The following information relates to the Company's unpaid claims and claim expense liabilities that are related to short-duration insurance contracts. See Note 8 to the Consolidated Financial Statements in the Company's 2016 Form 10-K for further information about the assumptions and estimates used to establish this liability.

The liability for unpaid claims and claim expenses by segment as of March 31 is as follows:

	March 31,		March 31,
(In millions)	2017		2016
Group Disability and Life	$	4,384	$	4,146
Global Supplemental Benefits		425		367
Other Operations		197		211
Unpaid claims and claim expenses	$	5,006	$	4,724

Activity in the Company's Group Disability and Life and the Global Supplemental Benefits segments' liabilities for unpaid claims and claim expenses are presented in the following table. Liabilities associated with the Company's Other Operations segment are excluded because they pertain to obligations for long-duration insurance contracts or, if short-duration, the liabilities have been fully reinsured.

	Three Months Ended
(In millions)	March 31, 2017		March 31, 2016
Beginning balance	$	4,726	$	4,359
Less: Reinsurance		121		115
Beginning balance, net		4,605		4,244
Incurred claims related to:
Current year		1,148		988
Prior years:
Interest accretion		43		43
All other incurred		(64)		105
Total incurred		1,127		1,136
Paid claims related to:
Current year		371		327
Prior years		691		660
Total paid		1,062		987
Foreign currency		16		5
Ending balance, net		4,686		4,398
Add: Reinsurance		123		115
Ending balance	$	4,809	$	4,513

Reinsurance in the table above reflects amounts due from reinsurers related to unpaid claims liabilities. The Company's insurance subsidiaries enter into agreements with other companies primarily to limit losses from large exposures and to permit recovery of a portion of incurred losses. See Note 8 for additional information on reinsurance.

The majority of the liability for unpaid claims and claim expenses is related to disability claims with long-tailed payouts. Interest earned on assets backing these liabilities is an integral part of pricing and reserving, and is therefore the basis for determining the rate used to discount these liabilities. Accordingly, interest accreted on prior year balances is shown as a separate component of prior year incurred claims. This interest is calculated by applying the average discount rate used in determining the liability balance to the average liability balance over the period. The remaining prior year incurred claims amount primarily reflects updates to the Company's liability estimates and variances between actual experience during the period relative to the assumptions and expectations reflected in determining the liability. Assumptions reflect the Company's expectations over the life of the book of business and will vary from actual experience in any period, both favorably and unfavorably, with variation in resolution rates being the most significant driver for the long-term disability business. Favorable prior year incurred claims reported in 2017 largely reflect improved claim resolution rates. Unfavorable prior year incurred claims reported in 2016 included the impact of modifications made to our disability claims management process and a period of elevated life claims.