Allowance for Credit Losses on Premiums Receivable (Notes)

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2022

Allowance for Credit Losses on Premiums Receivable Note [Text Block]

Premiums Receivable

The following table provides a roll forward of the allowance for credit losses on our premiums receivable balance for the indicated periods:


	Quarter ended September 30,				Nine Months ended September 30,
($ in thousands)	2022		2021		2022		2021
Balance at beginning of period	$	14,900	$	18,300	$	13,600	$	21,000


Current period change for expected credit losses	2,250		180		4,335		1,721

Write-offs charged against the allowance for credit losses	(2,349)		(2,154)		(3,787)		(6,554)
Recoveries	399		174		1,052		333
Allowance for credit losses, end of period	$	15,200	$	16,500	$	15,200	$	16,500

In Third Quarter 2022, we recognized an additional allowance for credit losses on premiums receivable of $2.6 million, excluding the impact of write-offs. The additional allowance consisted of a reserve of $2.7 million on 2022 premiums based on our historical write-off percentages and assumptions, partially offset by a $0.1 million allowance reduction on 2021 and older policies.

In Nine Months 2022, we recognized an additional allowance for credit losses on premiums receivable of $5.4 million, excluding the impact of write-offs. The additional allowance consisted of a reserve of $7.0 million on 2022 premiums based on our historical write-off percentages and assumptions, partially offset by a $1.6 million allowance reduction on 2021 and older policies, primarily impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, for which the credit loss did not fully materialize.

In Third Quarter 2021, we recognized expected credit losses, excluding the impact of write-offs, of $1.2 million on 2021 policies based on our historical write-off percentages and assumptions, partially offset by a $0.8 million allowance reduction on older policies. In Nine Months 2021, we recognized expected credit losses, excluding the impact of write-offs, of $6.3 million on 2021 policies based on our historical write-off percentages and assumptions, partially offset by a $4.2 million allowance reduction on older policies.

For a discussion of the methodology used to evaluate our estimate of expected credit losses on premiums receivable, refer to Note 2. "Summary of Significant Accounting Policies" in Item 8. "Financial Statements and Supplementary Data." of our 2021 Annual Report.