 

-

 

-

 

 

202

 

22

 

224

Addition to (release of) allowance for expected credit losses and disputes, net

 

6

 

18

 

24

 

 

(12)

 

21

 

9

Write-offs charged against the allowance for credit losses and disputes

 

(17)

 

-

 

(17)

 

 

(9)

 

-

 

(9)

Balance, end of year

$

281

$

101

$

382

 

$

292

$

83

$

375

There were no material recoveries of credit losses previously written off for the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020.

Past-Due Status

We consider a reinsurance asset to be past due when it is 90 days past due. The allowance for credit losses is estimated excluding disputed amounts. An allowance for disputes is established using the losses incurred method for contingencies. Past due balances on claims that are not in dispute were not material for any of the periods presented.