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SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES (Policies)

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2016

SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES

A. BASIS OF PRESENTATION

The unaudited condensed consolidated interim financial statements have been prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States of America (GAAP) for interim financial reporting and with the instructions to Form 10-Q and Regulation S-X. Accordingly, they do not include all of the disclosures required by GAAP for complete financial statements. As such, these unaudited condensed consolidated interim financial statements should be read in conjunction with our 2015 Annual Report on Form 10-K. Management believes that the disclosures are adequate to make the information presented not misleading, and all normal and recurring adjustments necessary to present fairly the financial position at March 31, 2016 and the results of operations of RLI Corp. and subsidiaries for all periods presented have been made. The results of operations for any interim period are not necessarily indicative of the operating results for a full year.

The preparation of the unaudited condensed consolidated interim financial statements requires management to make estimates and assumptions relating to the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, the disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the unaudited condensed consolidated interim financial statements and the reported amounts of revenue and expenses during the period. These estimates are inherently subject to change and actual results could differ significantly from these estimates.

ADOPTED ACCOUNTING STANDARDS

B. ADOPTED ACCOUNTING STANDARDS

ASU 2015-03, Interest-Imputation of Interest (Subtopic 835-30): Simplifying the Presentation of Debt Issuance Costs

This ASU was issued to simplify the presentation of debt issuance costs by requiring them to be presented in the balance sheet as a direct deduction from the carrying amount of the related recognized debt liability, consistent with debt discounts. We adopted ASU 2015-03 on January 1, 2016 on a retrospective basis. Our adoption of the new standard resulted in a $1.1 million decrease to long-term debt and other assets at December 31, 2015.

PROSPECTIVE ACCOUNTING STANDARDS

C. PROSPECTIVE ACCOUNTING STANDARDS

ASU 2015-09, Financial Services-Insurance (Topic 944): Disclosures about Short-Duration Contracts

This ASU was issued to enhance disclosures about an entity’s insurance liabilities, including the nature, amount, timing and uncertainty of cash flows related to those liabilities. The new guidance requires the following information related to unpaid claims and claim adjustment expenses be disclosed using an appropriate level of disaggregation so as not to obscure useful information:

Net incurred and paid claims development information by accident year for the number of years for which claims incurred typically remain outstanding, but need not exceed 10 years;

A reconciliation of incurred and paid claims development information to the aggregate carrying amount of the liability for unpaid claims and claim adjustment expenses, with separate disclosure of reinsurance recoverable on unpaid claims for each period presented in the statement of financial position;

For each accident year presented, the total of incurred-but-not-reported liabilities plus expected development on reported claims included in the liability for unpaid claims and claim adjustment expenses;

For each accident year presented, quantitative information about claim frequency accompanied by a qualitative description of methodologies used for determining claim frequency information; and

For all claims, the average annual percentage payout of incurred claims by age.

This ASU is effective for annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2015 and for interim periods beginning after December 15, 2016. Early adoption is permitted. We have not early-adopted this ASU and while disclosures will be increased, we do not believe adoption will have a material effect on our financial statements.

ASU 2016-01, Financial Instruments - Overall (Subtopic 825-10): Recognition and Measurement of Financial Assets and Financial Liabilities

This ASU was issued to improve the recognition and measurement of financial instruments. The new guidance makes targeted improvements to GAAP as follows:

Requires equity investments (except those accounted for under the equity method of accounting or those that result in consolidation of the investee) to be measured at fair value with changes in fair value recognized in net income;

Simplifies the impairment assessment of equity investments without readily determinable fair values by requiring a qualitative assessment to identify impairment;

Eliminates the requirement for public business entities to disclose the method(s) and significant assumptions used to estimate the fair value that is required to be disclosed for financial instruments measured at amortized cost on the balance sheet;

Requires public business entities to use the exit price notion when measuring the fair value of financial instruments for disclosure purposes;

Requires an entity to present separately in other comprehensive income the portion of the total change in the fair value of a liability resulting from a change in the instrument-specific credit risk when the entity has elected to measure the liability at fair value in accordance with the fair value option for financial instruments;

Requires separate presentation of financial assets and financial liabilities by measurement category and form of financial asset on the balance sheet or the accompanying notes to the financial statements; and

Clarifies that an entity should evaluate the need for a valuation allowance on a deferred tax asset related to available-for-sale securities in combination with the entity’s other deferred tax assets.

This ASU is effective for interim and annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2017. Early adoption is only permitted for provision (e) above. Upon adoption, a cumulative-effect adjustment to the balance sheet will be made as of the beginning of the fiscal year of adoption. We have not yet completed the analysis of how adopting this ASU will affect our financial statements.

ASU 2016-02, Leases (Topic 842)

ASU 2016-02 was issued to improve the financial reporting of leasing transactions. Under current guidance for lessees, leases are only included on the balance sheet if certain criteria, classifying the agreement as a capital lease, are met. This update will require the recognition of a right-of-use asset and a corresponding lease liability, discounted to the present value, for all leases that extend beyond 12 months. For operating leases, the asset and liability will be expensed over the lease term on a straight-line basis, with all cash flows included in the operating section of the statement of cash flows. For finance leases, interest on the lease liability will be recognized separately from the amortization of the right-of-use asset in the statement of comprehensive income and the repayment of the principal portion of the lease liability will be classified as a financing activity while the interest component will be included in the operating section of the statement of cash flows.

This ASU is effective for annual and interim reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2018. Early adoption is permitted. Upon adoption, leases will be recognized and measured at the beginning of the earliest period presented using a modified retrospective approach. We have not yet completed the analysis of how adopting this ASU will affect our financial statements.

ASU 2016-09, Compensation – Stock Compensation (Topic 718): Improvements to Employee Share-Based Payment Accounting

ASU 2016-09 was issued to simplify the accounting for share-based payment awards. The guidance requires that, prospectively, all tax effects related to share-based payments be made through the income statement at the time of settlement as opposed to excess tax benefits being recognized in additional paid-in-capital under the current guidance. The ASU also removes the requirement to delay recognition of a tax benefit until it reduces current taxes payable. This change is required to be applied on a modified retrospective basis, with a cumulative-effect adjustment to opening retained earnings. Additionally, all tax related cash flows resulting from share-based payments are to be reported as operating activities on the statement of cash flows, a change from the current requirement to present tax benefits as an inflow from financing activities and an outflow from operating activities. Finally, entities will be allowed to withhold an amount up to the employees’ maximum individual tax rate (as opposed to the minimum statutory tax rate) in the relevant jurisdiction without resulting in liability classification of the award. The change in withholding requirements will be applied on a modified retrospective approach.

This ASU is effective for annual and interim reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2016. Early adoption is permitted with any adjustments reflected as of the beginning of the fiscal year of adoption. We have not yet completed the analysis of how adopting this ASU will affect our financial statements.

INTANGIBLE ASSETS

D. INTANGIBLE ASSETS

In accordance with GAAP guidelines, the amortization of goodwill and indefinite-lived intangible assets is not permitted. Goodwill and indefinite-lived intangible assets remain on the balance sheet and are tested for impairment on an annual basis, or earlier if there is reason to suspect that their values may have been diminished or impaired. Goodwill and intangible assets totaled $72.2 million and $71.3 million at March 31, 2016 and December 31, 2015, respectively, as detailed in the following table.


Goodwill and Intangible Assets
(in thousands)			March 31,		December 31,
Reporting Unit			2016		2015
Goodwill
	Energy surety	$	25,706	$	25,706
	Miscellaneous and contract surety		15,110		15,110
	P&C package business		5,246		5,246
	Medical professional liability		12,434		12,434
Total goodwill		$	58,496	$	58,496

Intangibles
	State insurance licenses	$	7,500	$	7,500
	Definite-lived intangibles, net of accumulated amortization of $4,911 at 3/31/16 and $4,678 at 12/31/15		6,236		5,298
Total intangibles		$	13,736	$	12,798

Total goodwill and intangibles		$	72,232	$	71,294

All definite-lived intangible assets are amortized against future operating results based on their estimated useful lives. Amortization of intangible assets was $0.2 million for the first quarters of 2016 and 2015. Definite-lived intangibles increased during the first quarter of 2016 as a result of the acquisition of assets from an insurance agency. Separately identifiable assets of the agency totaled $1.2 million and related primarily to acquired software, trade name and agency relationships.

Annual impairment testing was performed on each of our existing goodwill and indefinite-lived intangible assets during 2015. Based upon these reviews, none of the assets were impaired. In addition, as of March 31, 2016, there were no triggering events that occurred that would suggest an updated review was necessary.

EARNINGS PER SHARE

E. EARNINGS PER SHARE

Basic earnings per share (EPS) excludes dilution and is computed by dividing income available to common shareholders by the weighted-average number of common shares outstanding for the period. Diluted EPS reflects the dilution that could occur if securities or other contracts to issue common stock or common stock equivalents were exercised or converted into common stock. When inclusion of common stock equivalents increases the earnings per share or reduces the loss per share, the effect on earnings is anti-dilutive. Under these circumstances, the diluted net earnings or net loss per share is computed excluding the common stock equivalents.

The following represents a reconciliation of the numerator and denominator of the basic and diluted EPS computations contained in the unaudited condensed consolidated interim financial statements.


	For the Three-Month Period					For the Three-Month Period
	Ended March 31, 2016					Ended March 31, 2015
	Income		Shares	Per Share		Income		Shares	Per Share
(in thousands, except per share data)	(Numerator)		(Denominator)	Amount		(Numerator)		(Denominator)	Amount

Basic EPS
Income available to common shareholders	$	31,393	43,597	$	0.72	$	30,598	43,141	$	0.71
Effect of Dilutive Securities
Stock options		-	764				-	851

Diluted EPS
Income available to common shareholders	$	31,393	44,361	$	0.71	$	30,598	43,992	$	0.70

COMPREHENSIVE EARNINGS

F. COMPREHENSIVE EARNINGS

Our comprehensive earnings include net earnings plus unrealized gains/losses on our available-for-sale investment securities, net of tax. In reporting comprehensive earnings on a net basis in the statement of earnings, we used the federal statutory tax rate of 35 percent.

Unrealized gains, net of tax, for the first three months of 2016 were $21.8 million, compared to unrealized losses, net of tax, of $7.6 million during the same period last year. Unrealized gains in the first quarter of 2016 were primarily due to a decline in interest rates, increasing the value of the fixed income portfolio, and was aided by positive pricing movements for equity securities. In 2015, unrealized losses were the result of declines in the equity portfolio.

The following table illustrates the changes in the balance of each component of accumulated other comprehensive earnings for each period presented in the unaudited condensed consolidated interim financial statements.


(in thousands)	For the Three-Month Periods
	Ended March 31,
Unrealized Gains/Losses on Available-for-Sale Securities	2016		2015

Beginning balance	$	123,774	$	171,383
Other comprehensive earnings before reclassifications		29,171		996
Amounts reclassified from accumulated other comprehensive earnings		(7,408)		(8,591)
Net current-period other comprehensive earnings (loss)	$	21,763	$	(7,595)
Ending balance	$	145,537	$	163,788

The sale or other-than-temporary impairment of an available-for-sale security results in amounts being reclassified from accumulated other comprehensive earnings to current period net earnings. The effects of reclassifications out of accumulated other comprehensive earnings by the respective line items of net earnings are presented in the following table.


	Amount Reclassified from Accumulated Other
(in thousands)	Comprehensive Earnings
	For the Three-Month
Component of Accumulated	Periods Ended March 31,				Affected line item in the
Other Comprehensive Earnings	2016		2015		Statement of Earnings

Unrealized gains and losses on available-for-sale securities	$	11,397	$	13,217	Net realized investment gains
		-		-	Other-than-temporary impairment (OTTI) losses on investments
	$	11,397	$	13,217	Earnings before income taxes
		(3,989)		(4,626)	Income tax expense
	$	7,408	$	8,591	Net earnings