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Significant Accounting Policies | 3 Months Ended
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Mar. 31, 2023
Accounting Policies [Abstract] |
Significant Accounting Policies | Significant Accounting Policies Consolidation and Basis of Presentation The accompanying consolidated financial statements of American Equity Investment Life Holding Company ("we", "us", "our" or the "Company") have been prepared in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles ("GAAP") for interim financial information and the instructions to Form 10-Q and Article 10 of Regulation S-X. The consolidated financial statements include variable interest entities (“VIE”) in which we are the primary beneficiary. All of the adjustments in the consolidated financial statements are normal recurring items which are necessary to present fairly our financial position and results of operations on a basis consistent with the prior audited consolidated financial statements. Operating results for the three month period ended March 31, 2023 are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be expected for any other period, including for the year ended December 31, 2023. All significant intercompany accounts and transactions have been eliminated. The preparation of financial statements requires management estimates and assumptions using subjective and complex judgments that frequently require assumptions about matters that are inherently uncertain. Our actual results could differ from these estimates. For further information related to a description of areas of judgment and estimates and other information necessary to understand our financial position and results of operations, refer to the audited consolidated financial statements and notes included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2022. Adopted Accounting Pronouncements Troubled Debt Restructurings and Vintage Disclosures In March 2022, the Financial Accounting Standards Board ("FASB") issued an accounting standards update ("ASU") on troubled debt restructurings ("TDR") and vintage disclosures related to current period gross write-offs and recoveries. This guidance eliminates the accounting guidance for TDRs by creditors and enhances disclosure requirements for certain refinancing and restructuring of loans by creditors when a borrower is experiencing financial difficulty. The guidance also requires companies to disclosure current-period gross write-offs by year of origination for financing receivables and net investments in leases. This ASU was adopted on January 1, 2023 and will be applied prospectively. This guidance did not have a material impact on our consolidated financial statements. Targeted Improvements to the Accounting for Long-Duration Insurance Contracts In August 2018, the FASB issued an ASU that revises certain aspects of the measurement models and disclosure requirements for long duration insurance and investment contracts. The FASB’s objective in issuing this ASU is to improve, simplify, and enhance the accounting for long-duration contracts. The revisions include updating cash flow assumptions in the calculation of the liability for traditional life products, introducing the term ‘market risk benefit’ (“MRB”) and requiring all contract features meeting the definition of an MRB to be measured at fair value with the change in fair value recognized in net income excluding the change in fair value related to our own-credit risk which is recognized in AOCI and simplifying the method used to amortize deferred policy acquisition costs and deferred sales inducements to a constant level basis over the expected term of the related contracts rather than based on actual and estimated gross profits and enhancing disclosure requirements. While this ASU was effective for us January 1, 2023, the transition date (the remeasurement date) was January 1, 2021. We adopted the guidance for the liability for future policyholder benefits, deferred acquisition costs, and deferred sales inducements on a modified retrospective basis such that those balances were adjusted to conform to ASU 2018-12 on January 1, 2021. The guidance for market risk benefits was applied retrospectively. Below are the transition date impacts for each of these items.
| Liability for Future Policy Benefits for Payout Annuity With Life Contingency
| (Dollars in thousands)
Pre-adoption 12/31/2020 balance | $ | 337,467 |
Adjustment to opening retained earnings for expected future policy benefits | 2,566 |
Adjustment for the effect of remeasurement of liability at current single A rate | 68,717 |
Post adoption 1/1/2021 balance | $ | 408,750 |
| Market Risk Benefit Liability
| (Dollars in thousands)
Pre-adoption 12/31/2020 carrying amount for features now classified as MRBs | $ | 2,547,231 |
Adjustment for the removal of shadow adjustments | (584,636) |
Adjustment for the cumulative effect of the changes in the instrument-specific credit risk between the original contract issuance date and the transition date | 229,108 |
Adjustment for the remaining difference between previous carrying amount and fair value measurement for the MRB, exclusive of the instrument specific credit risk | 33,781 |
Post adoption 1/1/2021 MRB balance | $ | 2,225,484 |
| Ceded Market Risk Benefit (a)
| (Dollars in thousands)
Pre-adoption 12/31/2020 carrying amount for features now classified as MRBs | $ | 62,108 |
Adjustment for the difference between previous carrying amount and fair value measurement for the MRB, exclusive of the instrument specific credit risk | 27,230 |
Post adoption 1/1/2021 ceded MRB balance | $ | 89,338 |
(a)The ceded market risk benefit is recognized in coinsurance deposits on the Consolidated Balance Sheets.
| Deferred Policy Acquisition Costs
| Fixed Index Annuities and Fixed Rate Annuities
| (Dollars in thousands)
Pre-adoption 12/31/2020 balance | $ | 2,225,199 |
Adjustments for the removal of shadow adjustments | 1,183,306 |
Post adoption 1/1/2021 balance | $ | 3,408,505 |
| Deferred Sales Inducements
| Fixed Index Annuities and Fixed Rate Annuities
| (Dollars in thousands)
Pre-adoption 12/31/2020 balance | $ | 1,448,375 |
Adjustments for the removal of shadow adjustments | 768,310 |
Post adoption 1/1/2021 balance | $ | 2,216,685 |
For deferred acquisition costs, the Company removed shadow adjustments previously recorded in accumulated other comprehensive income for the impact of unrealized gains and losses that were included in the pre-ASU 2018-12 expected gross profits amortization calculation as of the transition date. As a result of the adoption of ASU 2018-12, the Company decreased beginning retained earnings by $7.2 million and increased accumulated other comprehensive income by $1.8 billion as of January 1, 2021. Certain amounts in the prior years' consolidated financial statements and related footnotes thereto have been recast, to the extent impacted by ASU 2018-12, to conform to the new guidance. Summary of Significant Accounting Policies Market Risk Benefits Market risk benefits (MRBs) are contracts or contract features that both provide protection to the policyholder from other-than-nominal capital market risk and expose the Company to other-than-nominal capital market risk. We issue certain fixed indexed annuity and fixed rate annuity contracts that provide minimum guarantees to policyholders including guaranteed minimum withdrawal benefits (GMWB) and guaranteed minimum death benefits (GMDB) that are MRBs. MRBs are measured at fair value, at the individual contract level, and can be either an asset or a liability. The fair value is calculated using stochastic models that include a risk margin and incorporate a spread for our nonperformance risk. The MRB assets and liabilities are presented separately on the Consolidated Balance Sheets. Changes in fair value of the MRB are recognized in market risk benefits (gains) losses on the Consolidated Statements of Operations each period with the exception of the portion of the change in fair value related to a changes in our nonperformance risk, which is recognized in other comprehensive income (OCI). Contracts which contain more than one MRB feature are combined into one single MRB. Deferred Policy Acquisition Costs (DAC) and Deferred Sales Inducements (DSI) The Company incurs costs in connection with acquiring new and renewal business. The portion of these costs which are incremental and direct to the acquisition of a new or renewal policy are deferred as they are incurred. DAC and DSI are amortized on a constant level basis over the expected term of the contracts using groupings. The grouping are consistent with the grouping used in the estimating of the liability. If the actual experience is different from our expectations, the amortization pattern is adjusted prospectively. Liability for Future Policy Benefits A liability for future policy benefits is recorded for our traditional limited-payment insurance contracts and is generally equal to the present value of expected future policy benefit payments. The present value calculation uses assumptions for mortality, morbidity, termination, and expense. The liability for future policy benefits is discounted using an upper-medium grade fixed-income instrument yield that reflects the duration characteristics of the liabilities. The discount rate is updated each reporting period and any changes resulting from changes in the upper medium grade fixed income instrument yield are recognized in AOCI. Any changes to the liability as a result of assumption changes will be recognized as remeasurement gains (losses) in insurance policy benefits and change in future policy benefits in the Consolidated Statement of Operations. ASU 2018-12 also requires disaggregated roll forwards for the liability for future policy benefits, MRBs, DAC and DSI. We disaggregated the roll forwards by product type consistent with how we internally view our business.

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