New Accounting Standards

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2022

Accounting Changes and Error Corrections [Abstract]

New Accounting Standards

New Accounting StandardsChanges to the general accounting principles are established by the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) in the form of accounting standards updates to the FASB Accounting Standards Codification™. Accounting standards updates not listed below were assessed and determined to be either not applicable or are expected to have minimal impact on the Company’s condensed consolidated financial statements.

Standards Adopted

For information on the adoption of recent accounting guidance and their impact, if any, on the Company’s results of operations and financial position, see Note 2 – “Significant Accounting Policies and Pronouncements” of the Company’s 2021 Annual Report.

Standards Not Yet Adopted

In the first quarter of 2023, the Company will adopt Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”): ASU 2018-12, Financial Services – Insurance (Topic 944): Targeted Improvements to the Accounting for Long-Duration Contracts (“ASU 2018-12”). ASU 2018-12 updates certain requirements for the accounting for long-duration insurance contracts.

•Cash flow assumptions and measuring liability for future policy benefits – ASU 2018-12 requires the Company to review its cash flow assumptions at least annually and update, when necessary, with the impact recognized in net income in the period of the change.

Upon adoption, there will be an adjustment to retained earnings as a result of capping the net premium ratio at 100% and eliminating negative reserves on certain issue year cohorts.

•Discount rate – The discount rate assumption is prescribed by ASU 2018-12 as an upper-medium (low credit risk) fixed-income yield and is required to be updated every quarter. The change in the liability as a result of updating the discount rate assumption is recognized in other comprehensive income (loss) (“OCI”).

Upon adoption, there will be an adjustment to accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) as a result of remeasuring in force contract liabilities using current upper-medium grade fixed income instrument yields. The adjustment will largely reflect the difference between discount rates locked-in at contract inception versus current discount rates at transition.

•Deferred policy acquisition costs and similar balances – Deferred policy acquisition costs (“DAC”) and other capitalized costs such as unearned revenue are amortized on a constant level or straight-line basis over the expected term of the contracts.

Upon adoption, the Company expects an adjustment to accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) for the removal of cumulative adjustments to DAC associated with unrealized gains and losses previously recorded in accumulated other comprehensive income (loss).

•Market risk benefits – Market risk benefits, which are contracts or contract features that provide protection to the policyholder from capital market risk and expose the Company to other-than-nominal capital market risk, are measured at fair value. The periodic change in fair value is recognized in net income with the exception of the periodic change in fair value related to the instrument-specific credit risk, which is recognized in OCI.

Upon adoption, the Company expects an impact to (1) accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) for the cumulative effect of changes in the instrument-specific credit risk between contract issue date and transition date and (2) retained earnings for the difference between fair value and carrying value at the transition date, excluding the changes in the instrument-specific credit risk.

The updated guidance for the cash flow assumptions, discount rate and deferred policy acquisition costs will be applied on a modified retrospective method as of the earliest period included in the financial statements; that is, to contracts in force as of January 1, 2021. The guidance for market risk benefits will be applied retrospectively as of January 1, 2021.

The Company estimates the adoption of the new guidance will decrease previously reported retained earnings by approximately $1.0 billion to $1.3 billion, net of tax, and accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) by approximately $5.1 billion to $7.1 billion, net of tax, as of the transition date of January 1, 2021. In addition, the Company estimates the adoption of the new guidance will decrease previously reported retained earnings by approximately $0.5 billion to $0.8 billion, net of tax, and accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) by approximately $3.2 billion to $5.2 billion, net of tax, as of December 31, 2021. All amounts assume a tax rate of 24 percent. While the Company has substantially completed the necessary updates to its valuation models and other systems to implement the standard, the Company’s implementation of the new guidance is ongoing. The actual impact of adoption, including the actual tax rate, will be updated as the model validation, system testing and parallel runs continue through the remainder of 2022; therefore, the Company’s estimates are subject to change.