Basis of Presentation and Accounting Policies

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2020

Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]

Basis of Presentation and Accounting Policies

Basis of Presentation and Accounting Policies

The unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements included herein have been prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States of America (“GAAP”) on a basis consistent with reporting interim financial information pursuant to the rules and regulations for Form 10-Q and Article 10 of Regulation S-X of the SEC and include the accounts of Kemper Corporation and its subsidiaries. All significant intercompany accounts and transactions have been eliminated. Certain prior year amounts for company-owned life insurance (“COLI”) have been reclassified from Other Assets to Other Investments to conform to the current presentation. Certain prior year amounts in the Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows have been reclassified to conform to the current presentation.

Certain financial information that is normally included in annual financial statements, including certain financial statement footnote disclosures, prepared in accordance with GAAP is not required by the rules and regulations of the SEC for interim financial reporting and has been condensed or omitted. In the opinion of the Company’s management, the Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements include all adjustments necessary for a fair presentation. The preparation of interim financial statements relies heavily on estimates. This factor and other factors, such as the seasonal nature of some portions of the insurance business, as well as market conditions and the impacts of COVID-19, call for caution in drawing specific conclusions from interim results. The accompanying Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements should be read in conjunction with the Company’s Consolidated Financial Statements and related notes included in Kemper’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2019.

Adoption of New Accounting Guidance

Guidance Adopted in 2020

In June 2016, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) 2016-13, Financial Instruments—Credit Losses (Topic 326): Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments, which replaces the existing incurred loss impairment model with an expected credit loss impairment model. The expected credit loss impairment model requires the entity to recognize its estimate of expected credit losses for affected financial assets using an allowance for credit losses and requires consideration of a broader range of reasonable and supportable information to inform credit loss estimates. The amendments in this ASU require a financial asset (or a group of financial assets) measured at amortized cost basis to be presented at the net amount expected to be collected. The allowance for credit losses is a valuation account that is deducted from the amortized cost basis of the financial asset(s) to present the net carrying value at the amount expected to be collected. The income statement includes the measurement of credit losses for newly recognized financial assets, as well as the expected increases or decreases of expected credit losses that have occurred during the period. Credit losses on available-for-sale debt securities are measured in a manner similar to prior GAAP, although ASU 2016-13 requires that they be presented as an allowance rather than as a write-down of the amortized cost. In situations where the estimate of credit loss on an available-for-sale debt security declines, entities will be able to record a reversal of the allowance to income in the current period, which was prohibited prior to the adoption of ASU 2016-13. ASU 2016-13 was adopted using the modified retrospective method for financial assets measured at amortized cost as well as receivables from policyholders. Prior period amounts have not been adjusted and continue to be reported in accordance with the previous accounting guidance. A prospective transition approach is required for available-for-sale fixed maturity securities that have recognized an other-than-temporary impairment write-down prior to the effective date. The Company adopted the guidance effective January 1, 2020, which resulted in no cumulative-effect adjustment to retained earnings.

In January 2017, the FASB issued ASU 2017-04, Intangibles—Goodwill and Other (Topic 350). To simplify the subsequent measurement of goodwill, ASU 2017-04 eliminates Step 2 from the goodwill impairment test. In computing the implied fair value of goodwill under Step 2, an entity previously had to perform procedures to determine the fair value at the impairment testing date of its assets and liabilities (including unrecognized assets and liabilities) following the procedure that would be required in determining the fair value of assets acquired and liabilities assumed in a business combination. Instead, under the amendments in this Update, an entity performs its annual, or interim, goodwill impairment test by comparing the fair value of a reporting unit with its carrying amount. An entity recognizes an impairment charge for the amount by which the carrying amount exceeds the reporting unit’s fair value. However, the loss recognized is limited to the total amount of goodwill allocated to that reporting unit. Additionally, ASU 2017-04 eliminates the requirements for any reporting unit with a zero or negative carrying amount to perform a qualitative assessment and, if it fails that qualitative test, to perform Step 2 of the goodwill

Note 1 - Basis of Presentation and Accounting Policies (continued)

impairment test. Therefore, the same impairment assessment applies to all reporting units. ASU 2017-04 is effective for annual periods beginning after December 15, 2019 and interim periods within those annual periods. The adoption of ASU 2017-04 did not have a material effect on the Company’s Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements and Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements.

In April 2019, the FASB issued ASU 2019-04, Codification Improvements to Topic 326, Financial Instruments—Credit Losses, Topic 815, Derivatives and Hedging, and Topic 825, Financial Instruments. ASU 2019-04 clarifies certain aspects of accounting for credit losses, hedging activities, and financial instruments, previously addressed by ASU 2016-13, Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments, ASU 2017-12, Targeted Improvements to Derivatives and Hedging Activities, and ASU 2016-01, Recognition and Measurement of Financial Assets and Financial Liabilities. The Company adopted ASU 2017-12 in the first quarter of 2019. Accordingly, the amendments in ASU 2019-04 related to clarifications on accounting for hedging activities are effective for the Company in the first quarter of 2020. The amendments of ASU 2019-04 related to ASU 2016-01, Recognition and Measurement of Financial Assets and Financial Liabilities, and ASU 2016-13, Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments, are effective for annual periods beginning after December 15, 2019, and interim periods within those annual periods. The initial adoption of ASU 2019-04 did not have a material effect on the Company’s Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements and Notes to the Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements.

In May 2019, the FASB issued ASU 2019-05, Financial Instruments—Credit Losses (Topic 326): Targeted Transition Relief. ASU 2019-05 provides transition relief for entities adopting the credit loss standard, ASU 2016-13. Specifically, ASU 2019-05 amends ASU 2016-13 to allow companies to irrevocably elect, upon adoption of ASU 2016-13, the fair value option for financial instruments that are: (i) within the scope of the credit loss guidance in Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) Topic 326, Financial Instruments—Credit Losses; (ii) were previously recorded at amortized cost; (iii) are eligible for the fair value option under ASC Topic 825, Financial Instruments; and (iv) are not held to maturity debt. ASU 2019-05 is effective for annual periods beginning after December 15, 2019 and interim periods within those annual periods. The Company did not elect the fair value option upon adoption of ASU 2016-13 for the financial instruments outlined above.

Guidance Not Yet Adopted

In August 2018, the FASB issued ASU 2018-12, Financial Services-Insurance (Topic 944): Targeted Improvements to Accounting for Long-Duration Contracts. ASU 2018-12 amends the accounting model for certain long-duration insurance contracts and requires the insurer to provide additional disclosures in annual and interim reporting periods. ASU 2018-12 is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2021, and interim periods within those annual periods. The amendments in ASU 2018-12 (i) require cash flow assumptions used to measure the liability for future policy benefits for nonparticipating traditional and limited pay long duration contracts to be updated at least annually with the recognition and remeasurement recorded in net income, (ii) simplify the amortization of deferred acquisition costs to be amortized on a constant level basis over the expected term of the contract, (iii) require all market risk benefits to be measured at fair value, and (iv) enhance certain presentation and disclosure requirements which include disaggregated rollforwards for liability for future policy benefits, policyholder account balances, market risk benefits, separate account liabilities, deferred acquisition costs, and information about significant inputs, judgements and methods used in the measurement. The Company is currently evaluating the method of adoption and impact of this guidance on its financial statements.

In December 2019, the FASB issued ASU 2019-12, Income Taxes (Topic 740): Simplifying the Accounting for Income Taxes. ASU 2019-12 is intended to simplify accounting for income taxes by eliminating certain exceptions to the guidance in ASC Topic 740, Income Taxes, related to the approach for intraperiod tax allocation, the methodology for calculating income taxes in an interim period, and the recognition of deferred tax liabilities for outside basis differences. ASU 2019-12 also simplifies aspects of the accounting for franchise taxes and enacted changes in tax laws or rates and clarifies the accounting for transactions that result in a step-up in the tax basis of goodwill. Further, ASU 2019-12 clarifies that single-member limited liability companies and similar disregarded entities that are not subject to income tax are not required to recognize an allocation of consolidated income tax expense in their separate financial statements, but they could elect to do so. ASU 2019-12 is effective for annual periods beginning after December 15, 2020 and interim periods within those annual periods. The Company is currently evaluating the impact of this guidance on its financial statements.

In January 2020, the FASB issued ASU 2020-01, Investments—Equity Securities (Topic 321), Investments—Equity Method and Joint Ventures (Topic 323), and Derivatives and Hedging (Topic 815): Clarifying the Interactions between Topic 321, Topic 323, and Topic 815 (a consensus of the FASB Emerging Issues), which clarifies the interaction of the accounting for equity securities under Topic 321 and investments accounted for under the equity method of accounting in Topic 323 and the

Note 1 - Basis of Presentation and Accounting Policies (continued)

accounting for certain forward contracts and purchased options accounted for under Topic 815. ASU 2020-01 is effective for annual periods beginning after December 15, 2020 and interim periods within those annual periods. The Company is currently evaluating the impact of this guidance on its financial statements.

In March 2020, the FASB issued ASU 2020-04, Reference Rate Reform (Topic 848): Facilitation of the Effects of Reference Rate Reform on Financial Reporting, which provides optional expedients and exceptions for applying generally accepted accounting principles to contracts, hedging relationships, and other transactions affected by reference rate reform if certain criteria are met. The guidance in ASU 2020-04, if elected, shall apply to contract modifications if the terms that are modified directly replace, or have the potential to replace, a reference rate with another interest rate index. If other terms are contemporaneously modified in a manner that changes, or has the potential to change, the amount or timing of contractual cash flows, the guidance in ASU 2020-04 shall apply only if those modifications are related to the replacement of a reference rate. ASU 2020-04 is effective for contract modifications made between March 12, 2020 through December 31, 2022. The adoption of the new guidance did not have an impact on the Company’s interim Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements. The Company will continue to evaluate the impact of this guidance on its financial statements.

In October 2020, the FASB issued ASU 2020-08, Codification Improvements to Subtopic 310-20, Receivables - Nonrefundable Fees and Other Costs, which clarifies that an entity should re-evaluate whether a callable debt security is within the scope of paragraph 310-20-35-33 for each reporting period. ASU 2020-08 is effective for annual periods beginning after December 15, 2020 and interim periods within those annual periods. The Company is currently evaluating the impact of this guidance on its financial statements.

The Company has adopted all other recently issued accounting pronouncements with effective dates prior to January 1, 2020. There were no adoptions of such accounting pronouncements during the nine months ended September 30, 2020 that had a material impact on the Company’s Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements.

Accounting Policies

The following accounting policies have been updated effective January 1, 2020 to reflect the Company's adoption of ASU 2016-13, Financial Instruments—Credit Losses (Topic 326): Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments as described above.

Investments in Fixed Maturities - Allowance for Expected Credit Losses

For fixed maturity investments that the Company intends to sell or for which it is more likely than not that the Company will be required to sell before an anticipated recovery of value, the full amount of the impairment is reported in Impairment Losses.  The Company writes down the investment’s amortized cost to its fair value, and will not adjust for any subsequent recoveries.

For fixed maturity investments that the Company does not intend to sell or for which it is more likely than not that the Company will not be required to sell before an anticipated recovery of value, the Company will evaluate whether a decline in

fair value below the amortized cost basis has occurred from a credit loss or other factors (non-credit related). Considerations in the credit loss assessment include (1) extent to which the fair value has been less than amortized cost, (2) conditions related to the security, an industry, or a geographic area, (3) payment structure of the investment and the likelihood of the issuer's ability to make contractual cashflows, (4) defaults or other collectability concerns related to the issuer, (5) changes in the ratings assigned by a rating agency and (6) other credit enhancements that affect the investment’s expected performance.

Any increase or decrease in the expected allowance for credit losses related to investments is recognized in Impairment Losses. The expected allowance for credit losses is limited by the amount that the fair value is less than the amortized cost basis and is adjusted for any additional expected credit losses or subsequent recoveries. The amortized cost basis of the investment is not adjusted for the expected allowance for credit loss. The impairment related to other factors (non-credit related) is reported in Other Comprehensive Income, net of applicable taxes.

The Company reports accrued investment income separately for available-for-sale fixed maturity securities and has elected not to measure an allowance for credit losses on accrued investment income. Accrued investment income is written off through impairment losses at the time the issuer of the bond defaults or is expected to default on interest payments.

Note 1 - Basis of Presentation and Accounting Policies (continued)

Receivables from Policyholders - Allowance for Expected Credit Losses

The allowance for credit losses is a valuation account that is deducted from the receivables from policyholders based on the net amount expected to be collected on the insurance contract. Receivables from policyholders are charged off against the allowance when management believes the uncollectability of the receivable is confirmed. Expected recoveries do not exceed the aggregate of amounts previously charged-off and expected to be charged-off.

Management estimates the allowance using relevant available information, from internal and external sources, related to past events, current conditions, and reasonable and supportable forecasts. Historical credit loss experience on the receivables from policyholders provide the basis for the estimation of expected credit losses. Adjustments to historical loss information are made for differences in current environmental conditions, primarily unemployment rates that could impact an insured’s ability to pay premiums and the anticipated impact of COVID-19.