COMMITMENTS, CONTINGENCIES AND GUARANTEES

Commitments

Funding of Investments

The Company’s commitments to fund investments as of December 31, 2018 and 2017 are presented in the following table (dollars in thousands):



	2018		2017
Limited partnership interests and joint ventures	$	523,903	$	485,197
Commercial mortgage loans	22,605		40,815
Bank loans and private placements	137,076		60,472
Equity release mortgages	264,858		153,937

The Company anticipates that the majority of its current commitments will be invested over the next five years; however, these commitments could become due any time at the request of the counterparties. Bank loans and private placements are included in fixed maturity securities available-for-sale.

Leases

The Company leases office space and furniture and equipment under non-cancelable operating lease agreements, which expire at various dates. Future minimum office space annual rentals under non-cancelable operating leases at December 31, 2018 are as follows (dollars in thousands):



	Operating Leases
2019	$	13,578
2020	11,541
2021	9,447
2022	8,587
2023	8,248
Thereafter	14,101

Rent expenses amounted to approximately $17.5 million, $15.7 million and $13.7 million for the years ended December 31, 2018, 2017 and 2016, respectively.

Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements

In 2013, the Company executed a series of incentive agreements with the County of St. Louis, Missouri (the “County”). Under these agreements, the Company transferred its newly constructed world headquarters to the County in exchange for taxable industrial revenue bonds (the “bonds”), in a series of bond issuances during 2013 and 2014, with a maximum amount of $150.0 million. As a result, the Company was able to reduce the cost of constructing and operating its world headquarters by reducing certain state and local tax expenditures. The Company simultaneously leased the world headquarters from the County and has an option to purchase the world headquarters for a nominal fee upon tendering the bonds back to the County. The payments due to the Company under the terms of the bonds and the amounts owed by the Company under the terms of the lease agreement qualify for the right of offset under GAAP. As such, neither the bonds nor the lease obligation is recorded on the consolidated balance sheets as an asset or liability, respectively. The world headquarters is recorded as an asset of the Company in “Other assets” on the consolidated balance sheets.

Contingencies

Litigation

The Company is subject to litigation in the normal course of its business. The Company currently has no material litigation. A legal reserve is established when the Company is notified of an arbitration demand or litigation or is notified that an arbitration demand or litigation is imminent, it is probable that the Company will incur a loss as a result and the amount of the probable loss is reasonably capable of being estimated.

Other Contingencies

The Company indemnifies its directors and officers as provided in its charters and by-laws. Since this indemnity generally is not subject to limitation with respect to duration or amount, the Company does not believe that it is possible to determine the maximum potential amount due under this indemnity in the future.

Guarantees

Statutory Reserve Support

RGA, through wholly-owned subsidiaries, has committed to provide statutory reserve support to third-parties, in exchange for a fee, by funding loans if certain defined events occur. Such statutory reserves are required under the U.S. Valuation of Life Policies Model Regulation (commonly referred to as Regulation XXX for term life insurance policies and Regulation A-XXX for universal life secondary guarantees). The third-parties have recourse to RGA should the subsidiary fail to provide the required funding, however, as of December 31, 2018, the Company does not believe that it will be required to provide any funding under these commitments as the occurrence of the defined events is considered remote. The following table presents the maximum potential obligation for these commitments as of December 31, 2018 (dollars in millions):



Commitment Period	Maximum Potential Obligation
2023	$	500.0
2033	450.0
2034	2,000.0
2035	1,314.2
2036	2,658.0
2037	6,750.0
2038	800.0

Other Guarantees

RGA has issued guarantees to third parties on behalf of its subsidiaries for the payment of amounts due under certain reinsurance treaties, securities borrowing and repurchase arrangements, financing arrangements and office lease obligations, whereby if a subsidiary fails to meet an obligation, RGA or one of its other subsidiaries will make a payment to fulfill the obligation. In limited circumstances, treaty guarantees are granted to ceding companies in order to provide them additional security, particularly in cases where RGA’s subsidiary is relatively new, unrated, or not of a significant size, relative to the ceding company. Liabilities supported by the treaty guarantees, before consideration for any legally offsetting amounts due from the guaranteed party are reflected on the Company’s consolidated balance sheets in a policy related liability. Potential guaranteed amounts of future payments will vary depending on production levels and underwriting results. Guarantees related to securities borrowing and repurchase arrangements provide additional security to third parties should a subsidiary fail to provide securities when due. RGA’s guarantees issued as of December 31, 2018 and 2017 are reflected in the following table (dollars in thousands):



	2018		2017
Treaty guarantees	$	1,392,352	$	1,047,449
Treaty guarantees, net of assets in trust	1,291,445		926,393
Securities borrowing and repurchase arrangements	269,980		294,325
Financing arrangements	61,273		86,183
Lease obligations	392		1,662