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Reinsurance and Policy Provisions | 12 Months Ended
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Dec. 31, 2017
Reinsurance Disclosures [Abstract] |
Reinsurance and Policy Provisions | Reinsurance and Policy Provisions Coinsurance We have two coinsurance agreements with EquiTrust Life Insurance Company ("EquiTrust"), covering 70% of certain of American Equity Life's fixed index and fixed rate annuities issued from August 1, 2001 through December 31, 2001, 40% of those contracts issued during 2002 and 2003, and 20% of those contracts issued from January 1, 2004 to July 31, 2004. The business reinsured under these agreements may not be recaptured. Coinsurance deposits (aggregate policy benefit reserves transferred to EquiTrust under these agreements) were $0.6 billion and $0.7 billion at December 31, 2017 and 2016, respectively. We remain liable to policyholders with respect to the policy liabilities ceded to EquiTrust should EquiTrust fail to meet the obligations it has coinsured. None of the coinsurance deposits with EquiTrust are deemed by management to be uncollectible. The balance due under these agreements to EquiTrust was $11.0 million and $9.7 million at December 31, 2017 and 2016, respectively, and represents the fair value of call options held by us to fund index credits related to the ceded business net of cash due to or from EquiTrust related to monthly settlements of policy activity and other expenses. We have three coinsurance agreements with Athene Life Re Ltd. ("Athene"), an unauthorized life reinsurer domiciled in Bermuda. One agreement ceded 20% of certain of American Equity Life's fixed index annuities issued from January 1, 2009 through March 31, 2010. The business reinsured under this agreement is no longer eligible for recapture. The second agreement ceded 80% of American Equity Life's multi-year rate guaranteed annuities issued from July 1, 2009 through December 31, 2013 and 80% of Eagle Life's multi-year rate guaranteed annuities issued from November 20, 2013 through December 31, 2013. The business reinsured under this agreement may not be recaptured. The third agreement cedes 80% of American Equity Life's and Eagle Life's multi-year rate guaranteed annuities issued on or after January 1, 2014, 80% of Eagle Life's fixed index annuities issued prior to January 1, 2017, 50% of Eagle Life's fixed index annuities issued from January 1, 2017 through December 31, 2018 and 80% of certain of American Equity Life's fixed index annuities issued from August 1, 2016 through December 31, 2016. The reinsurance agreement specifies that the coinsurance percentage for Eagle Life's fixed index annuities decreases to 20% for policies issued on or after January 1, 2019. The business reinsured under this agreement may not be recaptured. Coinsurance deposits (aggregate policy benefit reserves transferred to Athene under these agreements) were $4.2 billion and $3.9 billion at December 31, 2017 and 2016, respectively. American Equity Life is an intermediary for reinsurance of Eagle Life's business ceded to Athene. American Equity Life and Eagle Life remain liable to policyholders with respect to the policy liabilities ceded to Athene should Athene fail to meet the obligations it has coinsured. The annuity deposits that have been ceded to Athene are held in trusts and American Equity Life is named as the sole beneficiary of the trusts. The assets in the trusts are required to remain at a value that is sufficient to support the current balance of policy benefit liabilities of the ceded business on a statutory basis. If the value of the trust accounts would ever be less than the amount of the ceded policy benefit liabilities on a statutory basis, Athene is required to either establish a letter of credit or deposit securities in the trusts for the amount of any shortfall. None of the coinsurance deposits with Athene are deemed by management to be uncollectible. The balance due under these agreements to Athene was $79.9 million and $45.8 million at December 31, 2017 and 2016, respectively, and represents the fair value of call options held by us to fund index credits related to the ceded business net of cash due from Athene related to monthly settlements of policy activity. Amounts ceded to EquiTrust and Athene under these agreements are as follows:
| Year Ended December 31,
| 2017 |  | 2016 |  | 2015
| (Dollars in thousands)
Consolidated Statements of Operations |  |  |  |  |
Annuity product charges | $ | 6,458 |  |  | $ | 5,366 |  |  | $ | 5,427 |
Change in fair value of derivatives | 94,382 |  |  | 18,446 |  |  | (14,360 | )
| $ | 100,840 |  |  | $ | 23,812 |  |  | $ | (8,933 | )
Interest sensitive and index product benefits | $ | 177,332 |  |  | $ | 93,487 |  |  | $ | 88,923 |
Change in fair value of embedded derivatives | 35,561 |  |  | 23,848 |  |  | (22,616 | )
Other operating costs and expenses | 19,877 |  |  | 24,039 |  |  | 9,922 |
| $ | 232,770 |  |  | $ | 141,374 |  |  | $ | 76,229 |
Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows |  |  |  |  |
Annuity deposits | $ | (387,280 | ) |  | $ | (1,736,054 | ) |  | $ | (471,822 | )
Cash payments to policyholders | 380,683 |  |  | 418,499 |  |  | 391,045 |
| $ | (6,597 | ) |  | $ | (1,317,555 | ) |  | $ | (80,777 | )
Financing Arrangements We have a reinsurance transaction with Hannover Life Reassurance Company of America ("Hannover"), which is treated as reinsurance under statutory accounting practices and as a financing arrangement under GAAP. The statutory surplus benefit under this agreement is eliminated under GAAP and the associated charges are recorded as risk charges and included in other operating costs and expenses in the consolidated statements of operations. The transaction became effective July 1, 2013 (the "2013 Hannover Transaction"). The 2013 Hannover Transaction, which was amended effective October 1, 2016, is a yearly renewable term reinsurance agreement for statutory purposes covering 45.6% of waived surrender charges related to penalty free withdrawals, deaths and lifetime income benefit rider payments as well as lifetime income benefit rider payments in excess of policy fund values on certain business. We may recapture the risks reinsured under this agreement as of the end of any quarter after December 31, 2020 and the agreement, as amended, makes it punitive to us if we do not recapture the business ceded no later than the first quarter of 2021. The reserve credit recorded on a statutory basis by American Equity Life was $737.3 million and $638.1 million at December 31, 2017 and 2016, respectively. We pay quarterly reinsurance premiums under this agreement with an experience refund calculated on a quarterly basis and a risk charge based on the pretax statutory benefit as of the end of each calendar quarter. Risk charges attributable to the 2013 Hannover Transaction were $28.5 million, $27.7 million, and $21.0 million during 2017, 2016 and 2015, respectively. Indemnity Reinsurance In the normal course of business, we seek to limit our exposure to loss on any single insured and to recover a portion of benefits paid under our annuity, life and accident and health insurance products by ceding reinsurance to other insurance enterprises or reinsurers. Reinsurance contracts do not relieve us of our obligations to our policyholders. To the extent that reinsuring companies are later unable to meet obligations under reinsurance agreements, our life insurance subsidiaries would be liable for these obligations, and payment of these obligations could result in losses to us. To limit the possibility of such losses, we evaluate the financial condition of our reinsurers, and monitor concentrations of credit risk. No allowance for uncollectible amounts has been established against our asset for amounts receivable from other insurance companies as none of the receivables are deemed by management to be uncollectible.

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- Definition The entire disclosure pertaining to the existence, magnitude and information about insurance that has been ceded to or assumed from another insurance company, including the methodologies and assumptions used in determining recorded amounts. + References Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 944 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/topic&trid=2303980 + Details
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