Commitments and Contingencies

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2020

Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]

Commitments and Contingencies

Commitments and Contingencies

White Mountains leases certain office spaces under non-cancellable operating leases that expire on various dates through 2022. Rental expense for all of White Mountains’s locations was $7.7 million, $7.2 million and $5.5 million for the years ended December 31, 2020, 2019 and 2018. White Mountains also has various other lease obligations that are immaterial in the aggregate.  White Mountains’s future annual minimum rental payments required under non-cancellable leases, which are primarily for office space, are $7.7 million, $7.3 million, $7.1 million, and $23.1 million for the years ending December 31, 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024 and thereafter.

White Mountains also has future binding commitments to fund certain other long-term investments. These commitments, which totaled $297.8 million as of December 31, 2020, do not have fixed funding dates.

Legal Contingencies

White Mountains is subject to litigation and arbitration in the normal course of business. White Mountains considers the requirements of ASC 450 when evaluating its exposure to litigation and arbitration. ASC 450 requires that accruals be established for litigation and arbitration if it is probable that a loss has been incurred and it can be reasonably estimated. ASC 450 also requires that litigation and arbitration be disclosed if it is probable that a loss has been incurred or if there is a reasonable possibility that a loss may have been incurred. White Mountains does not have any current litigation that may have a material adverse effect on White Mountains’s financial condition, results of operations or cash flows.

The following description presents significant legal contingencies, ongoing non-claims related litigation or arbitration as of December 31, 2020:

Sirius Group Tax Contingency

On April 18, 2016, White Mountains completed the sale of Sirius International Insurance Group, Ltd. (“Sirius Group”) to CM International Pte. Ltd. and CM Bermuda Limited (collectively “CMI”). In connection with the sale, White Mountains indemnified Sirius Group against the loss of certain interest deductions. In late October 2018, the Swedish Administrative Court ruled against Sirius Group on its appeal of the Swedish Tax Agency’s denial of these interest deductions, which related to periods prior to the sale of Sirius Group to CMI. As a result, in 2018 White Mountains recorded a loss of $17.3 million within net (loss) gain on sale of discontinued operations reflecting the value of these interest deductions.

As of December 31, 2020 and December 31, 2019, White Mountains reported a liability of $18.7 million and $16.5 million, reflecting the value of these interest deductions. During 2020, the increase in the liability of $2.2 million is related to foreign currency translation and included within net loss on sale of discontinued operations. Sirius Group has appealed the decision to the Swedish Administrative Court of Appeal.

EsuranceOn October 7, 2011, the Company completed the sale of its Esurance Holdings, Inc. and its subsidiaries and Answer Financial Inc. and its subsidiaries (collectively, “Esurance”) to The Allstate Corporation (“Allstate”) pursuant to a Stock Purchase Agreement dated as of May 17, 2011. Subject to specified thresholds and limits, the Company remains contingently liable to Allstate for specified matters related to the pre-closing period, including (a) losses of Esurance arising from extra-contractual claims and claims in excess of policy limits, (b) certain corporate reorganizations effected to remove entities from Esurance that were not being sold in the transaction, and (c) certain tax matters, including certain net operating losses being less than stated levels.