13.

New Accounting Pronouncements

Accounting Standards Adopted in 2018

In March, 2018, the FASB issued new accounting guidance whereby the SEC provided clarification to address any uncertainty or diversity of views in practice related to the application of ASC Topic 740, Income Taxes, in situations where a registrant does not have the necessary information available, prepared, or analyzed (including computations) in reasonable detail to complete the accounting under Account Standards Codification (“ASC”) Topic 740 for certain income tax effects of the TCJA for the reporting period in which the Act was enacted. This guidance is effective immediately. Accordingly, provisional estimates were recorded based on the Company’s initial analysis and current interpretation of the legislation and disclosed in the notes above. The adoption of this new accounting guidance did not have a material impact to the Company’s financial condition, results of operation, or cash flows.

In February, 2018, the FASB issued new accounting guidance which allows a reclassification from accumulated other comprehensive income to retained earnings for stranded tax effects resulting from the TCJA. The amendments in this Update also require certain disclosures related to stranded tax effects. The guidance is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2018 and interim periods within those fiscal years. The Company early adopted the provisions of this new guidance on January 1, 2018 and made an election to reclassify, in its entirety, all stranded tax effects related to TCJA. As a result, the Company recorded a cumulative effect adjustment of $0.1 million which was reclassified from accumulated other comprehensive income to retained earnings. The adoption of this new accounting guidance did not have a material impact to the Company’s financial condition, results of operation, or cash flows.

In May, 2017, the FASB issued updated accounting guidance which clarified whether changes to the terms or conditions of a share-based payment award require an entity to apply modification accounting. This guidance is effective for all entities for annual periods, and interim periods within those annual periods, beginning after December 15, 2017. The Company adopted this guidance during the first quarter of 2018. The provisions of this guidance were adopted on a prospective basis. As a result of adopting this guidance, stock based compensation was reduced by $0.3 million during the quarter ended March 31, 2018. The adjustment was due to the Company entering into an Employment Agreement with its Chief Executive Officer which modified the vesting schedule on 300,000 options issued in 2014. The Company did not record a cumulative effect adjustment to shareholders’ equity as a result of adopting this guidance and the adoption of this new accounting guidance did not have a material impact to the Company’s financial condition, results of operation, or cash flows.

In October, 2016, the FASB issued new accounting guidance regarding intra-entity transfers of assets other than inventory. Prior to adoption, the tax effects of intra-entity asset transfers (intercompany sales) were deferred until the transferred asset was sold to a third party or otherwise recovered through use. This is an exception to the principle in ASC 740, Income Taxes, that generally requires comprehensive recognition of current and deferred income taxes. The new guidance eliminates the exception for all intra-entity sales of assets other than inventory. As a result, a reporting entity would recognize the tax expense from the sale of the asset in the seller’s tax jurisdiction when the transfer occurs, even though the pre-tax effects of that transaction are eliminated in consolidation. Any deferred tax asset that arises in the buyer’s jurisdiction would also be recognized at the time of the transfer. Upon adoption on January 1, 2018, the Company applied the provisions of this guidance on a modified retrospective basis resulting in a cumulative-effect adjustment which increased retained earnings by $0.2 million. The adoption of this new accounting guidance did not have a material impact to the Company’s financial condition, results of operation, or cash flows.

In August, 2016, the FASB issued new accounting guidance regarding the classification of certain cash receipts and cash payments within the statements of cash flows. The new guidance addresses eight specific cash flow issues with the objective of reducing the existing diversity in practice. This guidance is effective for public business entities for fiscal periods beginning after December 15, 2017, and interim periods within those fiscal years. Upon adoption on January 1, 2018, the Company made an accounting policy election to use the cumulative earnings approach for presenting distributions received from equity method investees. Under this approach, distributions up to the amount of cumulative equity in earnings recognized will be treated as returns on investment and presented in operating activities and those in excess of that amount will be treated as returns of investment and presented in the investing section. Prior to adoption, all distributions received from equity method investees were presented in the investing section of the consolidated statements of cash flows. The other cash flow issues addressed by the new guidance did not impact the Company. The provisions of this accounting guidance were adopted on a retrospective basis. The adoption of this new accounting guidance did not have a material impact to the Company’s financial condition, results of operation, or cash flows.

In January, 2016, the FASB issued new accounting guidance surrounding the accounting for financial instruments. The new guidance addresses certain aspects of recognition, measurement, presentation, and disclosure of financial instruments. In particular, the guidance requires equity investments, except for those accounted for under the equity method of accounting or those that result in consolidation of the investee, to be measured at fair value with the changes in fair value recognized in net income. It also simplifies the impairment assessment of equity investments without readily determinable fair values by requiring a qualitative assessment to identify impairment. This guidance is effective for public business entities for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2017, including interim periods within those fiscal years. Upon adoption on January 1, 2018, the Company recorded a cumulative effect adjustment, net of tax, of $10.0 million which reduced accumulated other comprehensive income and increased retained earnings. During the quarter ended March 31, 2018, net realized investment gains (losses) included a loss of $4.9 million related to the change in the fair value of equity investments in accordance with this new accounting guidance.

In May, 2014, the FASB issued new accounting guidance regarding the recognition of revenue from customers arising from the transfer of goods and services. The core principle of the guidance is that an entity should recognize revenue to depict the transfer of promised goods or services to customers in an amount that reflects the consideration to which the entity expects to be entitled in exchange for those goods or services. This guidance is effective for public business entities for annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2017, including interim periods within that reporting period. The Company adopted the standard and all related amendments using the modified retrospective method. Long and short duration insurance contracts, which comprise the majority of the Company’s revenues, are excluded from this accounting guidance. As such, revenue within the scope of the new guidance primarily includes fee income. The adoption of this new accounting guidance did not have a material impact to the Company’s financial condition, results of operation, or cash flows. There were no material changes in the timing or measurement of revenues based upon the guidance. As a result, there is no cumulative effect on retained earnings.

Recently Issued Accounting Guidance Not Yet Adopted

Please see Note 22 of the notes to the consolidated financial statements in Item 8 Part II of the Company’s 2017 Annual Report on Form 10-K for more information on accounting pronouncements issued in 2017 which have not been implemented in 2018.