XML 52 R34.htm IDEA: XBRL DOCUMENT
v3.23.1

Background and Business Description - Additional Information (Details) | 3 Months Ended
--- | ---
Mar. 31, 2023 level3FinancialInstruments USD ($)
Background And Basis Of Presentation [Line Items] |
Entity Incorporation, Date of Incorporation | Apr. 29, 1991
Number of Admitted Carriers Owned | $ | 5
Number of Reportable Segments | level3FinancialInstruments | 3
Background and Business Description | 1. BACKGROUND AND BUSINESS DESCRIPTION The following description provides an update of Note 1. Background and Business Description in the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements included in Part II, Item 8 in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2022, and should be read in conjunction with the complete descriptions provided in the Form 10-K. Capitalized terms used, but not defined herein, and in the other footnotes to the Consolidated Financial Statements included in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q shall have the meanings ascribed thereto in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2022. Ambac Financial Group, Inc. (“AFG”), headquartered in New York City, is a financial services holding company incorporated in the state of Delaware on April 29, 1991. References to “Ambac,” the “Company,” “we,” “our,” and “us” are to AFG and its subsidiaries, as the context requires. Ambac's business operations include: •Legacy Financial Guarantee Insurance — Ambac's financial guarantee business includes the activities of Ambac Assurance Corporation ("AAC") and its wholly owned subsidiaries, including Ambac Assurance UK Limited (“Ambac UK”) and Ambac Financial Services LLC ("AFS"). Both AAC and Ambac UK (the "Legacy Financial Guarantee Companies") have financial guarantee insurance portfolios that have been in runoff since 2008. AFS uses derivatives to hedge interest rate risk in AAC's insurance and investment portfolios. •Specialty Property & Casualty Insurance — Ambac's Specialty Property & Casualty Insurance program business. Currently includes five admitted carriers and an excess and surplus lines (“E&S” or “nonadmitted”) insurer (collectively, “Everspan”). Everspan carriers have an AM Best rating of 'A-' (Excellent). •Insurance Distribution — Ambac's specialty property and casualty ("P&C") insurance distribution business, which could include Managing General Agents and Underwriters (collectively "MGAs"), insurance brokers, and other distribution businesses; currently includes Xchange Benefits, LLC (“Xchange”) a P&C MGA specializing in accident and health products; All Trans Risk Solutions, LLC ("All Trans"), an MGA specializing in commercial automobile insurance for specific "for-hire" auto clauses; and Capacity Marine Corporation ("Capacity Marine"), a wholesale and retail brokerage and reinsurance intermediary specializing in marine and international risk. The Company reports these three business operations as segments; see Note 3. Segment Information for further information. Strategies to Enhance Shareholder Value The Company's primary goal is to maximize long-term shareholder value through the execution of targeted strategies for its (i) Specialty Property and Casualty Insurance and Insurance Distribution businesses and (ii) Legacy Financial Guarantee Insurance business. Specialty Property and Casualty Insurance and Insurance Distribution strategic priorities include: •Growing a Specialty Property and Casualty Insurance business which generates underwriting profits and an attractive return on capital from a diversified portfolio of commercial and personal liability risks accessed through program administrators. •Building an Insurance Distribution business based on deep domain knowledge in specialty and niche classes of risk which generate attractive margins at scale. This will be achieved through acquisitions, new business “de-novo” formation and incubation, and product expansion supported by a centralized technology led shared services offering. •Making opportunistic investments that are strategic to both the Specialty Property and Casualty Insurance and Insurance Distribution businesses. Legacy Financial Guarantee Insurance strategic priorities include: •Actively managing, de-risking and mitigating insured portfolio risk, and pursuing recovery of previously paid losses. •Improving operating efficiency and optimizing our asset and liability profile. •Exploring strategic options to further maximize value for AFG. The execution of Ambac’s strategy to increase the value of its investment in AAC is subject to the restrictions set forth in the Settlement Agreement, dated as of June 7, 2010, as amended (the "Settlement Agreement"), by and among AAC, Ambac Credit Products LLC ("ACP"), AFG and certain counterparties to credit default swaps with ACP that were guaranteed by AAC, as well as the Stipulation and Order among the Office of the Commissioner of Insurance for the State of Wisconsin (“OCI”), AFG and AAC that became effective on February 12, 2018, as amended (the “Stipulation and Order”), each of which requires OCI and, under certain circumstances, holders of surplus notes, to approve certain actions taken by or in respect of AAC. In exercising its approval rights, OCI will act for the benefit of policyholders, and will not take into account the interests of AFG. The Settlement Agreement limits certain activities of AAC and its subsidiaries, such as issuing indebtedness; engaging in mergers and similar transactions; disposing of assets; making restricted payments; creating or permitting liens; engaging in transactions with affiliates; modifying or creating tax sharing agreements; and taking certain actions with respect to surplus notes (among other restrictions and limitations). The Settlement Agreement includes certain allowances with respect to these activities and generally requires the approval of OCI and, in some cases, holders of surplus notes issued pursuant to the Settlement Agreement, for consents, waivers or amendments. The Stipulation and Order includes affirmative covenants, as well as restrictions on certain business activities and transactions, of AFG and AAC. The Stipulation and Order has no fixed term and may be terminated or modified only with the approval of OCI. OCI reserved the right to modify or terminate the Stipulation and Order in a manner consistent with the interests of policyholders, creditors and the public generally. The execution of Ambac’s strategy to increase the value of its investment in AAC may also be affected by a new capital framework being developed by OCI ("OCI's Runoff Capital Framework") to assist OCI with making decisions related to capital and liquidity management at AAC. OCI's Runoff Capital Framework is not yet complete and therefore we are not able to predict the results of such and what it may mean for our Legacy Financial Guarantee strategy, particularly as it relates to deleveraging AAC and distributing capital to AFG. Opportunities for remediating losses on poorly performing insured transactions also depend on market conditions, including the perception of AAC’s creditworthiness, the structure of the underlying risk and associated policy as well as other counterparty specific factors. AAC's ability to commute policies or purchase certain investments may also be limited by available liquidity.

X
- Definition Background And Basis Of Presentation [Line Items] + References No definition available. + Details
Name: | ambc_BackgroundAndBasisOfPresentationLineItems
Namespace Prefix: | ambc_
Data Type: | xbrli:stringItemType
Balance Type: | na
Period Type: | duration

X
- Definition Number of Admitted Carriers Owned + References No definition available. + Details
Name: | ambc_NumberOfAdmittedCarriersOwned
Namespace Prefix: | ambc_
Data Type: | xbrli:integerItemType
Balance Type: | na
Period Type: | instant

X
- Definition Date when an entity was incorporated + References No definition available. + Details
Name: | dei_EntityIncorporationDateOfIncorporation
Namespace Prefix: | dei_
Data Type: | xbrli:dateItemType
Balance Type: | na
Period Type: | duration

X
- Definition The entire disclosure for the business description and basis of presentation concepts. Business description describes the nature and type of organization including but not limited to organizational structure as may be applicable to holding companies, parent and subsidiary relationships, business divisions, business units, business segments, affiliates and information about significant ownership of the reporting entity. Basis of presentation describes the underlying basis used to prepare the financial statements (for example, US Generally Accepted Accounting Principles, Other Comprehensive Basis of Accounting, IFRS). + References Reference 1: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 235 -URI https://asc.fasb.org/topic&trid=2122369 Reference 2: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 205 -URI https://asc.fasb.org/topic&trid=2122149 Reference 3: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 275 -URI https://asc.fasb.org/topic&trid=2134479 + Details
Name: | us-gaap_BusinessDescriptionAndBasisOfPresentationTextBlock
Namespace Prefix: | us-gaap_
Data Type: | dtr-types:textBlockItemType
Balance Type: | na
Period Type: | duration

X
- Definition Number of segments reported by the entity. A reportable segment is a component of an entity for which there is an accounting requirement to report separate financial information on that component in the entity's financial statements. + References Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2009/role/commonPracticeRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 280 -SubTopic 10 -Section 50 -Paragraph 18 -URI https://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=126901519&loc=d3e8672-108599 + Details
Name: | us-gaap_NumberOfReportableSegments
Namespace Prefix: | us-gaap_
Data Type: | xbrli:integerItemType
Balance Type: | na
Period Type: | duration