Intangible Assets

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2012

Goodwill and Intangible Assets Disclosure [Abstract]

Included in Goodwill and other intangible assets in the consolidated balance sheets at December 31, 2012 and 2011, are goodwill of $4.3 billion and $4.1 billion, respectively, and other intangible assets of $656 million and $651 million, respectively.

The following table presents a roll-forward of Goodwill by business segment:



(in millions of U.S. dollars)	Insurance – North American			Insurance – Overseas General		Global Reinsurance		Life			ACE Consolidated
Balance at December 31, 2010	$	1,351		$	1,564	$	365	$	750		$	4,030
Purchase price allocation adjustment	(12		)	5		—		—			(7		)
Acquisition of New York Life's Korea operations and Hong Kong operations	—			—		—		89			89
Acquisition of PMHC	11			—		—		—			11
Acquisition of Rio Guayas	—			31		—		—			31
Foreign exchange revaluation and other	—			3		—		(9		)	(6		)
Balance at December 31, 2011	$	1,350		$	1,603	$	365	$	830		$	4,148
Purchase price allocation adjustment	—			—		—		4			4
Acquisition of JaPro	—			123		—		—			123
Foreign exchange revaluation and other	3			38		—		3			44
Balance at December 31, 2012	$	1,353		$	1,764	$	365	$	837		$	4,319

Included in the other intangible assets balance at December 31, 2012, are intangible assets subject to amortization of $554 million and intangible assets not subject to amortization of $102 million. Intangible assets subject to amortization include agency relationships, software, client lists, renewal rights, and trademarks, primarily attributable to the acquisitions of Rain and Hail and Combined Insurance. The majority of the balance of intangible assets not subject to amortization relates to Lloyd's of London (Lloyd's) Syndicate 2488 (Syndicate 2488) capacity. Amortization expense related to other intangible assets amounted to $51 million, $29 million, and $9 million for the years ended December 31, 2012, 2011, and 2010, respectively.

The following table presents a roll-forward of VOBA:



(in millions of U.S. dollars)	2012			2011			2010
Balance, beginning of year	$	676		$	634		$	748
Acquisition of New York Life's Korea operations and Hong Kong operations	—			151			—
Amortization expense	(82		)	(108		)	(111		)
Foreign exchange revaluation	20			(1		)	(3		)
Balance, end of year	$	614		$	676		$	634

The following table presents the estimated amortization expense related to other intangible assets and VOBA for the next five years:



For the Year Ending December 31	Other intangible assets		VOBA
(in millions of U.S. dollars)	Other intangible assets		VOBA
2013	$	49	$	67
2014	45		58
2015	40		51
2016	35		45
2017	33		42
Total	$	202	$	263

- Definition

The entire disclosure for the aggregate amount of goodwill and a description of intangible assets, which may include (a) for amortizable intangible assets (also referred to as finite-lived intangible assets), the carrying amount, the amount of any significant residual value, and the weighted-average amortization period, (b) for intangible assets not subject to amortization (also referred to as indefinite-lived intangible assets), the carrying amount, and (c) the amount of research and development assets acquired and written off in the period, including the line item in the income statement in which the amounts written off are aggregated, if not readily apparent from the income statement. Also discloses (a) for amortizable intangibles assets in total and by major class, the gross carrying amount and accumulated amortization, the total amortization expense for the period, and the estimated aggregate amortization expense for each of the five succeeding fiscal years, (b) for intangible assets not subject to amortization the carrying amount in total and by major class, and (c) for goodwill, in total and for each reportable segment, the changes in the carrying amount of goodwill during the period (including the aggregate amount of goodwill acquired, the aggregate amount of impairment losses recognized, and the amount of goodwill included in the gain (loss) on disposal of a reporting unit). If any part of goodwill has not been allocated to a reportable segment, discloses the unallocated amount and the reasons for not allocating. For each impairment loss recognized related to an intangible asset (excluding goodwill), discloses: (a) a description of the impaired intangible asset and the facts and circumstances leading to the impairment, (b) the amount of the impairment loss and the method for determining fair value, (c) the caption in the income statement or the statement of activities in which the impairment loss is aggregated, and (d) the segment in which the impaired intangible asset is reported. For each goodwill impairment loss recognized, discloses: (a) a description of the facts and circumstances leading to the impairment, (b) the amount of the impairment loss and the method of determining the fair value of the associated reporting unit, and (c) if a recognized impairment loss is an estimate not finalized and the reasons why the estimate is not final. May also disclose the nature and amount of any significant adjustments made to a previous estimate of an impairment loss.

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