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General Information (Policies)
9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2012
General Information [Abstract]  
Recently Issued Accounting Guidance

Accounting Guidance Adopted in 2012

 

Deferred Policy Acquisition Costs

 

A new accounting standard clarifies the definition of acquisition costs incurred by an insurance company and limits capitalization to such costs directly related to renewing or acquiring new insurance contracts. Under the new standard, we expense all costs incurred for unsuccessful marketing or underwriting efforts, along with indirect costs, as incurred. We adopted this guidance on January 1, 2012 through retrospective adjustment of the capitalized deferred policy acquisition costs, deferred income taxes and consolidated shareholders' equity in our prior years' consolidated financial statements. We also reclassified expenses in our prior years' consolidated income statements to reflect the new definition of policy acquisition costs. Application of the new guidance did not impact our reported consolidated net earnings or cash flows in prior years. The following line items in our consolidated financial statements were affected by this change in accounting guidance: