CONTINGENCIES, COMMITMENTS AND GUARANTEES

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2021

CONTINGENCIES, COMMITMENTS AND GUARANTEES

CONTINGENCIES, COMMITMENTS AND GUARANTEES

15. Contingencies, Commitments and Guarantees

In the normal course of business, various contingent liabilities and commitments are entered into by AIG and our subsidiaries. In addition, AIG Parent guarantees various obligations of certain subsidiaries.

Although AIG cannot currently quantify its ultimate liability for unresolved litigation and investigation matters, including those referred to below, it is possible that such liability could have a material adverse effect on AIG’s consolidated financial condition or its consolidated results of operations or consolidated cash flows for an individual reporting period.

Legal Contingencies

Overview

In the normal course of business, AIG and our subsidiaries are subject to regulatory and government investigations and actions, and litigation and other forms of dispute resolution in a large number of proceedings pending in various domestic and foreign jurisdictions. Certain of these matters involve potentially significant risk of loss due to potential for significant jury awards and settlements, punitive damages or other penalties. Many of these matters are also highly complex and may seek recovery on behalf of a class or similarly large number of plaintiffs. It is therefore inherently difficult to predict the size or scope of potential future losses arising from these matters. In our insurance and reinsurance operations, litigation and arbitration concerning the scope of coverage under insurance and reinsurance contracts, and litigation and arbitration in which our subsidiaries defend or indemnify their insureds under insurance contracts, are generally considered in the establishment of our loss reserves. Separate and apart from the foregoing matters involving insurance and reinsurance coverage, AIG, our subsidiaries and their respective officers and directors are subject to a variety of additional types of legal proceedings brought by holders of AIG securities, customers, employees and others, alleging, among other things, breach of contractual or fiduciary duties, bad faith, indemnification and violations of federal and state statutes and regulations.

With respect to these other categories of matters not arising out of claims for insurance or reinsurance coverage, we establish reserves for loss contingencies when it is probable that a loss will be incurred and the amount of the loss can be reasonably estimated. In many instances, we are unable to determine whether a loss is probable or to reasonably estimate the amount of such a loss and, therefore, the potential future losses arising from legal proceedings may exceed the amount of liabilities that we have recorded in our financial statements covering these matters. While such potential future charges could be material, based on information currently known to management, management does not believe, other than as may be discussed below, that any such charges are likely to have a material adverse effect on our financial position or results of operation.

Additionally, from time to time, various regulatory and governmental agencies review the transactions and practices of AIG and our subsidiaries in connection with industry-wide and other inquiries or examinations into, among other matters, the business practices of current and former operating insurance subsidiaries. Such investigations, inquiries or examinations could develop into administrative, civil or criminal proceedings or enforcement actions, in which remedies could include fines, penalties, restitution or alterations in our business practices, and could result in additional expenses, limitations on certain business activities and reputational damage.

Moriarty Litigation

Effective January 1, 2013, the California legislature enacted AB 1747 (the Act), which amended the Insurance Code to mandate that life insurance policies issued and delivered in California contain a 60-day grace period during which time the policies must remain in force after a premium payment is missed, and that life insurers provide both a 30-day minimum notification of lapse and the right of policy owners to designate a secondary recipient for lapse and termination notices. Following guidance from the California Department of Insurance and certain industry trade groups, American General Life Insurance Company (AGL) interpreted the Act to be prospective in nature, applying only to policies issued and delivered on or after the Act’s January 1, 2013, effective date. On July 18, 2017, AGL was sued in a putative class action captioned Moriarty v. American General Life Insurance Company, No. 17-cv-1709 (S.D. Cal.), challenging AGL’s prospective application of the Act. Plaintiff’s complaint, which is similar to complaints filed against other insurers, argues that policies issued and delivered prior to January 1, 2013, like the $1 million policy issued to Plaintiff’s husband do not lapse—despite nonpayment of premiums—if the insurer has not complied with the Act’s terms. On August 30, 2021, the California Supreme Court issued an opinion in McHugh v. Protective Life Insurance, 12 Cal. 5th 213 (2021), ruling that the Act applies to all policies in force on January 1, 2013, regardless of when the policies were issued. The District Court in Moriarty reached effectively the same result on October 2, 2020, when it held that the Act applied to Plaintiff’s husband’s 25-year term life insurance policy under the theory that the payment of premiums “renewed” Plaintiff’s policy after the effective date of the Act. However, the District Court in Moriarty also ruled on October 2, 2020 that various fact issues precluded a final determination as to AGL’s liability and what (if any) corresponding damages may have resulted. In addition, the District Court denied Plaintiff’s motion for class certification without prejudice on November 25, 2020. Proceedings are ongoing in the District Court in the Moriarty case and in other California cases that raise similar industry-wide issues. We have accrued our current estimate of probable loss with respect to this litigation.

lease Commitments

We lease office space and equipment in various locations across jurisdictions in which the Company operates. The majority of the resulting obligation arising from these contracts is generated by our real estate portfolio, which only includes contracts classified as operating leases. The lease liability and corresponding right of use asset reflected in Other liabilities and Other assets were $1.2 billion and $1.0 billion, respectively, at December 31, 2021, and $1.0 billion and $906 million, respectively, at December 31, 2020. We made cash payments of $231 million and $252 million in 2021 and 2020, respectively, in connection with these leases. The liability includes non-lease components, such as property taxes and insurance for our gross leases. Some of these leases contain options to renew after a specified period of time at the prevailing market rate; however, renewal options that have not been exercised as of December 31, 2021 are excluded until management attains a reasonable level of certainty. Some leases also include termination options at specified times and term; however, termination options are not reflected in the lease asset and liability balances until they have been exercised.

The weighted average discount rate and lease term assumptions used in determining the liability are 2.60 percent and 10.6 years, respectively. The primary assumption used to determine the discount rate is the cost of funding for the Company, which is based on the secured borrowing rate for terms similar to the lease term, and for the major financial markets in which AIG operates.

Rent expense was $237 million, $258 million and $232 million for the years ended December 31, 2021, 2020 and 2019, respectively.

The following table presents the future undiscounted cash flows under operating leases at December 31, 2021:

(in millions)
2022	$	212
2023		178
2024		138
2025		111
2026		87
Remaining years after 2026		730
Total undiscounted lease payments	$	1,456
Less: Present value adjustment		266
Net lease liabilities		1,190

During 2019, we recognized a pretax net gain of $200 million from the sale and concurrent leaseback of our corporate headquarters.

Other Commitments

In the normal course of business, we enter into commitments to invest in limited partnerships, private equity funds and hedge funds and to purchase and develop real estate in the U.S. and abroad. These commitments totaled $7.3 billion at December 31, 2021.

Guarantees

Subsidiaries

We have issued unconditional guarantees with respect to the prompt payment, when due, of all present and future payment obligations and liabilities of AIG Financial Products Corp. and related subsidiaries (collectively AIGFP) and of AIG Markets, Inc. arising from transactions entered into by AIG Markets, Inc.

In connection with AIGFP’s business activities, AIGFP has issued, in a limited number of transactions, standby letters of credit or similar facilities to equity investors of structured leasing transactions in an amount equal to the termination value owing to the equity investor by the lessee in the event of a lessee default (the equity termination value). The total amount outstanding at December 31, 2021 was $74 million. In those transactions, AIGFP has agreed to pay such amount if the lessee fails to pay. The amount payable by AIGFP is, in certain cases, partially offset by amounts payable under other instruments typically equal to the present value of scheduled payments to be made by AIGFP. In the event that AIGFP is required to make a payment to the equity investor, the lessee is unconditionally obligated to reimburse AIGFP. To the extent that the equity investor is paid the equity termination value from the standby letter of credit and/or other sources, including payments by the lessee, AIGFP takes an assignment of the equity investor’s rights under the lease of the underlying property. Because the obligations of the lessee under the lease transactions are generally economically defeased, lessee bankruptcy is the most likely circumstance in which AIGFP would be required to pay without reimbursement.

AIG Parent files a consolidated federal income tax return with certain subsidiaries and acts as an agent for the consolidated tax group when making payments to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). AIG Parent and its subsidiaries have adopted, pursuant to a written agreement, a method of allocating consolidated federal income taxes. Under an Amended and Restated Tax Payment Allocation Agreement dated June 6, 2011 between AIG Parent and one of its Bermuda-domiciled insurance subsidiaries, AIG Life of Bermuda, Ltd. (AIGB), AIG Parent has agreed to indemnify AIGB for any tax liability (including interest and penalties) resulting from adjustments made by the IRS or other appropriate authorities to taxable income, special deductions or credits in connection with investments made by AIGB in certain affiliated entities.

Business and Asset Dispositions

We are subject to financial guarantees and indemnity arrangements in connection with the completed sales of businesses and assets. The various arrangements may be triggered by, among other things, declines in asset values, the occurrence of specified business contingencies, the realization of contingent liabilities, developments in litigation or breaches of representations, warranties or covenants provided by us. These arrangements are typically subject to various time limitations, defined by the contract or by operation of law, such as statutes of limitation. In some cases, the maximum potential obligation is subject to contractual limitations, while in other cases such limitations are not specified or are not applicable. 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 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.

We are unable to develop a reasonable estimate of the maximum potential payout under certain of these arrangements. Overall, we believe the likelihood that we will have to make any material payments related to completed sales under these arrangements is remote, and no material liabilities related to these arrangements have been recorded in the Consolidated Balance Sheets.

For additional information on the Fortitude Re transaction, see Note 1.

Other

 For additional information on commitments and guarantees associated with VIEs, see Note 9.

 For additional information about derivatives, see Note 10.