Commitments and Contingencies

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2016

Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]

Contractual Obligations

The table below summarizes the Company’s contractual obligations by period that payments are due:



	As of September 30, 2016
	Less than one year		1-3 years		3-5 years		More than 5 years		Total
Operating lease obligations ⁽¹⁾	$	13,073	$	6,835	$	5,178	$	3,249	$	28,335
Total	$	13,073	$	6,835	$	5,178	$	3,249	$	28,335


(1)	Minimum rental obligations for Tiptree, Care, MFCA, Siena, Luxury, Reliance and Fortegra office leases. For the three months ended September 30, 2016 and 2015, rent expense for the Company’s office leases were $1,630 and $1,721, respectively. For the nine months ended September 30, 2016 and 2015, rent expense for the Company’s office leases were $4,820 and $4,108, respectively.

In addition, Tiptree’s subsidiary Siena issues standby letters of credit for credit enhancements that are required by its borrower’s respective businesses. As of September 30, 2016, there was $400 outstanding relating to these letters of credit.

Litigation

Fortegra is a defendant in Mullins v. Southern Financial Life Insurance Co., which was filed in February 2006, in the Pike Circuit Court, in the Commonwealth of Kentucky. A class was certified on June 25, 2010. At issue is the duration or term of coverage under certain policies. The action alleges violations of the Consumer Protection Act and certain insurance statutes, as well as common law fraud. The action seeks compensatory and punitive damages, attorney fees and interest. Plaintiffs filed a Motion for Sanctions on April 5, 2012 in connection with Fortegra's efforts to locate and gather certificates and other documents from Fortegra's agents. The court did not award sanctions and Fortegra has retained a special master to facilitate the collection of certificates and other documents from Fortegra's agents. In January 2015, the trial court issued an Order denying Fortegra’s motion to decertify the class, which was upheld on appeal. In June 2016, the court established a briefing schedule for Fortegra’s Motion for Summary Judgment, which was filed in June 2015. No trial or hearings are currently scheduled.

Tiptree considers such litigation customary in the insurance industry. In management's opinion, based on information available at this time, the ultimate resolution of such litigation, which it is vigorously defending, should not be materially adverse to the financial position of Tiptree. It should be noted that large punitive damage awards, bearing little relation to actual damages sustained by plaintiffs, have been awarded in certain states against other companies in the credit insurance business. At this time, the Company cannot estimate a range of loss that is reasonably possible.

Tiptree and its subsidiaries are parties to other legal proceedings in the ordinary course of business. Although Tiptree’s legal and financial liability with respect to such proceedings cannot be estimated with certainty, Tiptree does not believe that these proceedings, either individually or in the aggregate, are likely to have a material adverse effect on Tiptree’s financial position.