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Shareholders' equity | 12 Months Ended
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Dec. 31, 2017
Stockholders' Equity Note [Abstract] |
Shareholders' equity | Shareholders’ equity a) Common Shares All of Chubb’s Common Shares are authorized under Swiss corporate law. Though the par value of Common Shares is stated in Swiss francs, Chubb continues to use U.S. dollars as its reporting currency for preparing the consolidated financial statements. Under Swiss corporate law, we are generally prohibited from issuing Common Shares below their par value. If there were a need to raise common equity at a time when the trading price of Chubb's Common Shares is below par value, we would need in advance to obtain shareholder approval to decrease the par value of the Common Shares. Dividend approval At our May 2016 and 2015 annual general meetings, our shareholders approved an annual dividend for the following year of up to $2.76 and $2.68 per share, respectively, which was paid in four quarterly installments of $0.69 per share and $0.67 per share, respectively, at dates determined by the Board of Directors (Board) after the annual general meeting by way of a distribution from capital contribution reserves, transferred to free reserves for payment. At our May 2017 annual general meeting, our shareholders approved an annual dividend for the following year of up to $2.84 per share, expected to be paid in four quarterly installments of $0.71 per share after the annual general meeting by way of distribution from capital contribution reserves, transferred to free reserves for payment. The Board will determine the record and payment dates at which the annual dividend may be paid until the date of the 2018 annual general meeting, and is authorized to abstain from distributing a dividend at its discretion. The first three quarterly installments each of $0.71 per share, have been distributed by the Board as expected. Dividend distributions Under Swiss corporate law, dividends, including distributions through a reduction in par value (par value reduction), must be stated in Swiss francs though dividend payments are made by Chubb in U.S. dollars. Dividend distributions following Chubb's redomestication to Switzerland have generally been made by way of par value reduction (under the methods approved by our shareholders at our annual general meetings) and had the effect of reducing par value per Common Share each time a dividend was distributed. We may also issue dividends without subjecting them to withholding tax by way of distributions from capital contribution reserves and payment out of free reserves. We employed this method of dividends for the annual dividends approved in May 2015, 2016 and 2017 as noted above. The following table presents dividend distributions per Common Share in Swiss francs (CHF) and U.S. dollars (USD):
| Year Ended December 31 |
|  |  | 2017 |  |  |  |  | 2016 |  |  |  |  | 2015 |
| CHF |  |  | USD |  |  | CHF |  |  | USD |  |  | CHF |  |  | USD |
Dividends - par value reduction | — |  |  | $ | — |  |  | — |  |  | $ | — |  |  | 0.62 |  |  | $ | 0.65 |
Dividends - distributed from capital contribution reserves | 2.76 |  |  | 2.82 |  |  | 2.70 |  |  | 2.74 |  |  | 1.94 |  |  | 2.01 |
Total dividend distributions per common share | 2.76 |  |  | $ | 2.82 |  |  | 2.70 |  |  | $ | 2.74 |  |  | 2.56 |  |  | $ | 2.66 |
b) Shares issued, outstanding, authorized, and conditional
| Year Ended December 31 |
| 2017 |  |  | 2016 |  |  | 2015 |
Shares issued, beginning of year | 479,783,864 |  |  | 342,832,412 |  |  | 342,832,412 |
Shares issued for Chubb Corp acquisition | — |  |  | 136,951,452 |  |  | — |
Shares issued, end of year | 479,783,864 |  |  | 479,783,864 |  |  | 342,832,412 |
Common Shares in treasury, end of year (at cost) | (15,950,685 | ) |  | (13,815,148 | ) |  | (18,268,971 | )
Shares issued and outstanding, end of year | 463,833,179 |  |  | 465,968,716 |  |  | 324,563,441 |
Increases in Common Shares in treasury are due to open market repurchases of Common Shares and the surrender of Common Shares to satisfy tax withholding obligations in connection with the vesting of restricted stock and the forfeiture of unvested restricted stock. Decreases in Common Shares in treasury are principally due to grants of restricted stock, exercises of stock options, and purchases under the Employee Stock Purchase Plan (ESPP). Authorized share capital for general purposes The Board has shareholder-approved authority as set forth in the Articles of Association to increase for general purposes Chubb's share capital from time to time until May 19, 2018, by the issuance of up to 200,000,000 fully paid up Common Shares, with a par value equal to the par value of Chubb's Common Shares as set forth in the Articles of Association at the time of any such issuance. Chubb intends to seek shareholder approval at its 2018 annual general meeting for a new pool of authorized share capital for general purposes to replace the existing 200,000,000 share pool when it expires. Conditional share capital for bonds and similar debt instruments Chubb's share capital may be increased through the issuance of a maximum of 33,000,000 fully paid up Common Shares (with a par value of CHF 24.15 as of December 31, 2017) through the exercise of conversion and/or option or warrant rights granted in connection with bonds, notes, or similar instruments, issued or to be issued by Chubb, including convertible debt instruments. Conditional share capital for employee benefit plans Chubb's share capital may be increased through the issuance of a maximum of 25,410,929 fully paid up Common Shares (with a par value of CHF 24.15 as of December 31, 2017) in connection with the exercise of option rights granted to any employee of Chubb, and any consultant, director, or other person providing services to Chubb. c) Chubb Limited securities repurchases From time to time, we repurchase shares as part of our capital management program and to partially offset potential dilution from the exercise of stock options and the granting of restricted stock under share-based compensation plans. Our Board of Directors has authorized share repurchase programs as follows:
• | $1.5 billion of Chubb Common Shares from January 1, 2015 through December 31, 2015
• | $1.0 billion of Chubb Common Shares from November 17, 2016 through December 31, 2017
• | $1.0 billion of Chubb Common Shares from January 1, 2018 through December 31, 2018
Share repurchases may be in the open market, in privately negotiated transactions, block trades, accelerated repurchases and/or through option or other forward transactions. The following table presents repurchases of Chubb's Common Shares conducted in a series of open market transactions under the Board authorizations:
| Year Ended December 31 |
(in millions of U.S. dollars, except share data) | 2017 |  |  | 2016 |  |  | 2015 |
Number of shares repurchased | 5,866,612 |  |  | — |  |  | 6,677,663 |
Cost of shares repurchased | $ | 830 |  |  | $ | — |  |  | $ | 734 |
d) General restrictions The holders of the Common Shares are entitled to receive dividends as approved by the shareholders. Holders of Common Shares are allowed one vote per share provided that, if the controlled shares of any shareholder constitute ten percent or more of the outstanding Common Shares of Chubb, only a fraction of the vote will be allowed so as not to exceed ten percent in aggregate. Entry of acquirers of Common Shares as shareholders with voting rights in the share register may be refused if it would confer voting rights with respect to ten percent or more of the registered share capital recorded in the commercial register.

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- Definition The entire disclosure for shareholders' equity comprised of portions attributable to the parent entity and noncontrolling interest, including other comprehensive income. Includes, but is not limited to, balances of common stock, preferred stock, additional paid-in capital, other capital and retained earnings, accumulated balance for each classification of other comprehensive income and amount of comprehensive income. + References Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 505 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/topic&trid=2208762 + Details
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