COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

Operating Leases

The Company rents laboratory and office space, land, vehicles and certain equipment under non-cancellable operating leases. These lease agreements contain various clauses for renewal at the Company’s option and, in certain cases, rent escalation clauses. Rental expense under these leases amounted to $26.3 million, $21.8 million and $23.4 million in fiscal years 2017, 2016 and 2015, respectively. In addition to rent, the leases may require the Company to pay additional amounts for taxes, insurance, maintenance and other operating expenses.

As of December 30, 2017, minimum rental commitments under non-cancellable leases, net of income from subleases, for each of the next five years and total thereafter were as follows:



	Minimum Lease Payments
	(in thousands)
2018	$	25,361
2019	23,177
2020	20,725
2021	16,480
2022	13,203
Thereafter	45,159
Total	$	144,105

Insurance

The Company maintains certain insurance policies that maintain large deductibles up to approximately $5.0 million, some with or without stop-loss limits, depending on market availability. Insurance policies at certain locations are based on a percentage of the insured assets, for which deductibles for certain property may exceed $5.0 million in the event of a catastrophic event.

Litigation

Various lawsuits, claims and proceedings of a nature considered normal to its business are pending against the Company. While the outcome of any of these proceedings cannot be accurately predicted, the Company does not believe the ultimate resolution of any of these existing matters would have a material adverse effect on the Company’s business or financial condition.

Guarantees

The Company enters into certain agreements with other parties in the ordinary course of business that contain indemnification provisions. These typically include agreements with directors and officers, business partners, contractors, landlords, and customers. Under these provisions, the Company generally indemnifies and holds harmless the indemnified party for losses suffered or incurred by the indemnified party as a result of the Company’s activities. These indemnification provisions generally survive termination of the underlying agreement. The maximum potential amount of future payments the Company could be required to make under these indemnification provisions is unlimited. However, to date the Company has not incurred material costs to defend lawsuits or settle claims related to these indemnification provisions. As a result, the estimated fair value of these obligations is minimal.

Purchase Obligations

The Company enters into unconditional purchase obligations, in the ordinary course of business, that include agreements to purchase goods or services that are enforceable and legally binding and that specify all significant terms including: fixed or minimum quantities to be purchased; fixed, minimum or variable price provisions; and the approximate timing of the transaction. Purchase obligations exclude agreements that are cancellable at any time without penalty. The aggregate amount of the Company’s unconditional purchase obligations totaled $90.3 million as of December 30, 2017.