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Deferred Policy Acquisition Costs

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2018

Deferred Policy Acquisition Costs Disclosures [Abstract]

Deferred Policy Acquisition Costs

(7) Deferred Policy Acquisition Costs

We defer incremental direct costs of successful contract acquisitions that result directly from and are essential to the contract transaction(s) and that would not have been incurred had the contract transaction(s) not occurred. The amortization of DAC associated with term life insurance policies uses assumptions regarding persistency, expenses, interest rates and mortality consistent with the assumptions used to calculate future policy benefit reserves. These assumptions may not be modified, or unlocked, unless recoverability testing deems them to be inadequate. We update assumptions for new business to reflect the most recent experience. For DAC associated with Canadian segregated funds, the assumptions used in determining amortization expense are evaluated regularly and are updated if actual experience or other evidence suggests revisions to earlier estimates are appropriate.

DAC amortization for term life insurance policies is affected by differences between the original assumptions used for persistency, expenses, interest rates and claims and actual results and are recognized in the period in which the change occurs. For policies underlying the Canadian segregated funds, gross profits and the resulting DAC amortization will vary with actual fund returns, redemptions and expenses. Due to the inherent uncertainties in making assumptions about future events, a materially different experience from expected results could result in a material increase or decrease of DAC amortization in a particular period.

DAC is subject to recoverability testing annually and when impairment indicators exist. The recoverability of DAC is dependent on the future profitability of the related policies, which, in turn, is dependent principally upon mortality, persistency, investment returns, and the expense of administering the business, as well as upon certain economic variables, such as inflation.

The balances and activity in DAC were as follows:

		Year ended December 31,
		2018				2017				2016
		(In thousands)
DAC balance, beginning of period		$	1,951,892			$	1,713,065			$	1,500,259
Capitalization			441,874				433,575				387,396
Amortization			(239,730	)			(209,399	)			(180,582	)
Foreign exchange translation and other			(20,116	)			14,651				5,992
DAC balance, end of period		$	2,133,920			$	1,951,892			$	1,713,065

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- References

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- Definition

The entire disclosure for deferred policy acquisition costs.

+ References

Reference 1: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 944
-SubTopic 30
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/subtopic&trid=4737841

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