Fair Value (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2013

Schedule of consolidated fair value measurements on a recurring basis by asset class and level of input

The following table presents our consolidated fair value measurements on a recurring basis by asset class and level of input at December 31, 2013:



	Erie Insurance Group
	December 31, 2013
	Fair value measurements using:
(in millions)	Total		Quoted prices in active markets for identical assets Level 1		Observable inputs Level 2		Unobservable inputs Level 3
Indemnity
Available-for-sale securities:
States & political subdivisions	$	243	$	0	$	243	$	0
Corporate debt securities	282		0		281		1
Collateralized debt obligations	1		0		0		1
Total fixed maturities	526		0		524		2
Nonredeemable preferred stock	25		2		23		0
Common stock	25		25		0		0
Total available-for-sale securities	576		27		547		2
Other investments ⁽¹⁾	18		0		0		18
Total – Indemnity	$	594	$	27	$	547	$	20
Exchange
Available-for-sale securities:
U.S. government & agencies	$	172	$	0	$	172	$	0
States & political subdivisions	1,470		0		1,470		0
Foreign government securities	15		0		15		0
Corporate debt securities	6,211		0		6,185		26
Residential mortgage-backed securities	156		0		156		0
Commercial mortgage-backed securities	47		0		47		0
Collateralized debt obligations	16		0		11		5
Other debt securities	75		0		75		0
Total fixed maturities	8,162		0		8,131		31
Nonredeemable preferred stock	621		242		379		0
Common stock	198		198		0		0
Total available-for-sale securities	8,981		440		8,510		31
Trading securities:
Common stock	3,202		3,187		0		15
Total trading securities	3,202		3,187		0		15
Other investments ⁽¹⁾	98		0		0		98
Total – Exchange	$	12,281	$	3,627	$	8,510	$	144
Total – Erie Insurance Group	$	12,875	$	3,654	$	9,057	$	164

(1) Other investments measured at fair value represent four real estate funds included on the balance sheet as limited partnership investments that are reported under the fair value option. These investments can never be redeemed with the funds. Instead, distributions are received when liquidation of the underlying assets of the funds occur. It is estimated that the underlying assets will generally be liquidated between 5 and 10 years from the inception of the funds. The fair value of these investments is based on the net asset value (NAV) information provided by the general partner. Fair value is based on our proportionate share of the NAV based on the most recent partners' capital statements received from the general partners, which is generally one quarter prior to our balance sheet date. These values are then analyzed to determine if they represent the NAV at our balance sheet date, with adjustment being made where appropriate. We consider observable market data and perform a review validating the appropriateness of the NAV at each balance sheet date. It is likely that all of the investments will be redeemed at a future date for an amount different than the NAV of our ownership interest in partners' capital as of December 31, 2013. During the year ended December 31, 2013, Indemnity made no contributions and received distributions totaling $2.4 million, and the Exchange made no contributions and received distributions totaling $21.7 million for these investments. As of December 31, 2013, the amount of unfunded commitments related to the investments was $1.5 million for Indemnity and $4.5 million for the Exchange.

The following table presents our consolidated fair value measurements on a recurring basis by asset class and level of input at December 31, 2012:



	Erie Insurance Group
	December 31, 2012
	Fair value measurements using:
(in millions)	Total		Quoted prices in active markets for identical assets Level 1		Observable inputs Level 2		Unobservable inputs Level 3
Indemnity
Available-for-sale securities:
States & political subdivisions	$	185	$	0	$	185	$	0
Corporate debt securities	261		0		260		1
Commercial mortgage-backed securities	3		0		3		0
Collateralized debt obligations	3		0		0		3
Total fixed maturities	452		0		448		4
Nonredeemable preferred stock	29		4		25		0
Common stock	26		26		0		0
Total available-for-sale securities	507		30		473		4
Other investments ⁽¹⁾	19		0		0		19
Total – Indemnity	$	526	$	30	$	473	$	23
Exchange
Available-for-sale securities:
U.S. government & agencies	$	191	$	0	$	191	$	0
States & political subdivisions	1,321		0		1,321		0
Foreign government securities	16		0		16		0
Corporate debt securities	5,777		0		5,734		43
Residential mortgage-backed securities	231		0		231		0
Commercial mortgage-backed securities	67		0		67		0
Collateralized debt obligations	49		0		33		16
Other debt securities	55		0		55		0
Total fixed maturities	7,707		0		7,648		59
Nonredeemable preferred stock	631		199		432		0
Common stock	314		314		0		0
Total available-for-sale securities	8,652		513		8,080		59
Trading securities:
Common stock	2,417		2,402		0		15
Total trading securities	2,417		2,402		0		15
Other investments ⁽¹⁾	109		0		0		109
Total – Exchange	$	11,178	$	2,915	$	8,080	$	183
Total – Erie Insurance Group	$	11,704	$	2,945	$	8,553	$	206

(1) Other investments measured at fair value represent four real estate funds included on the balance sheet as limited partnership investments that are reported under the fair value option. These investments can never be redeemed with the funds. Instead, distributions are received when liquidation of the underlying assets of the funds occur. It is estimated that the underlying assets will generally be liquidated between 5 and 10 years from the inception of the funds. The fair value of these investments is based on the net asset value (NAV) information provided by the general partner. Fair value is based on our proportionate share of the NAV based on the most recent partners' capital statements received from the general partners, which is generally one quarter prior to our balance sheet date. These values are then analyzed to determine if they represent the NAV at our balance sheet date, with adjustment being made where appropriate. We consider observable market data and perform a review validating the appropriateness of the NAV at each balance sheet date. It is likely that all of the investments will be redeemed at a future date for an amount different than the NAV of our ownership interest in partners' capital as of December 31, 2012. During the year ended December 31, 2012, Indemnity made contributions totaling $0.2 million and received distributions totaling $0.3 million, and the Exchange made contributions totaling $0.7 million and received distributions totaling $4.7 million for these investments. As of December 31, 2012, the amount of unfunded commitments related to the investments was $1.5 million for Indemnity and $4.5 million for the Exchange.

Schedule of roll forward of Level 3 consolidated fair value measurements on a recurring basis

Level 3 Assets – Quarterly Change:



	Erie Insurance Group
(in millions)	Beginning balance at September 30, 2013		Included in earnings ⁽¹⁾		Included in other comprehensive income		Purchases		Sales			Transfers in and (out) of Level 3 ⁽²⁾		Ending balance at December 31, 2013
Indemnity
Available-for-sale securities:
Corporate debt securities	$	1	0		0		$	0	$	0		$	0	$	1
Collateralized debt obligations	1		0		0		0		0			0		1
Total fixed maturities	2		0		0		0		0			0		2
Total available-for-sale securities	2		0		0		0		0			0		2
Other investments	19		0		0		0		(1		)	0		18
Total Level 3 assets – Indemnity	$	21	$	0	$	0	$	0	$	(1	)	$	0	$	20
Exchange
Available-for-sale securities:
Corporate debt securities	26		0		0		0		0			0		26
Collateralized debt obligations	9		1		1		0		(6		)	0		5
Total fixed maturities	35		1		1		0		(6		)	0		31
Total available-for-sale securities	35		1		1		0		(6		)	0		31
Trading securities:
Common stock	14		1		0		0		0			0		15
Total trading securities	14		1		0		0		0			0		15
Other investments	100		2		0		0		(4		)	0		98
Total Level 3 assets – Exchange	$	149	$	4	$	1	$	0	$	(10	)	$	0	$	144
Total Level 3 assets – Erie Insurance Group	$	170	$	4	$	1	$	0	$	(11	)	$	0	$	164

(1) These amounts are reported in the Consolidated Statements of Operations. There was $2 million included in net realized investment gains (losses) and $2 million included in equity in earnings of limited partnerships for the three months ended December 31, 2013 on Level 3 investments.

(2) Transfers in and out of Level 3 are attributable to changes in the availability of market observable information for individual investments within the respective categories. Transfers in and out of levels are recognized at the start of the period.

Level 3 Assets – Year-to-Date Change:



	Erie Insurance Group
(in millions)	Beginning balance at December 31, 2011		Included in earnings ⁽¹⁾			Included in other comprehensive income		Purchases		Sales			Transfers in and (out) of Level 3 ⁽²⁾			Ending balance at December 31, 2012
Indemnity
Available-for-sale securities:
Corporate debt securities	$	0	$	0		$	0	$	0	$	0		$	1		$	1
Collateralized debt obligations	4		0			0		0		(1		)	0			3
Total fixed maturities	4		0			0		0		(1		)	1			4
Total available-for-sale securities	4		0			0		0		(1		)	1			4
Other investments	17		2			0		0		0			0			19
Total Level 3 assets – Indemnity	$	21	$	2		$	0	$	0	$	(1	)	$	1		$	23
Exchange
Available-for-sale securities:
States & political subdivisions	$	4	$	(1	)	$	1	$	0	$	(4	)	$	0		$	0
Corporate debt securities	12		0			2		1		(5		)	33			43
Collateralized debt obligations	29		1			0		0		(13		)	(1		)	16
Other debt securities	5		0			0		0		0			(5		)	0
Total fixed maturities	50		0			3		1		(22		)	27			59
Nonredeemable preferred stock	5		0			0		0		0			(5		)	0
Total available-for-sale securities	55		0			3		1		(22		)	22			59
Trading securities:
Common stock	12		3			0		0		0			0			15
Total trading securities	12		3			0		0		0			0			15
Other investments	102		11			0		1		(5		)	0			109
Total Level 3 assets – Exchange	$	169	$	14		$	3	$	2	$	(27	)	$	22		$	183
Total Level 3 assets – Erie Insurance Group	$	190	$	16		$	3	$	2	$	(28	)	$	23		$	206

(1) These amounts are reported in the Consolidated Statements of Operations. There was $3 million included in net realized investment gains (losses) and $13 million included in equity in earnings of limited partnerships for the year ended December 31, 2012 on Level 3 securities.

Level 3 Assets –Year-to-Date Change:



	Erie Insurance Group
(in millions)	Beginning balance at December 31, 2012		Included in earnings ⁽¹⁾		Included in other comprehensive income			Purchases		Sales			Transfers in and (out) of Level 3 ⁽²⁾			Ending balance at December 31, 2013
Indemnity
Available-for-sale securities:
Corporate debt securities	$	1	$	0	$	0		$	0	$	0		$	0		$	1
Collateralized debt obligations	3		0		0			0		(2		)	0			1
Total fixed maturities	4		0		0			0		(2		)	0			2
Total available-for-sale securities	4		0		0			0		(2		)	0			2
Other investments	19		1		0			0		(2		)	0			18
Total Level 3 assets – Indemnity	$	23	$	1	$	0		$	0	$	(4	)	$	0		$	20
Exchange
Available-for-sale securities:
Corporate debt securities	43		0		0			1		(3		)	(15		)	26
Commercial mortgage-backed securities	0		0		0			0		(1		)	1			0
Collateralized debt obligations	16		3		1			0		(16		)	1			5
Total fixed maturities	59		3		1			1		(20		)	(13		)	31
Nonredeemable preferred stock	0		2		(1		)	4		(10		)	5			0
Total available-for-sale securities	59		5		0			5		(30		)	(8		)	31
Trading securities:
Common stock	15		1		0			4		(5		)	0			15
Total trading securities	15		1		0			4		(5		)	0			15
Other investments	109		11		0			0		(22		)	0			98
Total Level 3 assets – Exchange	$	183	$	17	$	0		$	9	$	(57	)	$	(8	)	$	144
Total Level 3 assets – Erie Insurance Group	$	206	$	18	$	0		$	9	$	(61	)	$	(8	)	$	164

(1) These amounts are reported in the Consolidated Statements of Operations. There was $6 million included in net realized investment gains (losses) and $12 million included in equity in earnings of limited partnerships for the year ended December 31, 2013 on Level 3 securities.

Level 3 Assets – Quarterly Change:



	Erie Insurance Group
(in millions)	Beginning balance at September 30, 2012		Included in earnings ⁽¹⁾			Included in other comprehensive income		Purchases		Sales			Transfers in and (out) of Level 3 ⁽²⁾			Ending balance at December 31, 2012
Indemnity
Available-for-sale securities:
Corporate debt securities	$	1	$	0		$	0	$	0	$	0		$	0		$	1
Collateralized debt obligations	3		0			0		0		0			0			3
Total fixed maturities	4		0			0		0		0			0			4
Total available-for-sale securities	4		0			0		0		0			0			4
Other investments	18		1			0		0		0			0			19
Total Level 3 assets – Indemnity	$	22	$	1		$	0	$	0	$	0		$	0		$	23
Exchange
Available-for-sale securities:
States & political subdivisions	$	4	$	(1	)	$	1	$	0	$	(4	)	$	0		$	0
Corporate debt securities	34		0			0		0		0			9			43
Collateralized debt obligations	46		0			0		0		(9		)	(21		)	16
Other debt securities	5		0			0		0		0			(5		)	0
Total fixed maturities	89		(1		)	1		0		(13		)	(17		)	59
Nonredeemable preferred stock	6		0			0		0		0			(6		)	0
Total available-for-sale securities	95		(1		)	1		0		(13		)	(23		)	59
Trading securities:
Common stock	13		2			0		0		0			0			15
Total trading securities	13		2			0		0		0			0			15
Other investments	108		2			0		1		(2		)	0			109
Total Level 3 assets – Exchange	$	216	$	3		$	1	$	1	$	(15	)	$	(23	)	$	183
Total Level 3 assets – Erie Insurance Group	$	238	$	4		$	1	$	1	$	(15	)	$	(23	)	$	206

(1) These amounts are reported in the Consolidated Statements of Operations. There was $1 million included in net realized investment gains (losses) and $3 million included in equity in earnings of limited partnerships for the three months ended December 31, 2012 on Level 3 investments.

Schedule of quantitative and qualitative disclosures about unobservable inputs

Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Unobservable Inputs:



	Erie Insurance Group
	December 31, 2013
(dollars in millions)	Fair value		No. of holdings	Valuation techniques	Unobservable input	Range	Weighted average
Indemnity
Corporate debt securities ⁽¹⁾⁽³⁾	$	1	1	Market approach	Non-binding broker quote	113
					Non-binding broker quote	113
Collateralized debt obligations ⁽²⁾⁽³⁾	1		2	Income approach	Projected maturity date	Mar 2014 - Nov 2014
					Repayment at maturity	13 - 100%	79.0%
					Discount rate	7.5 - 15.0%	9.0%
Other investments ⁽⁵⁾	18		2
Total Level 3 assets – Indemnity	$	20	5

Exchange
Corporate debt securities ^(1)(3)(4)	26		7	Market approach	Non-binding broker quote	104 - 117	109
					Non-binding broker quote	104 - 117	109
					Comparable transaction EBITDA multiples	8.0 - 11.9x	8.0x
					Comparable security yield	6.00%
					Comparable security yield	6.00%
Collateralized debt obligations ⁽²⁾⁽³⁾	2		3	Income approach	Projected maturity date	Mar 2014 - Oct 2035
					Repayment at maturity	13 - 100%	80.0%
					Discount rate	7.5 - 18.0%	10.0%
	3		3	Market approach	Non-binding broker quote	30 - 78	62
					Non-binding broker quote	30 - 78	62
Common stock ⁽⁴⁾	15		4	Market approach	Comparable transaction EBITDA multiples	8.0 - 11.9x	8.0x
					Discount for lack of marketability	5 - 30%	7.5%
Other investments ⁽⁵⁾	98		4
Total Level 3 assets – Exchange	$	144	21
Total Level 3 assets – Erie Insurance Group	$	164	26


(1)	Corporate debt securities – The unobservable input used in the fair value measurement of certain corporate debt securities is the likelihood of repayment by the underlying entity when there is no market for trading these securities. When available, we obtain non-binding broker quotes to value such securities.

(2)

Collateralized-debt-obligation securities – The unobservable inputs used in the fair value measurement of certain collateralized-debt-obligation securities are the repayment at maturity of underlying collateral available to pay note holders, the projected maturity of the underlying security, and a discount rate appropriate for the security. Significant changes in any of those inputs in isolation would result in a significantly higher or lower fair value measurement. Generally, a change in the assumption used for the performance of the underlying collateral is accompanied by an opposite change in the maturity and a directionally opposite change in the discount rate used to value the security.


(3)	Corporate debt securities and Collateralized-debt-obligation securities – When a non-binding broker quote was the only input available, it was considered unobservable.

(4)

Common stock investments and Corporate debt securities – The unobservable inputs used in the fair value measurement of direct private equity common stock investments and certain corporate debt securities are comparable private transaction earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (“EBITDA”) multiples, the average EBITDA multiple for comparable publicly traded companies and the amount of discount applied to the price due to the illiquidity of the securities being valued. Significant changes in any of those inputs in isolation could result in a significantly higher or lower fair value measurement.


(5)	Other investments – Other investments represent certain limited partnerships that are recorded at fair value and are based upon net asset value (NAV) provided by the general partner where the unobservable inputs are not reasonably available to us.

Schedule of consolidated fair value measurements on a recurring basis by pricing source

The following table presents our consolidated fair value measurements on a recurring basis by pricing source at December 31, 2013:



	Erie Insurance Group
(in millions)	December 31, 2013
	Total		Level 1		Level 2		Level 3
Indemnity
Fixed maturities:
Priced via pricing services	$	524	$	0	$	524	$	0
Priced via market comparables/broker quotes ⁽¹⁾	1		0		0		1
Priced via internal modeling	1		0		0		1
Total fixed maturities	526		0		524		2
Nonredeemable preferred stock:
Priced via pricing services	23		2		21		0
Priced via market comparables/broker quotes ⁽¹⁾	2		0		2		0
Total nonredeemable preferred stock	25		2		23		0
Common stock:
Priced via pricing services	25		25		0		0
Total common stock	25		25		0		0
Other investments:
Priced via unobservable inputs ⁽²⁾	18		0		0		18
Total other investments	18		0		0		18
Total – Indemnity	$	594	$	27	$	547	$	20
Exchange
Fixed maturities:
Priced via pricing services	$	8,075	$	0	$	8,075	$	0
Priced via market comparables/broker quotes ⁽¹⁾	78		0		56		22
Priced via internal modeling	9		0		0		9
Total fixed maturities	8,162		0		8,131		31
Nonredeemable preferred stock:
Priced via pricing services	606		242		364		0
Priced via market comparables/broker quotes ⁽¹⁾	15		0		15		0
Total nonredeemable preferred stock	621		242		379		0
Common stock:
Priced via pricing services	3,385		3,385		0		0
Priced via internal modeling	15		0		0		15
Total common stock	3,400		3,385		0		15
Other investments:
Priced via unobservable inputs ⁽²⁾	98		0		0		98
Total other investments	98		0		0		98
Total – Exchange	$	12,281	$	3,627	$	8,510	$	144
Total – Erie Insurance Group	$	12,875	$	3,654	$	9,057	$	164

(1) When a non-binding broker quote was the only price available, the security was classified as Level 3.


(2)	Other investments measured at fair value represent real estate funds included on the balance sheet as limited partnership investments that are reported under the fair value option. The fair value of these investments is based on the net asset value (NAV) information provided by the general partner.

- Definition

Tabular disclosure of the fair value measurement of assets using significant unobservable inputs (Level 3), a reconciliation of the beginning and ending balances, separately presenting changes during the period attributable to the following: (1) total gains or losses for the period (realized and unrealized), segregating those gains or losses included in earnings (or changes in net assets) and gains or losses recognized in other comprehensive income (loss), and a description of where those gains or losses included in earnings (or changes in net assets) are reported in the statement of income (or activities); (2) purchases, sales, issues, and settlements (each type disclosed separately); and (3) transfers in and transfers out of Level 3 (for example, transfers due to changes in the observability of significant inputs), by class of asset.

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