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Description of Business, Basis of Presentation, and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies
6 Months Ended
Jun. 30, 2018
Organization Consolidation And Presentation Of Financial Statements [Abstract]  
Description of Business, Basis of Presentation, and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

(1) Description of Business, Basis of Presentation, and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

Description of Business. Primerica, Inc. (the "Parent Company"), together with its subsidiaries (collectively, "we", "us" or the "Company"), is a leading distributor of financial products to middle-income households in the United States and Canada. We assist our clients in meeting their needs for term life insurance, which we underwrite, and mutual funds, annuities, managed investments and other financial products, which we distribute primarily on behalf of third parties. Our primary subsidiaries include the following entities: Primerica Financial Services, Inc. ("PFS"), a general agency and marketing company; Primerica Life Insurance Company ("Primerica Life"), our principal life insurance company; Primerica Financial Services (Canada) Ltd., a holding company for our Canadian operations, which includes Primerica Life Insurance Company of Canada ("Primerica Life Canada") and PFSL Investments Canada Ltd. ("PFSL Investments Canada"); and PFS Investments Inc. ("PFS Investments"), an investment products company and broker-dealer. Primerica Life, domiciled in Tennessee, owns National Benefit Life Insurance Company ("NBLIC"), a New York life insurance company. Peach Re, Inc. ("Peach Re") and Vidalia Re, Inc. ("Vidalia Re") are special purpose financial captive insurance companies and wholly owned subsidiaries of Primerica Life. Peach Re and Vidalia Re have each entered into separate coinsurance agreements with Primerica Life whereby Primerica Life has ceded certain level-premium term life insurance policies to Peach Re and Vidalia Re (respectively, the "Peach Re Coinsurance Agreement" and the "Vidalia Re Coinsurance Agreement").

Basis of Presentation. We prepare our financial statements in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles ("U.S. GAAP"). These principles are established primarily by the Financial Accounting Standards Board ("FASB"). The preparation of financial statements in conformity with U.S. GAAP requires us to make estimates and assumptions that affect financial statement balances, revenues and expenses and cash flows, as well as the disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities. Management considers available facts and knowledge of existing circumstances when establishing the estimates included in our financial statements.

The accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements contain all adjustments, generally consisting of normal recurring accruals, which are necessary to fairly present the balance sheets as of June 30, 2018 and December 31, 2017, the statements of income and comprehensive income (loss) for the three and six months ended June 30, 2018 and 2017, and the statements of stockholders' equity and cash flows for the six months ended June 30, 2018 and 2017.  Results of operations for interim periods are not necessarily indicative of results for the entire year or of the results to be expected in future periods.

These unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements have been prepared pursuant to the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"). Certain information and note disclosures normally included in annual financial statements prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP have been condensed or omitted pursuant to those rules and regulations, although the Company believes that the disclosures made are sufficient to make the information not misleading. These unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and notes thereto that are included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2017 ("2017 Annual Report").

Use of Estimates. The most significant items that involve a greater degree of accounting estimates and actuarial determinations subject to change in the future are the valuation of investments, deferred policy acquisition costs ("DAC"), future policy benefit reserves and corresponding amounts recoverable from reinsurers, and income taxes. Estimates for these and other items are subject to change and are reassessed by management in accordance with U.S. GAAP. Actual results could differ from those estimates.

Consolidation. The accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements include the accounts of the Company and those entities required to be consolidated under U.S. GAAP. All material intercompany profits, transactions, and balances among the consolidated entities have been eliminated.

Reclassifications. Certain reclassifications have been made to prior-period amounts to conform to current-period reporting classifications. These reclassifications had no impact on net income or total stockholders' equity.

Significant Accounting Policies. All significant accounting policies remain unchanged from the 2017 Annual Report unless otherwise described.

New Accounting Principles. In May 2014, the FASB issued Accounting Standards Update No. 2014-09, Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606) ("ASU 2014-09"). ASU 2014-09 clarifies the principles for recognizing revenue by establishing the core principle that an entity should recognize revenue to depict the transfer of goods or services to customers in an amount that reflects the consideration to which the entity expects to be entitled in exchange for those goods or services. ASU 2014-09 also requires additional disclosure about the nature, amount, timing and uncertainty of revenue that is recognized. Insurance contracts are specifically excluded from the scope of ASU 2014-09 and therefore revenue from our insurance product lines is not affected by the new standard. We adopted the amendments in ASU 2014-09 during the first quarter of 2018 using the modified retrospective method. The cumulative effect of adopting ASU 2014-09 resulted in an increase to retained earnings of $24.7 million or 1.7% on January 1, 2018. The adjustment recognized upon the adoption of ASU 2014-09 primarily consisted of recognizing the after tax net impact of renewal commissions we anticipate collecting in future periods less the portion we pay to our agents for the sale of prepaid legal service subscriptions and the referral of auto and homeowners’ insurance policies in our Corporate and Other Distributed Products segment made prior to January 1, 2018. Specifically, the cumulative effect adjustment recognized as of January 1, 2018 increased the following balance sheet line items:

 

 

 

January 1, 2018

 

 

 

(In thousands)

 

Agent balances, due premiums and other receivables

 

$

45,730

 

Other liabilities

 

 

14,400

 

Income taxes (Liabilities)

 

 

6,647

 

Retained earnings

 

 

24,683

 

 

After the initial product sale or referral, we earn commissions from product providers for our distribution services as clients pay ongoing subscription fees for prepaid legal service subscriptions or premiums on auto and homeowners’ insurance policies purchased through our referral channel. Prior to the adoption of ASU 2014-09, we recognized commission revenue upon receipt of the commission revenue from the product providers, which is the point in time when revenue becomes fixed and determinable, as the commissions earned are dependent on our clients’ future renewal activity. After the adoption of ASU 2014-09, we recognize commission revenue equal to the expected value of the commissions we will earn over the life of the subscription or the referred policy when that initial subscription sale or policy referral occurs, which coincides with when we satisfy our performance obligation to the product provider. The application of ASU 2014-09 did not result in any material changes in the line items within our statements of income and comprehensive income (loss) during the three and six months ended June 30, 2018 or our statement of cash flows during the six months ended June 30, 2018 as compared with guidance in effect prior to the adoption of ASU 2014-09, primarily due to the immaterial amount of revenue associated with these product distributions as well as the offsetting effect of replacing revenue for commissions received from existing sales prior to adopting ASU 2014-09 with revenue for future estimated commissions from new sales subsequent to adopting ASU 2014-09. Likewise, the application of ASU 2014-09 as compared with guidance in effect prior to the adoption of ASU 2014-09 did not have a material effect on the line items within our balance sheet or statement of stockholders’ equity between January 1, 2018 and June 30, 2018.  In addition, no changes in the timing or measurement of revenue recognition have been made in any of our other product lines as discussed further in Note 13 (Revenue from Contracts with Customers).

In January 2016, the FASB issued Accounting Standards Update No. 2016-01, Financial Instruments—Overall (Subtopic 825-10)Recognition and Measurement of Financial Assets and Financial Liabilities ("ASU 2016-01"). ASU 2016-01 intends to enhance the reporting model for financial instruments and addresses certain aspects of recognition, measurement of investments in equity securities and the presentation of certain fair value changes for financial liabilities measured at fair value. We adopted the amendments in ASU 2016-01 during the first quarter of 2018, which resulted in a cumulative-effect adjustment to increase retained earnings and decrease accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) by $7.7 million, equal to the after tax amount of the net unrealized gains on investments in equity securities as of January 1, 2018. Prior to the adoption of ASU 2016-01, the change in fair value (except for other-than-temporary impairment) on available-for-sale equity securities was recognized in other comprehensive income (loss).  Subsequent to the adoption of ASU 2016-01, the change in fair value on all investments in equity securities is recognized in net income. For the three and six months ended June 30, 2018, we recognized $0.5 million of pre-tax net gains and $1.4 million of pre-tax net losses, respectively, in realized investment gains (losses) for the change in fair value of our investments in equity securities that would have been recorded as other comprehensive income (loss) prior to the adoption of ASU 2016-01. Additionally, we no longer maintain the classifications of available-for-sale or trading for equity securities but instead present all equity security investments held by the Company as equity securities in the balance sheet due to the adoption of ASU 2016-01. As a result, equity securities with a carrying value of $1.4 million previously included within the trading securities classification as of December 31, 2017 are presented as equity securities in the balance sheet subsequent to the adoption of ASU 2016-01.  

In February 2018, the FASB issued Accounting Standards Update No. 2018-02, Income Statement — Reporting Comprehensive Income (Topic 220): Reclassification of Certain Tax Effects from Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income ("ASU 2018-02"). ASU 2018-02 allows for the reclassification of stranded tax effects on items resulting from the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (the "Tax Reform Act") from accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) to retained earnings. ASU 2018-02 is effective for all entities in fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2018, and interim periods within those fiscal years with early adoption permitted. We adopted the amendments in ASU 2018-02 during the first quarter of 2018 and recorded a decrease of $7.8 million to retained earnings with a corresponding increase to accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) on January 1, 2018 to reclassify the stranded tax effects from the Tax Reform Act.

Future Application of Accounting Standards. Recent accounting guidance not discussed above is not applicable, is immaterial to our financial statements, or did not or is not expected to have a material impact on our business. For additional information on recently-issued accounting guidance that has not yet been adopted, see Note 1 (Description of Business, Basis of Presentation, and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies) to our consolidated financial statements within our 2017 Annual Report.

Income Taxes. On December 22, 2017, the Tax Reform Act was enacted in the United States, which includes a broad range of tax reforms affecting businesses, including corporate tax rates, business deductions, and international tax provisions.  Under U.S. GAAP, the effects of new legislation are recognized upon enactment, which, for federal legislation, is the date the president signs a bill into law. Accordingly, we recognized the tax effects of the Tax Reform Act as of December 31, 2017. Amounts recognized as of December 31, 2017 represent reasonable estimates based on obtaining, preparing, and analyzing the information necessary to account for the tax effects of the Tax Reform Act under Accounting Standards Codification Topic 740, Income Taxes ("ASC 740"). However, the breadth and complexity of reforms included in the Tax Reform Act combined with the lack of precedent in its application may result in changes to the tax effects recognized when interpretations of the legislation are finalized, including the Company’s application of any additional guidance that may be issued by U.S. tax authorities. The SEC staff issued Staff Accounting Bulletin No. 118, which allows companies to recognize provisional amounts for the tax effects resulting from the enactment of the Tax Reform Act for which the accounting under ASC 740 is incomplete but a reasonable estimate can be determined. Adjustments to these provisional amounts, if any, are to be completed within a measurement period not to exceed one year.

As of June 30, 2018, we continued the effort to finalize our analysis of the incomplete areas and make any necessary adjustments to the provisional amounts recognized as of December 31, 2017. We identified the following updates to the areas discussed in the 2017 Annual Report that were or remain incomplete and subject to adjustment when the necessary information is available, prepared, or analyzed (including computations) in reasonable detail to complete the accounting:

 

The Company has made a policy election to account for estimated taxes in regard to global intangible low-taxed income under the provisions of the Tax Reform Act by recognizing such taxes as incurred. We recognized $1.0 million and $2.0 million of income tax expense for the estimated taxes incurred for global intangible low-taxed income during the three and six months ended June 30, 2018, respectively.

 

We refined the provisional amount recognized for the one-time mandatory deemed repatriation of Canadian earnings required by the Tax Reform Act, which resulted in $0 and $1.8 million reduction to income tax expense during the three and six months ended June 30, 2018, respectively. However, the provisional amount could be subject to further change upon the final completion of the Company’s total post-1986 foreign earnings and profits calculation and foreign tax credit determination as of the dates specified in the Tax Reform Act.

 

No changes have been made to the provisional amount recognized as of December 31, 2017 for the timing difference for the haircut on deductibility of future policy benefit reserves prescribed in the Tax Reform Act. The provisional amount could be subject to change upon the Company’s final computation as it relates to insurance contracts identified with cash value features. Adjustments to the provisional amount are not expected to impact the Company’s effective income tax rate or net deferred tax liability position but could impact the timing of when such temporary differences are eliminated.

We expect to finalize our analysis of the incomplete areas and make any necessary adjustments during the second half of 2018.

The Tax Reform Act reduced the U.S. federal statutory rate from 35% to 21% effective January 1, 2018 and had a significant impact on our effective tax rate during the three and six months ended June 30, 2018 as compared with the three and six months ended June 30, 2017. We have presented the primary components impacting our effective tax rate as follows:

 

 

Three months ended June 30,

 

 

Six months ended June 30,

 

 

 

2018

 

 

2017

 

 

2018

 

 

2017

 

U.S. federal statutory rate

 

 

21.0

%

 

 

35.0

%

 

 

21.0

%

 

 

35.0

%

Difference between foreign statutory rate and U.S.

   statutory rate

 

 

1.0

%

 

 

(1.6

)%

 

 

1.2

%

 

 

(1.7

)%

Excess tax benefits recognized on share-based

   compensation

 

 

(0.6

)%

 

 

(1.0

)%

 

 

(1.2

)%

 

 

(2.5

)%

Tax on global intangible low-taxed income under the

   provisions of the Tax Reform Act

 

 

0.9

%

 

 

%

 

 

1.0

%

 

 

%

Updates to the provisional amount recognized for the

   one-time  mandatory deemed repatriation of Canadian

   earnings required by the Tax Reform Act

 

 

%

 

 

%

 

 

(0.9

)%

 

 

%

Other

 

 

1.5

%

 

 

2.1

%

 

 

1.4

%

 

 

1.9

%

Effective tax rate

 

 

23.8

%

 

 

34.5

%

 

 

22.5

%

 

 

32.7

%

Subsequent Events. The Company has evaluated subsequent events for recognition and disclosure for occurrences and transactions after the date of the unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements dated as of June 30, 2018.