Summary of Significant Accounting Policies (Policies)

6 Months Ended

Jun. 30, 2019

The Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements include the accounts of the Company, its wholly owned subsidiaries and all other subsidiaries over which the Company exerts control. All intercompany profits, transactions and balances have been eliminated in consolidation. As of June 30, 2019, the results of DBMG, GMSL, ANG, ICS, CIG, Genovel, R2, and HC2 Broadcasting have been consolidated into the Company’s results based on guidance from the Financial Accounting Standards Board ("FASB") Accounting Standards Codification ("ASC" 810, Consolidation). The remaining interests not owned by the Company are presented as a noncontrolling interest component of total equity.

Basis of Presentation

The accompanying unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements of the Company included herein have been prepared pursuant to the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"). The financial statements reflect all adjustments that are, in the opinion of management, necessary for a fair statement of such information. All such adjustments are of a normal recurring nature. Certain information and note disclosures, including a description of significant accounting policies normally included in financial statements prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America ("U.S. GAAP"), have been condensed or omitted pursuant to such rules and regulations. Certain prior amounts have been reclassified or combined to conform to the current year presentation. These reclassifications and combinations had no effect on previously reported net loss attributable to controlling interest or accumulated deficit. These interim financial statements should be read in conjunction with the Company’s annual consolidated financial statements and notes thereto included in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2018, filed with the SEC on March 12, 2019. The results of operations for the three and six months ended June 30, 2019 are not necessarily indicative of the results for any subsequent periods or the entire fiscal year ending December 31, 2019.

Use of Estimates and Assumptions

The preparation of the Company’s Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements in conformity with U.S. GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from those estimates and assumptions used.

Accounting Pronouncements Adopted in the Current Year

The Company’s 2018 Form 10-K includes discussion of significant recent accounting pronouncements that either have impacted or may impact our financial statements in the future. The following discussion provides information about recently adopted and recently issued or changed accounting guidance (applicable to the Company ) that have occurred since the Company filed its 2018 Form 10-K. The Company has implemented all new accounting pronouncements that are in effect and that may impact its Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements and does not believe that there are any other new accounting pronouncements that have been issued that might have a material impact on its financial condition, results of operations or liquidity.

Effective January 1, 2019 the Company adopted the accounting pronouncements described below.

Accounting for Leases

ASU 2016-02, Leases, was issued by FASB in February 2016. This standard requires the Company, as the lessee, to recognize most leases on the balance sheet thereby resulting in the recognition of right of use assets and lease obligations for those leases currently classified as operating leases. The standard became effective for the Company on January 1, 2019 and the Company elected the optional transition method as well as the package of practical expedients upon adoption. Upon adoption, the Company recognized right of use ("ROU") assets and lease liabilities in the amount of $67.1 million and $74.1 million, respectively, within Other assets and Other liabilities lines of the Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements, respectively, and utilizing the modified retrospective approach, we evaluated ROU assets for impairment and determined that approximately $5.1 million of newly recognized ROU assets that existed immediately prior to the effective date were impaired. The impairment of ROU assets as of January 1, 2019, was recorded as a reduction to retained earnings and noncontrolling interests.

Accounting Pronouncements to be Adopted Subsequent to December 31, 2019

Credit Loss Standard

ASU 2016-13, Financial Instruments - Credit Losses (Topic 326), Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments, was issued by FASB in June 2016. This standard is effective January 1, 2020 (with early adoption permitted), and will impact, at least to some extent, the Company's accounting and disclosure requirements for it's recoverable from reinsurers, accounts receivable, and mortgage loans. Available for sale fixed maturity securities are not in scope of the new credit loss model, but will undergo targeted improvements to the current reporting model including the establishment of a valuation allowance for credit losses versus the current direct write down approach. The Company will continue to identify any other financial assets not excluded from scope. The Company does not currently expect to early adopt this standard and is currently evaluating the impact of this new accounting guidance on its consolidated financial statements.

Outlined below are key areas of change, although there are other changes not noted below:

Financial assets (or a group of financial assets) measured at amortized cost will be required to be presented at the net amount expected to be collected, with an allowance for credit losses deducted from the amortized cost basis, resulting in a net carrying value that reflects the amount the entity expects to collect on the financial asset at purchase.

Credit losses relating to available for sale fixed maturity securities will be recorded through an allowance for credit losses, rather than reductions in the amortized cost of the securities and is anticipated to increase volatility in the Company's Consolidated Statements of Operations. The allowance methodology recognizes that value may be realized either through collection of contractual cash flows or through the sale of the security. Therefore, the amount of the allowance for credit losses will be limited to the amount by which fair value is below amortized cost because the classification as available for sale is premised on an investment strategy that recognizes that the investment could be sold at fair value, if cash collection would result in the realization of an amount less than fair value.

The Company's Consolidated Statements of Operations will reflect the measurement of expected credit losses for newly recognized financial assets as well as the expected increases or decreases (including the reversal of previously recognized losses) of expected credit losses that have taken place during the period. The measurement of expected credit losses is based on relevant information about past events, including historical experience, current conditions, and reasonable and supportable forecasts that affect the collectability of the reported amount.

Disclosures will be required to include information around how the credit loss allowance was developed, further details on information currently disclosed about credit quality of financing receivables and net investments in leases, and a rollforward of the allowance for credit losses for available for sale fixed maturity securities as well as an aging analysis for securities that are past due.

The Company anticipates a significant impact on the systems, processes and controls. While the requirements of the new guidance represent a material change from existing GAAP, the underlying economics of items in scope and related cash flows are unchanged. Currently, the Company continues to focus on developing models and procedures, with testing and refinement of models occurring in the second half of the year 2019. Focus areas will include, but not be limited to: (i) updating procedures to reflect new guidance requiring establishment of allowance for credit losses on available for sale debt securities; (ii) establishing procedures to review reinsurance risk to include but not limited to review of reinsurer ratings, trust agreements where applicable and historical and current performance; (iii) establishing procedures to identify and review all remaining financial assets within scope; and (iv) developing, testing, and implementing controls for newly developed procedures, as well as for additional annual reporting requirements.

Long-Duration Contracts

ASU 2018-12, Financial Services - Insurance (Topic 944): Targeted Improvements to the Accounting for Long-Duration Contracts, was issued by the FASB in August 2018 and is expected to have a significant impact on the Company’s Consolidated Financial Statements and Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements. The standard is effective January 1, 2021 (with early adoption permitted), and will impact, at least to some extent, Company's accounting and disclosure requirements for it's long-duration insurance contracts. The Company does not currently expect to early adopt this standard and is currently evaluating the impact of this new accounting guidance on its consolidated financial statements.

Outlined below are key areas of change, although there are other changes not noted below:

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Cash flow assumptions must be reviewed at least annually and updated if necessary. The impact of these updates will be reported through net income. Current accounting policy requires the liability assumptions for long-duration contracts and limited payment contracts be locked in at contract inception, unless the contracts project a loss position which would allow the liability assumptions to be unlocked so that the loss could be recognized.

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The rate used to discount the liability projections is to be based on an A-rated asset with observable market inputs and duration consistent with the duration of the liabilities. The discount rate is to be updated quarterly with the impact of the change in the discount rate recognized through other comprehensive income. Current accounting policy allows the use of an expected investment yield (which is not required to be observable in the market) to discount the liability projections.

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Deferred acquisition costs for long-duration contracts are to be amortized in proportion to premiums, gross profits, or gross margins and those balances must be amortized on a constant-level basis over the expected life of the contract. Current accounting policy would amortize deferred acquisition costs based on revenue and profits. The Company does not have any deferred acquisition costs but VOBA amortization will follow this new guidance.

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Market risk benefits are to be measured at fair value and presented separately in the statement of financial position. Under current accounting policy benefit features that will meet the definition of market risk benefits are accounted for as embedded derivatives or insurance liabilities via the benefit ratio model. The Company does not have any benefit features that will be categorized as market risk benefits.


•	Disaggregated rollforwards of beginning to ending balances of the liability for future policy benefits, policyholder account balances, VOBA, as well as information about significant inputs, judgments, assumptions, and methods used in measurement are required to be disclosed.

The Company anticipates that the requirement to update assumptions for liability for future policy benefits will increase volatility in the Company's Consolidated Statements of Operations while the requirement to update the discount rate will increase volatility in the Company's Consolidated Statements of Stockholders' Equity. The Company anticipates a significant impact on the systems, processes and controls. While the requirements of the new guidance represent a material change from existing GAAP, the underlying economics of the Company's Insurance segment and related cash flows are unchanged.

Currently, the Company plans to focus on developing models and procedures in 2019 with testing and refinement of models occurring in 2020. Focus areas will include, but not be limited to: (i) determining an appropriate upper-medium grade fixed income instrument yield source from the market; (ii) establishing appropriate aggregation of liabilities; (iii) establishing liability models for each contract grouping identified that may be quickly updated to reflect current inforce listing and new discount rates on a quarterly basis; (iv) establishing appropriate best estimate assumptions with no provision for adverse deviation; (v) establishing procedures for annual review of assumptions including tracking of actual experience for enhanced reporting requirements; (vi) establishing new VOBA amortization that will align with new guidance for DAC amortization; and (vii) developing, testing, and implementing controls for newly developed procedures, as well as for additional annual reporting requirements.

Subsequent Events

ASC 855, Subsequent Events requires the Company to evaluate events that occur after the balance sheet date as of which the financial statements are issued, and to determine whether adjustments to or additional disclosures in the financial statements are necessary.