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Variable Interest Entities | 12 Months Ended
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Dec. 31, 2023
Variable Interest Entity, Not Primary Beneficiary, Disclosures [Abstract] |
Variable Interest Entities | Variable Interest Entities Under GAAP, White Mountains is required to consolidate any entity in which it holds a controlling financial interest. A controlling financial interest is usually in the form of an investment representing the majority of the subsidiary’s voting interests. However, a controlling financial interest may also arise from a financial interest in a VIE through arrangements that do not involve ownership of voting interests. A VIE is a legal entity that (i) does not have sufficient equity at risk to finance its activities without additional financial support; (ii) is structured such that equity investors, as a group, lack the power, through voting or similar rights, to direct the activities that most significantly impact the entity’s economic performance; (iii) is structured such that the equity investors lack the obligation to absorb losses of, or the right to receive returns from, the entity; or (iv) is structured with non-substantive voting rights. White Mountains determines whether an entity is a VIE at the inception of its variable interest in the entity and upon the occurrence of certain reconsideration events. White Mountains consolidates a VIE if it determines that it is the primary beneficiary. The primary beneficiary is defined as the entity that holds a variable interest that gives it both the power to direct the VIE’s activities that most significantly impact its economic performance and the obligation to absorb losses of, or the right to receive returns from, the VIE that could potentially be significant to the VIE. The identification of the primary beneficiary of a VIE may require significant assumptions and judgment. When White Mountains determines it has a variable interest in a VIE, it determines whether it is the primary beneficiary of that VIE by performing an analysis that principally considers: (i) the VIE’s purpose and design, including the risks the VIE was designed to create and pass through to its variable interest holders; (ii) the VIE’s capital structure; (iii) the identification of the activities that most significantly impact the VIE’s economic performance; (iv) the governance provisions and other contractual arrangements between the VIE and its variable interest holders and other parties involved with the VIE; and (v) related party relationships. At inception of its variable interest in the VIE as well as on an ongoing basis, White Mountains performs qualitative assessments of its VIEs to determine whether White Mountains is the primary beneficiary of a VIE. BAM BAM is the first and only mutual municipal bond insurance company in the United States. HG Global, together with its subsidiaries, funded the initial capitalization of BAM through the purchase of $503.0 million of the BAM Surplus Notes and, through its reinsurance subsidiary HG Re, provides up to 15%-of-par, first loss reinsurance protection for policies underwritten by BAM. As a mutual insurance company, BAM is owned by and operated for the benefit of its members, the municipalities that purchase BAM’s insurance for their debt issuances. As of December 31, 2023, BAM’s members have contributed equity capital at risk through MSC of $545.2 million. However, the BAM Surplus Notes remain a significant portion of BAM’s statutory capital. Accordingly, White Mountains has determined that BAM is a VIE. BAM’s underwriting process was determined to be the activity that most significantly impacts BAM’s economic performance. BAM’s underwriting guidelines define the types of credits that BAM may insure. Pursuant to the FLRT, BAM’s underwriting guidelines may only be amended with the consent of HG Re. As a result, White Mountains concluded it has the power to direct BAM’s activities that most significantly impact its economic performance and it is the primary beneficiary. Accordingly, White Mountains is required to consolidate BAM’s results in its financial statements. Since BAM is owned by its members, its equity and results of operations are included in noncontrolling interests. BAM’s assets can be used only to settle BAM’s obligations, and general creditors of BAM have no recourse to the Company or HG Global. HG Re’s obligations to BAM under the FLRT are subject to an aggregate limit equal to the assets in the Collateral Trusts at any point in time. WM Outrigger Re White Mountains has determined that Outrigger Re Ltd. and WM Outrigger Re are VIEs. White Mountains is not the primary beneficiary of Outrigger Re Ltd. or the other segregated accounts. White Mountains is the primary beneficiary of WM Outrigger Re, as it has both the power to direct the activities that most significantly impact WM Outrigger Re’s economic performance and the obligation to absorb losses and the right to receive returns that could potentially be significant to WM Outrigger Re. As a result, White Mountains consolidates WM Outrigger Re’s results in its financial statements. The assets of WM Outrigger Re can only be used to settle the liabilities of WM Outrigger Re, and there is no recourse to the Company for any creditors of WM Outrigger Re. PassportCard/DavidShield As of December 31, 2023, White Mountains’s ownership interest in PassportCard/DavidShield was 53.8%. White Mountains has determined that both PassportCard and DavidShield are VIEs but that White Mountains is not the primary beneficiary and therefore does not consolidate either PassportCard or DavidShield. The governance structures for both PassportCard and DavidShield were designed to give White Mountains and its co-investor equal power to make the decisions that most significantly impact operations. White Mountains does not have the unilateral power to direct the operations of PassportCard or DavidShield and does not hold a controlling financial interest. White Mountains’s ownership interest gives White Mountains the ability to exert significant influence over the significant financial and operating activities of PassportCard/DavidShield. Accordingly, White Mountains’s investment in PassportCard/DavidShield meets the criteria to be accounted for under the equity method. White Mountains has taken the fair value option for its investment in PassportCard/DavidShield. Changes in the fair value of PassportCard/DavidShield are recorded in net realized and unrealized investment gains (losses). As of December 31, 2023, White Mountains’s maximum exposure to loss on its equity investment in PassportCard/DavidShield and the non-interest-bearing loan to its partner is the total carrying value of $159.6 million. Elementum As of December 31, 2023, White Mountains’s ownership interest in Elementum was 26.6%. White Mountains has determined that Elementum is a VIE but that White Mountains is not the primary beneficiary and therefore does not consolidate Elementum. White Mountains’s ownership interest gives White Mountains the ability to exert significant influence over the significant financial and operating activities of Elementum. Accordingly, Elementum meets the criteria to be accounted for under the equity method. White Mountains has taken the fair value option for its investment in Elementum. Changes in the fair value of Elementum are recorded in net realized and unrealized investment gains (losses). As of December 31, 2023, White Mountains’s maximum exposure to loss on its limited partnership interest in Elementum is the carrying value of $35.0 million. Limited Partnerships White Mountains’s investments in limited partnerships are generally considered VIEs because the limited partnership interests do not have substantive kick-out rights or participating rights. White Mountains does not have the unilateral power to direct the operations of these limited partnerships, and therefore White Mountains is not the primary beneficiary and does not consolidate the limited partnerships. White Mountains has taken the fair value option for its investments in limited partnerships, which are generally measured at NAV as a practical expedient. As of December 31, 2023, White Mountains’s maximum exposure to loss on its investments in limited partnerships is the carrying value of $248.6 million.

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- Definition The entire disclosure for a variable interest entity (VIE), including but not limited to, judgments and assumptions in determining whether to consolidate and in identifying the primary beneficiary, gain (loss) recognized on the initial consolidation of the VIE, terms of arrangements, amounts and classification of the VIE's assets and liabilities, and the entity's maximum exposure to loss. + References Reference 1: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef -Topic 810 -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Publisher FASB -URI https://asc.fasb.org//810/tableOfContent + Details
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