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EXCEL - IDEA: XBRL DOCUMENT - TRANSAMERICA ADVISORS LIFE INSURANCE Co OF NEW YORKFinancial_Report.xls
EX-31.2 - EXHIBIT 31.2 - TRANSAMERICA ADVISORS LIFE INSURANCE Co OF NEW YORKd266943dex312.htm
EX-31.1 - EXHIBIT 31.1 - TRANSAMERICA ADVISORS LIFE INSURANCE Co OF NEW YORKd266943dex311.htm
EX-32.1 - EXHIBIT 32.1 - TRANSAMERICA ADVISORS LIFE INSURANCE Co OF NEW YORKd266943dex321.htm
EX-32.2 - EXHIBIT 32.2 - TRANSAMERICA ADVISORS LIFE INSURANCE Co OF NEW YORKd266943dex322.htm

 

 

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

 

 

FORM 10-K

ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d)

OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2011

Commission File Nos. 33-34562; 33-60288; 333-48983; 333-133224

 

 

TRANSAMERICA ADVISORS LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY OF NEW YORK

(Exact name of Registrant as specified in its charter)

 

New York   16-1020455

(State or other jurisdiction of

incorporation or organization)

 

(I.R.S. Employer

Identification No.)

440 Mamaroneck Avenue

Harrison, NY 10528

(Address of Principal Executive Offices)

1-800-333-6524

(Registrant’s telephone no. including area code)

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) or 12(g) of the Act:

None

 

 

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act.    ¨  Yes    x  No

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Act.    ¨  Yes    x  No

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days.    x  Yes    ¨  No

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically and posted on its corporate Web site, if any, every Interactive Data File required to be submitted and posted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§ 232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit and post such files).    x  Yes    ¨  No

Indicate by check mark if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405 of Regulation S-K is not contained herein, and will not be contained, to the best of registrant’s knowledge, in definitive proxy or information statements incorporated by reference in Part III of this Form 10-K or any amendment to this Form 10-K.  x

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, or a smaller reporting company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer” and “smaller reporting company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

 

large accelerated filer   ¨    accelerated filer   ¨
non-accelerated filer   x    smaller reporting company   ¨

Indicated by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Act).    ¨  Yes    x  No

State the aggregate market value of the voting and non-voting common equity held by non-affiliates computed by reference to the price at which the common equity was last sold, or the average bid and asked price of such common equity, as of the last business day of the registrant’s most recently completed second fiscal quarter: Not applicable.

Indicate the number of shares outstanding of each of the registrant’s classes of common stock, as of the latest practicable date.

220,000

REGISTRANT MEETS THE CONDITIONS SET FORTH IN GENERAL INSTRUCTION I(1)(a) AND (b) OF FORM 10-K AND IS THEREFORE FILING THIS FORM WITH THE REDUCED DISCLOSURE FORMAT.

 

 

 


PART I

The “Business” section and other parts of this Form 10-K contain forward-looking statements that involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Statements that are not historical facts, including statements about our beliefs and expectations, and containing words such as “believe”, “estimate”, “anticipate”, “expect”, or similar words are forward-looking statements. Our actual results may differ materially from the projected results discussed in the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause such differences include but are not limited to, those discussed in “Part 1 – Item 1A. Risk Factors” and in the “Forward-Looking Statements – Cautionary Language” in Part II – Item. 7. Management’s Narrative Analysis of Results of Operations” of the Form 10-K. Our financial statements and the accompanying notes to the financial statements are presented in “Part II – Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data.”

Item 1. Business

Transamerica Advisors Life Insurance Company of New York (“TALICNY”, “Registrant”, the “Company”, “we”, “our”, or “us”) is a wholly owned subsidiary of AEGON USA, LLC (“AUSA”). AUSA is an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of AEGON N.V., a limited liability share company organized under Dutch law. AEGON N.V. and its subsidiaries and joint ventures have life insurance and pension operations in over twenty countries in Europe, the Americas, and Asia and are also active in savings and investment operations, accident and health insurance, general insurance and limited banking operations in a number of these countries. Prior to December 28, 2007, the Company was an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc. (“ML&Co”).

The Registrant is a life insurance company, who conducts its business primarily in the annuity markets and to a lesser extent in the life insurance markets of the financial services industry. The Registrant was incorporated in 1973 under the laws of the State of New York. The Registrant is currently subject to primary regulation by the New York State Insurance Department.

The Registrant is currently licensed to conduct business in nine states. During 2011, life insurance and/or annuity deposits on existing policies were primarily received in New York, 56% and Florida, 42%. Currently, the Company is not issuing new life insurance, variable annuity and market value adjusted annuity products.

The Registrant makes available, free of charge, annual reports on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, and current reports on Form 8-K. This information is available through Our Insurance Companies section of the AUSA website at www.aegonins.com. These reports are available through the website as soon as reasonably practicable after the Registrant electronically files such material with, or furnishes it to, the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Item 1A. Risk Factors

 

 

Risk Factors that Could Affect Transamerica Advisors Life Insurance Company of New York

 

In the course of conducting its business operations, the Company could be exposed to a variety of risks that are inherent to the insurance industry. A summary of some of the significant risks that could affect the Company’s financial condition and results of operations is included below. Some of these risks are managed in accordance with established risk management policies and procedures. Other factors besides those discussed below or elsewhere in this Form 10-K also could adversely affect our business and operations, and the following risk factors should not be considered a complete list of potential risks that may affect the Company.

Our operating environment remains uncertain about the timing and strength of a recovery in the U.S. and global economy. The steps we have taken to realign our business and strengthen our capital position may not be adequate to mitigate the financial and other risks associated with our operating environment which could materially affect our results of operations and financial condition

Uncertainty about the timing and strength of a recovery in the U.S. and global economy continued to affect our operating environment. Our results, financial condition and statutory capital remain sensitive to equity market volatility and performance, and expectations are that market conditions will continue to pressure returns in our investment portfolio. Concerns over the European debt crisis, the ability of the U.S Government to manage the U.S. deficit, prolonged high unemployment and a stagnant U.S. real estate market have contributed to increased volatility and diminished expectations for the economy and the market going forward. These events may have an adverse effect on us given our equity market exposure and our revenues may decline in such circumstances. In addition, we may experience an elevated instance of claims and lapses or surrenders of our policies. Adverse changes in the economy could affect earnings negatively and could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and financial condition.

 

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We maintain a level of cash and securities which, combined with expected cash inflows from investments and operations, is believed adequate to meet anticipated short-term and long-term benefit obligations. However, withdrawal and surrender levels may differ from anticipated levels for a variety of reasons, such as changes in economic conditions. In addition, disruptions, uncertainty, or volatility in the capital and credit markets may limit our access to capital required to operate our business. Such market conditions may limit our ability to satisfy statutory capital requirements, fund redemption requests, and generate fee income and market related revenue to meet liquidity needs. As such, we may be forced to utilize available internal resources or bear an unattractive cost of capital, which could decrease our profitability and significantly reduce our financial flexibility and liquidity.

We are exposed to significant financial and capital markets risk, including changes in interest rates, credit spreads, and equity prices that may have a material adverse effect on our results of operations, financial condition and liquidity

We are exposed to significant financial and capital markets risks including changes in interest rates, credit spreads, equity prices, market volatility, performance of the economy, in general, the performance of the specific obligors included in our portfolio and other factors outside our control. Our exposure to interest rate risk relates primarily to the market price and cash flow variability associated with changes in interest rates. A rise in interest rates will increase the net unrealized loss position of our investment portfolio and sustained increases in interest rates may result in policyholders surrendering their contracts which may require us to liquidate assets in an unrealized loss position. Tax planning strategies can also be adversely affected by a rise in interest rates by limiting the ability to recognize tax benefits associated with operating and capital loss carryforwards. Conversely, due to the long-term nature of some of our liabilities, sustained declines in interest rates may subject us to reinvestment risk, increased hedging costs, spread compression and capital volatility.

The exposure to credit spreads primarily relates to market price variability and reinvestment risk associated with changes in credit spreads. If issuer credit spreads widen or increase significantly over an extended period of time, it would likely result in additional other-than-temporary impairments and increases in net unrealized loss position in our investment portfolio will likely result. If credit spreads tighten significantly, net investment income associated with new purchases of fixed maturities may be reduced. Credit spread tightening may also cause an increase in the reported value of certain liabilities that are valued using a discount rate that reflects our own credit spread. In addition, market volatility may make it difficult to value certain of our securities if trading becomes less frequent. As such, valuations may include assumptions or estimates that may have significant period-to-period changes from market volatility, which could have a material effect on our results of operations or financial condition.

The exposure to equity risks relates to the potential for lower earnings associated with our equity-based Separate Accounts, where fee income is earned based upon account values. The significant fluctuations in equity markets over the last several years has significantly impacted the account values and related fee income during those periods. In addition, certain of our products offer guaranteed benefits which increase our potential benefit exposure and statutory capital exposure should equity markets decline. Sustained declines in equity markets may result in the need to devote significant additional capital to support these products.

The insurance industry is heavily regulated and changes in regulation, including the enactment of The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 (the “Dodd-Frank Act”), may adversely affect our results of operations and liquidity

The insurance industry is subject to comprehensive state regulation and supervision. We are also impacted by federal legislation and administrative policies in areas such as financial services regulations and federal taxation. The primary purpose of state regulation of the insurance business is to protect policyholders. The laws of the various states establish insurance departments with broad powers to regulate such matters as: licensing companies to transact business, admitting statutory assets, regulating unfair trade and claims practices, establishing statutory reserve requirements and solvency standards, restricting various transactions between affiliates and regulating the types, amounts and valuation of investments. State insurance regulators, federal regulators and the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (“NAIC”) continually reexamine existing laws and regulations, and may impose changes in the future.

State insurance guaranty associations have the right to assess insurance companies doing business in their state for funds to help pay the obligations of insolvent insurance companies to policyholders and claimants. As the amount and timing of an assessment is beyond our control, the liabilities established for these potential assessments may not be adequate.

Recently, there has been an increase in potential federal initiatives that would affect the financial services industry. The Dodd-Frank Act which was enacted in July 2010, provides for comprehensive changes to the regulation of the financial services industry by granting existing government agencies and newly created government agencies and bodies (e.g., the Financial Stability Oversight Council and the Federal Insurance Office) authority to promulgate new financial regulations applicable to financial institutions. These new regulations may subject our parent to a number of requirements, including, among others, stress tests and stricter prudential standards, such as stricter requirements and limitations relating to liquidity, credit exposure and risk management. In addition, the Dodd-Frank Act authorizes the Federal Insurance Office, which does not have general authority over the business of insurance, to make recommendations to the Financial Stability Oversight Council that certain insurers be subject to

 

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more stringent regulation. Further, the Dodd-Frank Act requires the Federal Insurance Office to conduct a study on how to modernize and improve the system of insurance regulation in the United States. Many of the provisions of this legislation require substantial rulemaking across numerous agencies within the federal government. Although this process began in the second half of 2010, it is proceeding substantially slower than the aggressive schedule contemplated at the time of enactment. Consequently, the ultimate impact of any of these provisions on our results of operations, liquidity or capital resources is currently indeterminable.

Potential changes in federal or state tax laws, including changes impacting the availability of the Separate Accounts dividend received deduction, may adversely affect our business, results of operations, and financial condition

Changes in federal and state tax laws could make certain products the Company has sold less attractive to consumers. For example, enacted reductions in the federal income tax that individual investors are required to pay on dividends and capital gains on stocks and mutual funds provide an incentive for some customers and potential customers to shift assets into mutual funds, and away from variable annuity products. These enacted tax rate reductions may impact the relative attractiveness of annuities as compared to stocks and mutual funds. In addition, the Company benefits from certain tax benefits, such as dividends received deductions and tax credits.

Due in large part to the recent financial crisis that has affected many governments, there is an increasing risk that federal and/or state tax legislation could be enacted that would result in higher taxes on insurance companies and/or their policyholders. Although the specific form of any such potential legislation is uncertain, it may include lessening or eliminating some or all of the tax advantages currently benefiting the Company or its policyholders. This could occur in the context of deficit reduction or other tax reforms. The effects of any such changes could result in lapses of policies currently held and/or the incurrence of higher corporate taxes which could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.

Changes in equity markets and other factors may significantly affect our financial results

The fee revenue that is earned on equity-based Separate Accounts assets is generally based upon account values. As strong equity markets result in higher account values, strong equity markets positively affect our results of operations through increased policy charge revenue and decreased benefit exposure. Increased fee revenue resulting from strong equity markets increases the expected gross profits (“EGPs”) from variable insurance products as do lower-than-expected lapses, mortality rates, and expenses. As a result, the higher EGPs may improve margins through lower amortized costs related to deferred acquisition costs (“DAC”), deferred sales inducements (“DSI”), and value of business acquired (“VOBA”). Correspondingly, a decrease in the equity markets as well as increases in lapses, mortality rates, and expenses depending upon their significance, may reduce margins through higher net amortized costs associated with DAC, DSI, and VOBA and may have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and capital resources. For more information on DAC, DSI, and VOBA amortization, see “Item 7–Management’s Narrative Analysis of Results of Operations–Critical Accounting Policies” below.

Changes in equity markets and interest rates affects the profitability of our products with guaranteed benefits, therefore, such changes may have a material adverse effect on our financial results

The valuation of liabilities related to the guaranteed minimum death benefits (“GMDB”) and guaranteed minimum income benefits (“GMIB”) for variable annuities is tied to the difference between the value of the underlying accounts and the guaranteed death or income benefit, calculated using a benefit ratio approach. The GMDB and GMIB liability valuations take into account the present value of total expected GMDB and GMIB payments and the present value of total expected assessments over the life of the contract and claims and assessments to date. Both the level of expected GMDB and GMIB payments and expected total assessments used in calculating the benefit ratio are affected by the equity markets. Accordingly, a decrease in the equity markets will increase the net amount at risk under the GMDB and the GMIB benefits we offer as part of our variable annuity products, which has the effect of increasing the value of GMDB and GMIB liabilities we must record.

The value of liabilities related to the guaranteed minimum withdrawal benefits (“GMWB”) for variable annuities are based on the fair value of the underlying benefit. The liabilities related to GMWB benefits valued at fair value are impacted by changes in equity markets, volatility and interest rates. Accordingly, strong equity markets and increases in interest rates will generally decrease the value of GMWB liabilities. Conversely, a decrease in the equity markets, along with a decrease in interest rates, will result in an increase in the value of GMWB liabilities we must record.

The value of contra liabilities related to the reinsurance of guaranteed minimum income benefits (“GMIB reinsurance”) for variable annuities is based on the fair value of the underlying benefit. The contra liabilities related to the GMIB reinsurance benefits valued at fair value are affected by changes in equity markets, volatility and interest rates. Accordingly, strong equity markets and increases in interest rates will generally decrease the value of the GMIB reinsurance contra liability. Conversely, a decrease in the equity markets, along with a decrease in interest rates, will generally result in an increase in the GMIB reinsurance contra liabilities we must record. Changes in the values of guaranteed benefits would result in a charge to earnings in the quarter in which the liabilities are increased or decreased.

 

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A customized dynamic hedge program is maintained to mitigate the risks associated with income volatility around the change in reserves on GMWB. However, the hedge positions may not be effective to exactly offset the changes in the carrying value of the guarantees due to, among other things, the time lag between changes in their values and corresponding changes in the hedge positions, high levels of volatility in the equity markets and derivatives, extreme swings in interest rates, contract holder behavior that is different than expected, and divergence between the performing of the underlying funds and hedging indices.

Our valuations of many of our financial instruments include methodologies, estimations and assumptions that are subject to differing interpretations and could result in changes to investment valuations that may materially adversely affect our results of operations and financial condition

Fixed maturity, equity, trading securities, free standing and embedded derivatives and Separate Account assets, are reported at estimated fair value on our Balance Sheets. The determination of estimated fair value is made at a specific point in time, based on available market information and judgments about financial instruments, including estimates of the timing and amounts of expected future cash flows and the credit standing of the issuer or counterparty. The use of different methodologies and assumptions may have a material effect on the estimated fair value amounts.

During periods of market disruption, including periods of rapidly widening credit spreads or illiquidity, it may be difficult to value certain of our securities if trading becomes less frequent and/or market data becomes less observable. There may be certain asset classes that were in active markets with significant observable data that become illiquid due to the financial environment. In such cases, securities may require more subjectivity and management judgment in determining their fair values and those fair values may differ materially from the value at which the investments may be ultimately sold. Further, rapidly changing and unprecedented credit and equity market conditions could materially impact the valuation of securities and period-to-period changes in value could vary significantly. Decreases in value could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and financial condition.

Defaults in our bonds and private placements may adversely affect profitability and shareholder’s equity

For general account products, we typically bear the risk for investment performance (return of principal and interest). We are exposed to credit risk on our fixed income portfolio (e.g. bonds, private placements). Some issuers have defaulted on their financial obligations for various reasons, including bankruptcy, lack of liquidity, downturns in the economy, downturns in the real estate values, operational failure, and fraud. Any event reducing the value of the fixed income portfolio other than on a temporary basis could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, and financial condition.

Changes in market interest rates may adversely affect our financial results

The profitability of our fixed life and annuity products depends in part on interest rate spreads, therefore, interest rate fluctuations could negatively affect our financial results. Some of our fixed products have interest rate guarantees that expose us to the risk that changes in interest rates will reduce our “spread” or the difference between the amounts that we are required to pay under the contracts and the amounts we are able to earn on our general account investments intended to support our obligations under the contracts. Declines in our spread or instances where the returns on our general account investments are not enough to support the interest rate guarantees on these products could have a material adverse effect on our financial results.

In periods of increasing interest rates, we may not be able to replace the assets in our general account with higher yielding assets needed to fund the higher crediting rates. We therefore may have to accept a lower spread and thus lower profitability or face a decline in sales and greater loss of existing contracts and related assets. In periods of declining interest rates, we have to reinvest the cash we receive as interest or return of principal on our investments in lower yielding instruments then available. Moreover, borrowers may prepay fixed income securities in our general account in order to borrow at lower market rates, which exacerbates this risk. As we are entitled to reset the interest rates on our fixed rate annuities only at limited, pre-established intervals, and since many of our policies have guaranteed minimum interest or crediting rates, our spreads could decrease and potentially become negative.

Increases in interest rates may cause increased surrenders and withdrawals of insurance products. In periods of increasing interest rates, policy loans and surrenders and withdrawals of life insurance policies and annuity contracts may increase as policyholders seek products with perceived higher returns. This process may lead to cash outflows of our existing block of business. These outflows may require investment assets to be sold at a time when the prices of those assets are lower because of the increase in market interest rates, which may result in realized investment losses. A sudden demand among policyholders to change product types or withdraw funds could lead us to sell assets at a loss to meet funding demands.

Business and financial results may be adversely affected by an inability to sell assets to meet maturing obligations

We could be exposed to liquidity risk, which is the risk that we cannot quickly convert invested assets to cash without incurring significant losses. Our liquidity may be impaired due to circumstances that we may be unable to control, such as general market

 

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disruptions or an operational problem. Our ability to sell assets may also be impaired if other market participants are seeking to sell similar assets at the same time. The inability to sell assets to meet maturing obligations, a negative change in its credit ratings, or regulatory capital restrictions, may have an adverse effect on financial results.

Differences between actual claims experience and underwriting and reserving assumptions may require liabilities to be increased, which may have a material adverse effect on our financial results

Our earnings depend upon the extent to which actual claims experience is consistent with the assumptions used in setting the prices for products and establishing the technical provisions and liabilities for claims. To the extent that actual claims experience is less favorable than the underlying assumptions used in establishing such liabilities, earnings would be reduced. Furthermore, if these higher claims were part of a trend, we may be required to increase our liabilities, which may also reduce income. In addition, certain acquisition costs related to the sale of new policies and the purchase of policies already in force have been recorded as assets on the balance sheet and are being amortized into earnings over time. If the assumptions relating to the future profitability of these policies (such as future claims, investment income, and expenses) are not realized, the amortization of these costs may be accelerated and may require write-offs due to unrecoverability. This may have a material adverse effect on our financial results.

A pandemic, terrorist attack or other catastrophic event may adversely affect our results of operations and liquidity

Our mortality experience may be adversely impacted by a catastrophic event. In addition, a severe catastrophic event may cause significant volatility in global financial markets, disruptions to commerce, and reduced economic activity. The resulting macroeconomic conditions may adversely affect our cash flows as well as the value and liquidity of our invested assets. We may also experience operational disruptions if our employees are unable or unwilling to come to work due to a pandemic or other catastrophe.

A computer system failure, cyber attack or security breach may disrupt our business, damage our reputation and adversely affect our results of operations, financial condition and cash flows

We use computer systems to store, retrieve, evaluate and utilize customer and company data and information. Our business is highly dependent on our ability to access these systems to perform necessary business functions such as providing customer support, administering variable products, making changes to existing policies, filing and paying claims, managing our investment portfolios, and producing financial statements. While we have policies, procedures, automation and backup plans designed to prevent or limit the effect of failure, our computer systems may be vulnerable to disruptions or breaches as a result of natural disasters, man-made disasters, criminal activity, pandemics, data and identity theft or other events beyond our control. The failure of our computer systems for any reason could disrupt our operations, result in loss of customer business and may adversely affect our profitability.

We retain confidential information on our computer systems, including customer information and proprietary business information. Any compromise of the security of our computer systems that results in the disclosure of personally identifiable customer information could damage our reputation, expose us to litigation, increase regulatory scrutiny and require us to incur significant technical, legal, and other expenses.

Changes in accounting standards may adversely affect our financial statements

Our financial statements are prepared in conformity with United States generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”) as prescribed by the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”). From time to time, we are required to adopt new or revised accounting standards or guidance. It is possible that future accounting standards we are required to adopt could change the current accounting treatment that we apply to our financial statements and that such changes could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.

The FASB is working closely with the International Accounting Standards Board on several projects, which could result in significant changes as GAAP converges with International Financial Reporting Standards (“IFRS”). Furthermore, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) is considering whether and how to incorporate IFRS into the U.S. financial reporting system. The accounting changes being proposed by the FASB will be a complete change to how we account for and report significant areas of our business. The effective dates and transition methods are not known; however, we may be required to or may choose to adopt the new standards retrospectively. In this case, we will report results under the new accounting method as of the effective date, as well as for all periods presented.

Litigation and regulatory investigations may adversely affect our business, results of operations, and financial condition

In recent years, the insurance industry has increasingly been the subject of litigation, investigation, and regulatory activity by various governmental and enforcement authorities concerning common industry practices such as the disclosure of contingent commissions and suitability of sales. We cannot predict at this time the effect this current trend towards litigation and investigation will have on the insurance industry or to our business. Lawsuits, including class actions and regulatory actions, may be difficult to assess or quantify, may seek recovery of very large and/or indeterminate amounts, including punitive and treble damages, and their existence and magnitude may remain unknown for substantial periods of time. A substantial legal liability or significant regulatory action could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, and financial condition.

 

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We have received regulatory inquiries and examinations from certain state insurance regulators and other officials relating to compliance with unclaimed property laws and the use of data available on the U.S. Social Security Administration’s Death Master File (or a similar database) to identify instances where benefits under life insurance policies, annuities and retained asset accounts are payable. It is possible that other jurisdictions may pursue similar inquiries and that such inquiries may result in payments to beneficiaries, escheatment of funds deemed abandoned under state laws and changes to procedures for the identification and escheatment of abandoned property.

We may not be able to protect our intellectual property and may be subject to infringement claims

We may be subject to costly litigation in the event that another party alleges our operations or activities infringe upon another party’s intellectual property rights. Third parties may have, or may eventually be issued, patents that could be infringed by our products, methods, processes or services. Any party that holds such a patent could make a claim of infringement against us. We may also be subject to claims by third parties for breach of copyright, trademark, trade secret or license usage rights. Any such claims and any resulting litigation could result in significant liability for damages. If we were found to have infringed a third-party patent or other intellectual property rights, we could incur substantial liability, and in some circumstances could be enjoined from providing certain products or services to our customers or utilizing and benefiting from certain methods, processes, copyrights, trademarks, trade secrets or licenses, or alternatively could be required to enter into costly licensing arrangements with third parties, all of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

Growth in revenues is dependent on sales of potential new products, if any, along with the market performance of the assets underlying the policies and the policy and rider fees received on the declining number of life insurance, variable annuity and market value adjusted annuity policies in force

The economic environment in recent years presented significant challenges to the Company’s ability to issue certain products at competitive returns leading to the Company’s election to discontinue new sales of life insurance, variable annuity and market value adjusted products. While new products designed to withstand a more volatile economic environment may be developed in the future, such products are not yet being issued. The uncertainty of the performance of the securities markets would also mean that where the Company’s revenues are dependent on fees or charges based on market value of investments underlying the policies, the Company’s revenues would also be uncertain. Further, as policyholders surrender their policies and the number of policies in force is reduced, and as policyholders die or otherwise withdraw value from their policies, the revenues that the Company receives for policy and rider administration, and for mortality and expense risks will likely decline over time. However, there remain a significant number of annuity and life insurance policies in force that will continue to be serviced and are expected to continue to generate revenues for the foreseeable future.

Item 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments

Not Applicable.

Item 2. Properties

The Registrant’s home office is located at 440 Mamaroneck Avenue, Harrison, New York 10528. Personnel performing services for the Registrant operate in AUSA office space in Cedar Rapids, Iowa and St. Petersburg, Florida. An allocable share of the cost of each of the above mentioned premises was paid by the Registrant through the common cost allocation service agreement.

In addition during 2009, personnel performing services for the Registrant occupied office space in Jacksonville, Florida, which was owned by ML&Co. An allocable share of the cost of the above mentioned premise was paid by the Registrant through a transition services agreement between AUSA and ML&Co.

Item 3. Legal Proceedings

There is no material pending litigation to which the Registrant is a party or of which any of its property is the subject and there are no legal proceedings contemplated by any governmental authorities against the Registrant of which it has any knowledge.

Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures

Not Applicable.

 

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PART II

Item 5. Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities

(a) The Registrant is a wholly owned subsidiary of AUSA. There is no public trading market for the Registrant’s common stock.

During 2011 and 2010, the Company did not receive a capital contribution from AUSA. In 2011, the Company paid a cash dividend of $25.0 million to AUSA. In 2010, the Company did not pay a dividend to AUSA. No other cash or stock dividends have been declared on Registrant’s common stock at any time during the two most recent fiscal years. Under laws applicable to insurance companies domiciled in the State of New York, notice of intention to declare a dividend must be filed with the New York Superintendent of Insurance who may disallow the payment. See Note 7 to the Registrant’s Financial Statements.

(b) Not applicable.

(c) Not applicable.

Item 6. Selected Financial Data

Information called for by this item is omitted pursuant to General Instruction I. of Form 10-K.

Item 7. Management’s Narrative Analysis of Results of Operations

This Management’s Narrative Analysis of Results of Operations should be read in conjunction with the Financial Statements and Notes to Financial Statements included herein.

Forward Looking Statements

The statements contained in this Report that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements as defined in the US Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The following are words that identify such forward-looking statements: aim, believe, estimate, target, intend, may, expect, anticipate, predict, project, counting on, plan, continue, want, forecast, should, would, is confident, will, and similar expressions as they relate to our Company. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions that are difficult to predict. Such risks and uncertainties include but are not limited to the following:

 

   

Changes in general economic conditions;

   

Changes in the performance of financial markets, including emerging markets, such as with regard to:

¡     The frequency and severity of defaults by issuers in our fixed income investment portfolios; and

¡      The effects of corporate bankruptcies and/or accounting restatements on the financial markets and the resulting decline in         the value of equity and debt securities we hold;

   

The frequency and severity of insured loss events;

   

Changes affecting mortality, morbidity, persistence and other factors that may impact the profitability of our insurance products;

   

Changes affecting interest rate levels and continuing low or rapidly changing interest rate levels;

   

Increasing levels of competition;

   

Changes in laws and regulations, particularly those affecting our operations, the products we sell, and the attractiveness of certain products to our customers;

   

Regulatory changes relating to the insurance industry in the jurisdictions in which we operate;

   

Lowering of one or more of the financial strength ratings and the adverse impact such action may have on the premium writings, policy retention, profitability and liquidity;

   

Acts of God, acts of terrorism, acts of war and pandemics;

   

Changes in the policies of central banks and/or governments;

   

Litigation or regulatory actions that could require us to pay significant damages or change the way we do business;

   

Customer responsiveness to both new products and distribution channels;

   

Competitive, legal, regulatory or tax changes that affect the distribution cost of or demand for our products;

   

The impact of product withdrawals, restructurings and other unusual items; and

   

Our failure to achieve anticipated levels of earnings or operational efficiencies as well as other cost saving initiatives.

 

7


We undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which merely reflect Company expectations at the time of the writing. Actual results may differ materially from expectations conveyed in forward-looking statements due to changes caused by various risks and uncertainties. The reader should, however, consult any further disclosures TALICNY may make in future filings of its Annual Report on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, and Current Reports on Form 8-K.

 

 

Business Overview

 

TALICNY conducts its business primarily in the annuity markets and to a lesser extent in the life insurance markets of the financial services industry. Currently, the Company, is not issuing new life insurance products, variable annuity and market value adjusted annuity products. The Company offered the following guaranteed benefits within its variable annuity product suite: guaranteed minimum death benefits (“GMDB”), guaranteed minimum income benefits (“GMIB”) and guaranteed minimum withdrawal benefits (“GMWB”).

 

 

Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates

 

The preparation of financial statements in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”) requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses. Estimates, by their nature, are based on judgment and available information. Therefore, actual results could differ and could have a material impact on the financial statements, and it is possible that such changes could occur in the near term.

The Company’s critical accounting policies and estimates are discussed below. See Note 1 to the Financial Statements for additional information regarding accounting policies.

Valuation of Fixed Maturity and Equity Securities

The Company’s investments consist principally of fixed maturity and equity securities that are classified as available-for-sale (“AFS”) which are reported at estimated fair value. In addition, the Company holds fixed maturity securities which contain a conversion to equity feature, which is considered an embedded derivative. These fixed maturity securities have been classified as trading and are reported at estimated fair value. The fair values of fixed maturity and equity securities are determined by management after taking into consideration several sources of data. When available, the Company uses quoted market prices in active markets to determine the fair value of its investments. The Company’s valuation policy utilizes a pricing hierarchy which dictates that publicly available prices are initially sought from indices and third-party pricing services. In the event that pricing is not available from these sources, those securities are submitted to brokers to obtain quotes. Lastly, securities are priced using internal cash flow modeling techniques. These valuation methodologies commonly use reported trades, bids, offers, issuer spreads, benchmark yields, estimated prepayment speeds, and/or estimated cash flows.

To understand the valuation methodologies used by third-party pricing services, the Company reviews and monitors their applicable methodology documents. Any changes to their methodologies are noted and reviewed for reasonableness. In addition, the Company performs in-depth reviews of prices received from third-party pricing services on a sample basis. The objective for such reviews is to demonstrate that the Company can corroborate detailed information such as assumptions, inputs and methodologies used in pricing individual securities against documented pricing methodologies. Only third-party pricing services and brokers with a substantial presence in the market and with appropriate experience and expertise are used.

Each month, the Company performs an analysis of the information obtained from third-party services and brokers to ensure that the information is reasonable and produces a reasonable estimate of fair value. The Company considers both qualitative and quantitative factors as part of this analysis, including but not limited to, recent transactional activity for similar fixed maturities, review of pricing statistics and trends, and consideration of recent relevant market events. Other controls and procedures over pricing received from indices, third-party pricing services, or brokers include validation checks such as exception reports which highlight significant price changes, stale prices or un-priced securities. Additionally, during 2011, the Company began performing back testing on a sample basis. Back testing involves selecting a sample of securities trades and comparing the prices in those transactions to prices used for financial reporting. Significant variances between the price used for financial reporting and the transaction price are investigated to explain the cause of the difference.

The Company’s portfolio of private placement securities is valued using a matrix pricing methodology. The pricing methodology is obtained from a third party service and indicates current spreads for securities based on weighted average life, credit rating and industry sector. Monthly the Company reviews the matrix to ensure the spreads are reasonable by comparing them to observed spreads for similar securities traded in the market. In order to account for the illiquid nature of these securities, illiquidity

 

8


premiums are included in the valuation and are determined based upon the pricing of recent transactions in the private placement market as well as comparing the value of the privately offered security to a similar public security. The impact of the illiquidity premium to the overall valuation is less than 1% of the value. At December 31 2011, approximately $1.8 million (or 1%) of the Company’s fixed maturity and equity securities portfolio consisted of private placement securities. The Company did not have any private placement securities at December 31, 2010.

Changes in the fair value of fixed maturity and equity securities deemed AFS are reported as a component of accumulated other comprehensive income (loss), net of taxes on the Balance Sheets and are not reflected in the Statements of Income until a sale transaction occurs or when credit-related declines in estimated fair value are deemed other-than-temporary. Changes in fair value of fixed maturity securities deemed trading are reported as a component of net investment income.

Other-Than-Temporary Impairment (“OTTI”) Losses on Investments

The Company regularly reviews each investment in its fixed maturity and equity AFS securities portfolio to evaluate the necessity of recording impairment losses for other-than-temporary declines in the fair value of investments. Management makes this determination through a series of discussions with the Company’s portfolio managers and credit analysts, and information obtained from external sources (i.e. company announcements, ratings agency announcements, or news wire services). For fixed maturity AFS securities, the Company also considers whether it is more likely than not that it will not be required to sell the debt security before its anticipated recovery. The factors that may give rise to a potential OTTI include, but are not limited to, i) certain credit-related events such as default of principal or interest payments by the issuer, ii) bankruptcy of issuer, iii) certain security restructurings, and iv) fair market value less than cost or amortized cost for an extended period of time. In the absence of a readily ascertainable market value, the estimated fair value on these securities represents management’s best estimate and is based on comparable securities and other assumptions as appropriate. Management bases this determination on the most recent information available.

For equity securities, once management determines a decline in the value of an AFS security is other-than-temporary, the cost basis of the equity security is reduced to its fair value, with a corresponding charge to earnings.

For fixed maturity AFS securities, an OTTI must be recognized in earnings when an entity either a) has the intent to sell the debt security or b) more likely than not will be required to sell the debt security before its anticipated recovery. If the Company meets either of these criteria, the OTTI is recognized in earnings in an amount equal to the entire difference between the security’s amortized cost basis and its fair value at the balance sheet date. For fixed maturity AFS securities in unrealized loss positions that do not meet these criteria, the Company must analyze its ability to recover the amortized cost by comparing the net present value of projected future cash flows with the amortized cost of the security. The net present value is calculated by discounting the Company’s best estimate of projected future cash flows. If the net present value is less than the amortized cost of the investment, an OTTI is recorded. The OTTI is separated into two pieces: an amount representing the credit loss, where the present value of cash flows expected to be collected is less than the amortized cost basis of the security, and an amount related to all other factors (referred to as the non credit portion). The credit loss is recognized in earnings and the non credit loss is recognized in other comprehensive income (“OCI”), net of applicable taxes and value of business acquired. Management records subsequent changes in the estimated fair value (positive and negative) of fixed maturity AFS securities for which non credit OTTI was previously recognized in OCI in OCI-OTTI.

For the years ended December 31, 2011, 2010 and 2009, the Company recorded an OTTI in income, with no value of business acquired amortization, of less than $0.1 million, $0.1 million and $0.9 million, respectively.

Derivative Instruments

Derivatives are financial instruments in which the value changes in response to an underlying variable, that require little or no net initial investment and are settled at a future date. The Company has entered into exchange traded derivatives, such as futures, and variance swaps to hedge the costs of the volatility of the Standard & Poor’s (“S&P”) market. All derivatives recognized on the Balance Sheets are carried at fair value. All changes in fair value are recognized in the Statements of Income. The fair value for exchange traded derivatives, such as futures, are calculated net of the interest accrued to date and is based on quoted market prices. Net settlements on the futures occur daily. At December 31, 2011 and 2010, the Company had 20 outstanding short futures contracts, respectively, with a notional amount of $6.3 million, respectively.

Value of Business Acquired (“VOBA”), Deferred Policy Acquisition Costs (“DAC”), and Deferred Sales Inducements (“DSI”)

VOBA

VOBA represents the portion of the purchase price that is allocated to the value of the right to receive future cash flows from the insurance and annuity contracts in force at the acquisition date. VOBA is based on actuarially determined projections, for each

 

9


block of business, of future policy and contract charges, premiums, mortality, policyholder behavior, Separate Account performance, operating expenses, investment returns, and other factors. Actual experience on the purchased business may vary from these projections. Revisions in estimates result in changes to the amounts expensed in the reporting period in which the revisions are made and could result in the impairment of the asset and a charge to income if estimated future gross profits are less than the unamortized balance. At December 31, 2011 and 2010, the Company’s VOBA asset was $27.6 million and $29.6 million, respectively. For the years ended December 31, 2011, 2010 and 2009, the favorable (unfavorable) impact to pre-tax net income related to VOBA unlocking was ($0.7) million, $0.6 million and ($0.5) million, respectively. For the year ended December 31, 2009, there was an impairment charge on variable annuities of $7.2 million. There were no impairment charges in 2011 and 2010. See Note 4 to the Financial Statements for a further discussion.

DAC

The costs of acquiring business, principally commissions, certain expenses related to policy issuance, and certain variable sales expenses that relate to and vary with the production of new and renewal business are deferred and amortized based on the estimated future gross profits for a group of contracts. DAC are subject to recoverability testing at the time of policy issuance and loss recognition testing at the end of each reporting period. At December 31, 2011 and 2010, variable annuities accounted for the Company’s entire DAC asset of $0.5 million and $0.4 million, respectively.

DAC for variable annuities is amortized with interest over the anticipated lives of the insurance contracts in relation to the present values of estimated future gross profits from asset-based fees, guaranteed benefit rider fees, contract fees, and surrender charges, less a provision for guaranteed death and living benefit expenses, policy maintenance expenses, and non-capitalized commissions. Future gross profit estimates are subject to periodic evaluation with necessary revisions applied against amortization to date. The impact of revisions and assumptions to estimates on cumulative amortization is recorded as a charge or benefit to current operations, commonly referred to as “unlocking”. Changes in assumptions can have a significant impact on the amount of DAC reported and the related amortization patterns. In general, increases in the estimated Separate Accounts return and decreases in surrender or mortality assumptions increase the expected future profitability of the underlying business and may lower the rate of DAC amortization. Conversely, decreases in the estimated Separate Accounts returns and increases in surrender or mortality assumptions reduce the expected future profitability of the underlying business and may increase the rate of DAC amortization. For the year ended December 31, 2011, the unfavorable impact to pre-tax net income related to DAC unlocking was less than $0.1 million. For the years ended December 31, 2010 and 2009, there was relatively no impact to pre-tax income related to DAC unlocking. See Note 4 to the Financial Statements for a further discussion.

DSI

The Company offers a sales inducement whereby the contract owner receives a bonus which increases the initial account balance by an amount equal to a specified percentage of the contract owner’s deposit. This amount may be subject to recapture under certain circumstances. Consistent with DAC, sales inducements for variable annuity contracts are deferred and amortized based on the estimated future gross profits for each group of contracts. These future gross profit estimates are subject to periodic evaluation by the Company, with necessary revisions applied against amortization to date. The impact of these revisions on cumulative amortization is recorded as a charge or credit to current operations, commonly referred to as “unlocking”. It is reasonably possible that estimates of future gross profits could be reduced in the future, resulting in a material reduction in the carrying amount of the deferred sales inducement asset.

The expense and the subsequent capitalization and amortization are recorded as a component of policy benefits in the Statements of Income. At December 31, 2011 and 2010, variable annuities accounted for the Company’s entire DSI asset of $0.2 million and $0.1 million, respectively. See Note 4 to the Financial Statements for a further discussion.

The long-term growth rate assumption for the amortization of VOBA, DAC and DSI was 9% at December 31, 2011, 2010 and 2009. The short-term growth rate assumption for the amortization of VOBA, DAC and DSI was 9% at December 31, 2011 and 2010 and 7.25% at December 31, 2009.

Goodwill

Goodwill is the excess of the purchase price over the estimated fair value of net assets acquired. Goodwill and intangible assets with indefinite lives are not amortized, but are subject to impairment tests conducted at least annually. Impairment testing is to be performed using the fair value approach, which requires the use of estimates and judgment, at the “reporting unit” level. A reporting unit represents the operating segment which is the level at which the financial information is prepared and regularly reviewed by management. The entire asset amount has been allocated to annuities. Goodwill is reviewed for indications of value impairment, with consideration given to financial performance and other relevant factors. In addition, certain events including a significant adverse change in legal factors or the business climate, an adverse action or assessment by a regulator, or unanticipated competition would cause the Company to review the carrying amounts of goodwill for impairment. When considered impaired, the carrying amounts are written down to fair value based primarily on discounted cash flows. The Company performed the annual test of goodwill at December 31, 2011, 2010 and 2009 and determined there was no impairment of goodwill.

 

10


Policyholder Account Balances

The Company’s liability for policyholder account balances represents the contract value that has accrued to the benefit of policyholders as of the Balance Sheet date. The liability is generally equal to the accumulated account deposits plus interest credited less policyholders’ withdrawals and other charges assessed against the account balance. Policyholder account balances at December 31, 2011 and 2010 were $105.2 million and $115.1 million, respectively.

Future Policy Benefits

Future policy benefits are actuarially determined liabilities, which are calculated to meet future obligations and are generally payable over an extended period of time. Principal assumptions used in the establishment of liabilities for future policy benefits are mortality, surrender rates, policy expenses, equity returns, interest rates, and inflation. These estimates and assumptions are influenced by historical experience, current developments and anticipated market trends. At December 31, 2011 and 2010, future policy benefits were $19.1 million and $17.4 million, respectively.

Included within future policy benefits are liabilities for GMDB and GMIB provisions contained in the variable products that the Company issued. At December 31, 2011 and 2010, GMDB and GMIB liabilities included within future policy benefits were as follows:

 

         

December 31,

(dollars in millions)

      

2011

      

2010

GMDB liability

     $              0.9      $              0.0

GMIB liability

     4.8      2.0

The Company regularly evaluates the assumptions used to establish these liabilities, as well as actual experience and adjusts GMDB and GMIB liabilities with a related charge or credit to earnings (“unlocking”), if actual experience or evidence suggests that the assumptions should be revised. For the years ended December 31, 2011, 2010 and 2009, the favorable (unfavorable) impact to pre-tax income related to GMDB and GMIB unlocking was ($2.4) million, $2.3 million and ($0.2) million, respectively.

Future policy benefits also include liabilities, which can be either positive or negative, for contracts containing GMWB provisions and for the reinsurance of GMIB provisions (“GMIB reinsurance”) for variable annuities based on the fair value of the underlying benefit. GMWB and GMIB reinsurance are treated as embedded derivatives and are required to be reported separately from the host variable annuity contract. The fair value of these guarantees are calculated as the present value of future expected payments to policyholders less the present value of assessed rider fees attributable to the guarantees. Given the complexity and long-term nature of these guarantees which are unlike instruments available in financial markets, their fair values are determined using stochastic techniques under a variety of market return scenarios. A variety of factors are considered, including expected market rates of return, equity and interest rate volatility, credit spread, correlations of market returns, discount rates and actuarial assumptions.

At December 31, 2011 and 2010, GMWB liability and GMIB reinsurance asset included within future policy benefits were as follows:

 

         

December 31,

(dollars in millions)

      

2011

      

2010

GMWB liability        $              2.8             $              0.5 

GMIB reinsurance asset

     (9.1)        (5.5)

Federal Income Taxes

The Company uses the asset and liability method in providing income taxes on all transactions that have been recognized in the financial statements. The asset and liability method requires that deferred taxes be adjusted to reflect the tax rates at which future taxable amounts will be settled or realized. The Company provides for federal income taxes based on amounts it believes it will ultimately owe. Inherent in the provision for federal income taxes are estimates regarding the realization of certain tax deductions and credits.

Specific estimates include the realization of dividend-received deductions (“DRD”) and foreign tax credits (“FTC”). A portion of the Company’s investment income related to Separate Accounts business qualifies for the DRD and FTC. Information necessary to calculate these tax adjustments is typically not available until the following year. However, within the current year’s provision, management makes estimates regarding the future tax deductibility of these items. These estimates are primarily based on recent historic experience. See Note 6 to the Financial Statements for a further discussion.

 

11


At December 31, 2011 and 2010, the Company did not have a tax valuation allowance for deferred tax assets. A tax valuation allowance was not deemed necessary as management determined that it is more likely than not that the deferred tax assets will be realized. In assessing the realizability of deferred tax assets, management considers whether it is more likely than not that all or some of the deferred tax assets will not be realized. The ultimate realization of deferred tax assets depends on generation of future taxable income during the periods in which those temporary differences are deductible. Management considers the scheduled reversal of deferred tax liabilities, projected taxable income, and tax-planning strategies in making the assessment.

The Company files a return in the U.S. federal tax jurisdiction and various state tax jurisdictions.

Recent Accounting Guidance

The following outlines the adoption of recent accounting guidance in 2011. See Note 1 to the Financial Statements for a further discussion.

 

   

Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) 820, Fair Value Measurements and Disclosure – Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) 2010-06, Improving Disclosures about Fair Value Measurement – requires separate presentation of information about purchases, sales, issuances, and settlements in the Level 3 reconciliation for fair value measurements using significant unobservable inputs – adopted January 1, 2011.

 

   

ASC 944, Financial Services—Insurance – ASU 2010-15, How Investments Held Through Separate Accounts Affect an Insurer’s Consolidation Analysis of Those Investments – clarifies that an insurance entity should not consider any separate account interest held for the benefit of policyholders in an investment to be the insurer’s interest and should not combine those interests with its general account interest in the same investment when assessing the investment for consolidation – adopted January 1, 2011.

 

   

ASC 350, Intangibles—Goodwill and Other – ASU 2010-28, When to Perform Step 2 of the Goodwill Impairment Test for Reporting Units with Zero or Negative Carrying Amounts – requires entities with a zero or negative carrying value to perform step 2 of the goodwill impairment test if it is more likely than not that a goodwill impairment exists – adopted January 1, 2011.

The following outlines the adoption of accounting guidance in 2010. See Note 1 to the Financial Statements for a further discussion.

 

   

ASC 820, Fair Value Measurements and Disclosure – ASU 2010-06, Improving Disclosures about Fair Value Measurements – guidance on new disclosures and clarifications of existing disclosures about fair value measurements adopted January 1, 2010.

In addition, the following is accounting guidance that will be adopted in the future. See Note 1 to the Financial Statements for a further discussion.

 

   

ASC 944, Financial Services—Insurance – ASU 2010-26, Accounting for Costs Associated with Acquiring or Renewing Insurance Contracts – modifies the definition of the types of costs incurred by insurance entities that can be capitalized in the acquisition of new and renewal contracts – will be adopted January 1, 2012.

 

   

ASC 820, Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures – ASU 2011-04, Amendments to Achieve Common Fair Value Measurement and Disclosure Requirements in U.S. GAAP and IFRS – amends current guidance to achieve common fair value measurement and disclosure requirements in U.S. GAAP and International Financial Reporting Standards – will be adopted January 1, 2012.

 

   

ASC 220, Comprehensive Income

 

 

 ¡

  

ASU 2011-05, Presentation of Comprehensive Income – requires an entity to report components of comprehensive income in either a single continuous statement of comprehensive income or two separate but consecutive statements – will be adopted January 1, 2012.

 

12


 

 ¡

  

ASU 2011-12, Deferral of the Effective Date for Amendments to the Presentation of Reclassifications of Items Out of Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income in Accounting Standards Update No. 2011-05 – defers the amendments in ASU 2011-05 that relate to presentation of reclassifications out of accumulated other comprehensive income.

 

   

ASC 350, Intangibles—Goodwill and Other – ASU 2011-08, Testing Goodwill for Impairment – gives entities the option of performing a qualitative assessment to determine whether it is necessary to perform the two-step goodwill impairment test – will be adopted January 1, 2012.

 

   

ASC 210, Balance Sheet – ASU 2011-11, Disclosures about Offsetting Assets and Liabilities – enhances disclosures about financial instruments and derivative instruments that are either offset on the statement of financial position or subject to an enforceable master netting arrangement – will be adopted January 1, 2013.

 

 

Deposits

 

Total direct deposits (including internal exchanges) were $0.9 million, $1.0 million and $2.9 million for the years ended December 31, 2011, 2010 and 2009, respectively. The decrease in deposits was primarily due to the Company ceasing to issue new variable annuity and market value adjusted annuity products in 2009. Internal exchanges during 2011 and 2010 were $0.2 million and $0.4 million, respectively. There were no internal exchanges during 2009.

 

 

Financial Condition

 

At December 31, 2011, the Company’s assets were $792.4 million or $115.6 million lower than the $908.0 million in assets at December 31, 2010. Assets excluding Separate Accounts assets decreased $21.3 million. Separate Accounts assets, which represent 68% of total assets, decreased $94.3 million (or 15%) to $541.7 million. Changes in Separate Accounts assets were as follows:

 

      December 31,  

 

   2011     2010  

Investment performance

   $ (5.1   $ 64.6   

Deposits

                     0.9                        1.0   

Policy fees and charges

     (12.3     (13.1

Surrenders, benefits and withdrawals

     (77.8     (60.6
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net change

   $ (94.3   $ (8.1
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

There were no fixed contract owner deposits in 2011, 2010 and 2009. During 2011, 2010 and 2009, fixed contract owner withdrawals were $6.7 million, $8.1 million and $8.2 million, respectively.

 

 

Investments

 

The Company maintains a general account investment portfolio comprised primarily of investment grade fixed maturity securities, policy loans, and cash and cash equivalents.

 

13


The following schedule identifies the Company’s general account invested assets by type at December 31:

 

$00,00 $00,00

 

   2011     2010  

Fixed maturity AFS securities

    

Investment grade

     68  %        60  %   

Below investment grade

     2              2        
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total fixed maturity AFS securities

     70              62        
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Fixed maturity trading securities

     -                 1        

Policy loans

     25              25        

Cash and cash equivalents

     5              12        
  

 

 

   

 

 

 
     100  %        100  %   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Fixed Maturity and Equity Securities

The amortized cost/cost and estimated fair value of investments in fixed maturity and equity AFS securities at December 31, 2011 and 2010 were:

 

     December 31, 2011  
           Gross Unrealized           % of  

(dollars in millions)

    Amortized  
Cost/Cost
        Gains         Losses/
     OTTI (1)    
    Estimated
  Fair Value  
    Estimated
  Fair Value  
 

Fixed maturity AFS securities

         

Corporate securities

         

Financial services

  $ 21.2        $ 1.1        $ (0.5)        $ 21.8         15  %   

Industrial

    73.0        7.7        (0.1)        80.6        54        

Utility

    5.7        0.4        (0.1)        6.0        4        

Asset-backed securities

         

Housing related

    1.6        -            -            1.6        1        

Credit cards

    0.3        -            -            0.3        -        

Autos

    1.5        -            -            1.5        1        

Commercial mortgage-backed securities - non agency backed

    23.0        2.5        -            25.5        17        

Residential mortgage-backed securities

         

Agency backed

    4.4        0.1        -            4.5        3        

Non agency backed

    0.8        0.1        (0.2)        0.7        -        

Government and government agencies

         

United States

    3.0        0.4        -            3.4        2        

Foreign

    3.2        0.7        (0.1)        3.8        2        
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total fixed maturity AFS securities

    137.7        13.0        (1.0)        149.7        99        

Equity securities - banking securities

    1.2        -            (0.1)        1.1        1        
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total equity securities

    1.2        -            (0.1)        1.1        1        
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total fixed maturity and equity securities

  $ 138.9      $  13.0      $ (1.1)      $  150.8          100  %   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

14


     December 31, 2010  
           Gross Unrealized           % of  

(dollars in millions)

    Amortized  
Cost/Cost
        Gains         Losses/
    OTTI (1)    
    Estimated
  Fair Value  
    Estimated
  Fair Value  
 

Fixed maturity AFS securities

         

Corporate securities

         

Financial services

    $ 19.4        $ 1.0        $ (0.2)        $ 20.2          14  %   

Industrial

    76.3        4.9        (0.1)        81.1        57        

Utility

    4.8        0.3        (0.1)        5.0        3        

Asset-backed securities

         

Housing related

    2.0        -            -            2.0        1        

Credit cards

    0.3        -            -            0.3        -        

Autos

    2.0        0.1        -            2.1        1        

Commercial mortgage-backed securities - non agency backed

    24.9        2.4        -            27.3        19        

Residential mortgage-backed securities

         

Agency backed

    0.4        -            -            0.4        -        

Non agency backed

    0.9        -            (0.1)        0.8        1        

Government and government agencies

         

United States

    3.0        -            (0.1)        2.9        2        

Foreign

    3.2        0.3        (0.1)        3.4        2        
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total fixed maturity AFS securities

    137.2        9.0        (0.7)        145.5        100        

Equity securities - banking securities

    0.1        -            -            0.1        -        
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total equity securities

    0.1        -            -            0.1        -        
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total fixed maturity and equity securities

    $ 137.3        $  9.0        $ (0.7)        $  145.6          100  %   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

(1) Subsequent unrealized gains (losses) on OTTI securities are included in OCI-OTTI.

The Company regularly monitors industry sectors and individual debt securities for evidence of impairment. This evidence may include one or more of the following: 1) deteriorating market to book ratio, 2) increasing industry risk factors, 3) deteriorating financial condition of the issuer, 4) covenant violations of the issuer, 5) high probability of bankruptcy of the issuer, 6) nationally recognized credit rating agency downgrades, and/or 7) intent or requirement to sell before a debt security’s anticipated recovery. Additionally, for structured securities (asset-backed securities (“ABS”), residential mortgage-backed securities (“RMBS”), commercial mortgage-backed securities (“CMBS”)), cash flow trends and underlying levels of collateral are monitored. A security is impaired if there is objective evidence that a loss event has occurred after the initial recognition of the asset that has a negative impact on the estimated future cash flows. A specific security is considered to be impaired when it is determined that it is probable that not all amounts due (both principal and interest) will be collected as scheduled. For debt securities, an OTTI must be recognized in earnings when an entity either a) has the intent to sell the debt security or b) more likely than not will be required to sell the debt security before its anticipated recovery. If the Company meets either of these criteria, the OTTI is recognized in earnings in an amount equal to the entire difference between the security’s amortized cost basis and its fair value at the balance sheet date. For debt securities in unrealized loss positions that do not meet these criteria, the Company must analyze its ability to recover the amortized cost by comparing the net present value of projected future cash flows with the amortized cost of the security. The Company has evaluated the near-term prospects of the issuers in relation to the severity and duration of the unrealized loss, and unless otherwise noted, does not consider these investments to be impaired at December 31, 2011.

Financial Services Sector

The Company’s $0.5 million of gross unrealized losses within the financial services sector has a fair value of $4.8 million. The majority of the unrealized loss in the financial services sector relates to the banking sub-sector which has $0.3 million of gross unrealized losses on securities with a fair value of $2.5 million. Companies within the Company’s financial services sector are high in credit quality and, as a whole, represent a large portion of the corporate debt market.

Banking

The overall exposure to the banking sub-sector in the Company’s portfolio is of high quality. The unrealized losses in the banking sub-sector primarily reflect the size of our holdings, low floating rate coupons on some securities, and credit spread

 

15


widening in the sector due to the European debt crisis as well as residual impact from the U.S. financial crisis. As a whole, the sub-sector remained volatile in 2011 as financial bail-outs in Greece, Ireland, and Portugal led to fears that Italy and Spain may require similar International bail-outs. European banks hold a significant amount of government debt on their balance sheets. Subordinated securities, specifically, have become a target for liability management exercises by some European banks as they attempt to raise core Tier 1 ratios to 9% by June 2012 as required by the European Banking Authority. Deeply subordinated securities became more volatile following successful attempts by the European Commission to impose “burden sharing” on the subordinated securities of those banks receiving significant state-aid as a result of the 2008 financial crisis. Furthermore, proposed legislation in the U.S. and Europe could give governments wide discretion to impose “burden sharing” on both senior and subordinated bondholders in order to quickly stabilize or wind-up troubled banks. While these measures have made existing subordinated securities more volatile in the near-term, new, more stringent global legislation on bank capital and liquidity requirements is intended to reduce overall risk in the sector going forward. Furthermore, central banks appear committed to providing liquidity to the market and, as a result, asset write-downs and credit losses have diminished substantially in all but the most troubled countries.

Hybrid securities are included in the Company’s banking exposure, which typically have an original maturity of more than 30 years, may be perpetual and were designed to receive enhanced equity credit from rating agencies. In addition, they have other features that may not be consistent across issues such as a cumulative or non-cumulative coupon, capital replacement language and an alternative payment mechanism. The Company’s exposure to hybrid securities in an unrealized loss position is all rated investment grade and there is little risk of payment interruption.

The Company evaluated the near-term prospects of the issuers in relation to the severity and duration of the unrealized loss and does not consider those investments to be impaired at December 31, 2011. There are no individual issuers rated below investment grade in this sub-sector which have an unrealized loss position greater than $0.2 million.

Residential Mortgage-Backed Securities

RMBS are securitizations of underlying pools of residential mortgages on real estate. The underlying residential mortgages have varying credit characteristics and are pooled together and sold in tranches. The Company’s RMBS portfolio includes government sponsored enterprise (“GSE”) guaranteed passthroughs and whole loan collateralized mortgage obligations (“CMO”). The majority of the Company’s RMBS unrealized losses relate to whole loan CMOs.

All RMBS securities of the Company are monitored and reviewed on a monthly basis. Detailed cash flow models using the current collateral pool and capital structure on the portfolio are updated and reviewed quarterly. Model output is generated under base and stress-case scenarios. Our RMBS asset specialists utilize widely recognized industry modeling software to perform a loan-by-loan, bottom-up approach to modeling. Key assumptions used in the models are projected defaults, loss severities, and prepayments. Each of these key assumptions varies greatly based on the significantly diverse characteristics of the current collateral pool for each security. Loan-to-value, loan size, and borrower credit history are some of the key characteristics used to determine the level of assumption that is utilized. Defaults were estimated by identifying the loans that are in various delinquency buckets and defaulting a certain percentage of them over the near-term and long-term. Assumed defaults on delinquent loans are dependent on the specific security’s collateral attributes and historical performance.

Loss severity assumptions were determined by obtaining historical rates from broader market data and by adjusting those rates for vintage, specific pool performance, collateral type, mortgage insurance and estimated loan modifications. Prepayments were estimated by examining historical averages of prepayment activity on the underlying collateral. Once the entire pool is modeled, the results are closely analyzed by our asset specialists to determine whether or not our particular tranche or holding is at risk for not collecting all contractual cash flows taking into account the seniority and other terms of the tranches held. The Company impaired its particular tranche to the net present value of projected future cash flows where it would not be able to receive all contractual cash flows.

The Company’s $0.2 million of gross unrealized losses within the RMBS sector has a fair value of $0.7 million. The unrealized loss in the sector is primarily a result of the housing downturn the United States has experienced since 2007. Even with the stabilization over the past two years, fundamentals in RMBS continue to be weak, which impacts the magnitude of the unrealized loss. Delinquencies and severities in property liquidations remain at an elevated level, while prepayments remain at historically low levels. Due to the weak fundamental situation, reduced liquidity, and the requirement for higher yields due to market uncertainty, credit spreads remain elevated across the asset class.

There are no individual issuers rated below investment grade in the RMBS sector which have unrealized loss positions greater than $0.2 million.

 

16


Securities are impaired to the net present value of projected future cash flows where holdings are not projected to pay principal and interest in full. As the remaining unrealized losses in the RMBS portfolio relate to holdings where the Company expects to receive full principal and interest, the Company does not consider the underlying investments to be impaired at December 31, 2011.

The amortized cost and estimated fair value of fixed maturity AFS securities at December 31, 2011 and 2010 by rating agency equivalent were:

 

     December 31, 2011     December 31, 2010  

(dollars in millions)

      Amortized    
Cost
        Estimated    
Fair

Value
        Amortized    
Cost
        Estimated    
Fair

Value
 

AAA

  $ 29.1      $ 32.0      $ 33.2      $ 35.7   

AA

    18.1        19.1        13.7        14.1   

A

    60.2        66.9        57.4        61.1   

BBB

    26.5        27.7        28.2        29.7   

Below investment grade

    3.8        4.0        4.7        4.9   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total fixed maturity AFS securities

  $ 137.7      $ 149.7      $ 137.2      $ 145.5   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Investment grade

    97%        97%        97%        97%   

Below investment grade

    3%        3%        3%        3%   

The Company defines investment grade securities as unsecured debt obligations that have a rating equivalent to S&P’s BBB- or higher (or similar rating agency). At December 31, 2011 and 2010 approximately $4.1 million (or 3%) and $11.2 million (or 8%), respectively, of fixed maturity securities were rated BBB-, which is the lowest investment grade rating given by S&P. Below investment grade securities are speculative and are subject to significantly greater risks related to the creditworthiness of the issuers and the liquidity of the market for such securities. The Company closely monitors such investments.

Unrealized gains (losses) incurred during the years ended of 2011 and 2010, respectively, were primarily due to price fluctuations resulting from changes in interest rates and credit spreads. If the Company has the intent to sell or it is more likely than not that the Company will be required to sell these securities prior to the anticipated recovery of the amortized cost, securities are written down to fair value. If cash flow models indicate a credit event will impact future cash flows, the security is impaired to discounted cash flows. As the remaining unrealized losses in the portfolio relate to holdings where the Company expects to receive full principal and interest, the Company does not consider the underlying investments to be impaired.

Details underlying securities in a continuous gross unrealized loss and OTTI position for investment grade AFS securities were as follows:

 

     December 31, 2011  

(dollars in millions)

      Estimated    
Fair

Value
        Amortized    
Cost/Cost
    Gross
Unrealized
    Losses and    
OTTI (1)
 

Investment grade AFS securities

                 

Less than or equal to six months

     

Corporate securities

     

Financial services

  $ 2.7      $ 3.0      $ (0.3)   

Industrial

    0.9        1.0        (0.1)   

Equity securities - banking securities

    1.0        1.1        (0.1)   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total fixed maturity and equity securities

  $     4.6      $     5.1      $     (0.5)   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

17


     December 31, 2011  

(dollars in millions)

        Estimated      
Fair

Value
          Amortized      
Cost/Cost
    Gross
Unrealized
       Losses and      
OTTI (1)
 

Investment grade AFS securities (continued)

                 

Greater than one year

     

Corporate bonds

     

Financial services

  $ 2.1      $ 2.3      $ (0.2)   

Utility

    1.8        1.9        (0.1)   

Asset-backed securities - housing related

    1.6        1.6        -        
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total fixed maturity and equity securities

    5.5        5.8        (0.3)   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total of all investment grade AFS securities

     

Corporate securities

     

Financial services

    4.8        5.3        (0.5)   

Industrial

    0.9        1.0        (0.1)   

Utility

    1.8        1.9        (0.1)   

Asset-backed securities - housing related

    1.6        1.6        -        

Equity securities - banking securities

    1.0        1.1        (0.1)   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total fixed maturity and equity securities

  $ 10.1      $ 10.9      $ (0.8)   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total number of securities in a continuous unrealized loss position

  

    15   
     December 31, 2010  

(dollars in millions)

        Estimated      
Fair

Value
          Amortized      
Cost/Cost
    Gross
       Unrealized      
Losses and

OTTI (1)
 

Investment grade AFS securities

                 

Less than or equal to six months

     

Corporate securities

     

Financial services

  $ 2.8      $ 3.0      $ (0.2)   

Industrial

    5.2        5.3        (0.1)   

Utility

    1.9        2.0        (0.1)   

Government and government agencies - United States

    0.9        1.0        (0.1)   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total fixed maturity and equity securities

    10.8        11.3        (0.5)   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Greater than one year

     

Corporate securities - financial services

    0.8        0.8        -        
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total fixed maturity and equity securities

  $ 0.8      $ 0.8      $ -        
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

18


      December 31, 2010  

(dollars in millions)

     Estimated  
Fair

Value
      Amortized  
Cost/Cost
    Gross
  Unrealized  
Losses and
OTTI (1)
 

Investment grade AFS securities (continued)

                  

Total of all investment grade AFS securities

      

Corporate securities

      

Financial services

   $         3.6      $         3.8      $         (0.2

Industrial

     5.2        5.3        (0.1

Utility

     1.9        2.0        (0.1

Government and government agencies - United States

     0.9        1.0        (0.1
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total fixed maturity and equity securities

   $ 11.6      $ 12.1      $ (0.5
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total number of securities in a continuous unrealized loss position

         8   

(1) Subsequent unrealized gains/losses on OTTI securities are included in OCI-OTTI.

Details underlying securities in a continuous gross unrealized loss and OTTI position for below investment grade AFS securities were as follows:

 

      December 31, 2011  

(dollars in millions)

     Estimated  
Fair

Value
      Amortized  
Cost/Cost
    Gross
  Unrealized  
Losses and

OTTI (1)
 

Below investment grade AFS securities

                  

Greater than one year

      

Residential mortgage-backed securities - non agency backed

   $         0.7      $         0.9      $         (0.2

Government and government agencies - foreign

     0.4        0.5        (0.1

Equity securities - banking securities

     0.1        0.1        -       
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total fixed maturity and equity securities

   $ 1.2      $ 1.5      $ (0.3
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total number of securities in a continuous unrealized loss position

         3   

 

      December 31, 2010  

(dollars in millions)

     Estimated  
Fair

Value
      Amortized  
Cost/Cost
    Gross
  Unrealized  
Losses and
OTTI (1)
 

Below investment grade AFS securities

                  

Greater than one year

      

Residential mortgage-backed securities - non agency backed

   $         0.8      $         0.9      $         (0.1

Government and government agencies - foreign

     0.4        0.5        (0.1

Equity securities - banking securities

     0.1        0.1        -         
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total fixed maturity and equity securities

   $ 1.3      $ 1.5      $ (0.2
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 
Total number of securities in a continuous unrealized loss position          3   

Gross unrealized losses and OTTI on below investment grade AFS securities represented 25% and 33% of total gross unrealized losses and OTTI on all AFS securities at December 31, 2011 and 2010, respectively. Generally, below investment grade securities are more likely than investment grade securities to develop credit concerns. The ratios of estimated fair value to amortized cost reflected in the table below were not necessarily indicative of the market value to amortized cost relationships for the securities throughout the entire time that the securities have been in an unrealized loss position nor are they necessarily indicative of these ratios subsequent to December 31, 2011.

 

19


Details underlying AFS securities below investment grade and in an unrealized loss and OTTI position were as follows:

 

    

 

  December 31, 2011  

(dollars in millions)

  Ratio of
  Amortized Cost  
to Estimated

Fair Value
    Estimated  
Fair

Value
      Amortized  
Cost/Cost
    Gross
Unrealized
  Losses and  
OTTI (1)
 

Greater than one year

  70% to 100%   $ 1.2      $ 1.5      $ (0.3
   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total

    $ 1.2      $ 1.5      $ (0.3
   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 
    

 

  December 31, 2010  

(dollars in millions)

  Ratio of
  Amortized Cost  
to Estimated

Fair Value
    Estimated  
Fair

Value
      Amortized  
Cost/Cost
    Gross
Unrealized
  Losses and  
OTTI (1)
 

Greater than one year

  70% to 100%   $ 1.3      $ 1.5      $ (0.2
   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total

    $ 1.3      $ 1.5      $ (0.2
   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

(1) Subsequent unrealized gains (losses) on OTTI securities are included in OCI-OTTI.

There were two assets, an emerging market government and a regional U.S. banking institution, depressed over 20% and greater than one year at December 31, 2011. The drop in price was primarily due to increased illiquidity in the markets in general due to the European debt crisis.

During 2011, 2010 and 2009, there was less than $0.1 million, $0.1 million, and $0.1 million, respectively, of investment income on fixed maturity trading securities recorded in net investment income in the Statements of Income. During 2011 and 2010, there was less than $0.1 million and less than $0.1 million, respectively, of loss recognized from the change in the fair value on fixed maturity trading securities recorded in net investment income in the Statements of Income. The Company recognized gains of less than $0.1 million during 2011 on the conversion of fixed maturity trading securities to preferred stock. There were no conversions of fixed maturity trading securities to preferred stock in 2010 or 2009.

Subprime Mortgage Investments

Subprime mortgages are loans to homebuyers who have weak or impaired credit histories. Through 2008, the market for these loans had expanded rapidly. During that time, however, lending practices and credit assessment standards grew steadily weaker. As a result, the market is now experiencing a sharp increase in the number of loan defaults. Investors in subprime mortgage assets include not only mortgage lenders, but also brokers, hedge funds, and insurance companies. The Company does not currently invest in or originate whole loan residential mortgages. The Company categorizes ABS issued by a securitization trust as having subprime mortgage exposure when the average credit score of the underlying mortgage borrowers in a securitization trust is below 660 at issuance. The Company also categorizes ABS issued by a securitization trust with second lien mortgages as subprime mortgage exposure, even though a significant percentage of second lien mortgage borrowers may not necessarily have credit scores below 660 at issuance. The estimated fair value of the subprime mortgage investments at December 31, 2011 and 2010 was $1.6 million and $2.0 million, respectively, entirely in first lien - fixed rate, AAA quality and vintages prior to 2004.

OTTI

The Company’s impairment losses were less than $0.1 million, $0.1 million and $0.9 million for the years ended December 31, 2011, 2010 and 2009, respectively, with no associated VOBA amortization. The 2011 and 2010 impairment losses were principally the result of the Company impairing its holding of a 2005 vintage RMBS due to adverse changes in cash flows. The Company impaired its holding of a preferred stock in CIT Group, Inc. for $0.2 million during the third quarter 2009. In the first quarter 2009, the Company impaired its holdings in Harrah’s Entertainment Inc. (“Harrah’s”) to fair value for $0.3 million.

The Company adopted revised guidance for the recognition and presentation of OTTI effective at June 30, 2009. As permitted by the guidance, the Company recorded an increase of $0.1 million to the opening balance of retained earnings with a corresponding decrease to accumulated OCI on the Statement of Stockholder’s Equity to reclassify the non credit portion of previously other-than-temporarily impaired AFS securities held at April 1, 2009.

 

20


The following summarizes the components for this cumulative effect adjustment:

 

(dollars in millions)

       Unrealized    
OTTI

on AFS
Securities
    Net
    Unrealized    
Loss on

AFS
Securities
    Total
Cumulative
Effect
    Adjustment    
in OCI
 

Increase in amortized cost of AFS securities

   $ 0.1      $ 0.1      $ 0.2   

Change in VOBA

     -            (0.1     (0.1
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net cumulative effect adjustment

   $ 0.1      $ -          $ 0.1   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

The cumulative effect adjustment was calculated for all AFS securities held at April 1, 2009, for which an OTTI was previously recognized, but at April 1, 2009, the Company did not intend to sell the security and it was not more likely than not that the Company would be required to sell the security before recovery of its amortized cost, by comparing the present value of cash flows expected to be received at April 1, 2009, to the amortized cost basis of the AFS securities. The discount rate used to calculate the present value of the cash flows expected to be collected was the rate for each respective AFS security in effect before recognizing any OTTI. In addition, because the carrying amount of VOBA is adjusted for the effects of realized and unrealized gains and losses on AFS securities, the Company recognized a true-up to the VOBA balances for this cumulative effect adjustment.

 

 

Business Environment

 

The Company’s financial position and/or results of operations are primarily impacted by the following economic factors: equity market performance, fluctuations in medium term interest rates, and the corporate credit environment via credit quality and fluctuations in credit spreads. The following discusses the impact of each economic factor.

Equity Market Performance

The investment performance of the underlying U.S. equity-based mutual funds supporting the Company’s variable products do not replicate the returns of any specific U.S. equity market index. However, investment performance will generally increase or decrease with corresponding increases or decreases of the overall U.S. equity market. There are several standard indices published on a daily basis that measure performance of selected components of the U.S. equity market. Examples include the Dow Jones Industrial Average (“Dow”), the NASDAQ Composite Index (“NASDAQ”) and the S&P. The Dow, NASDAQ and S&P ended 2011 with increases (decreases) of 6%, (2%) and less than (0.1%), respectively, from 2010. The Dow, NASDAQ and S&P ended 2010 with increases of 11%, 17% and 13%, respectively, from 2009.

Changes in the U.S. equity market directly affect the values of the underlying U.S. equity-based mutual funds supporting Separate Accounts assets and, accordingly, the values of variable contract owner account balances. Approximately 68% of Separate Accounts assets were invested in equity-based mutual funds at December 31, 2011. Since asset-based fees collected on in force variable contracts represent a significant source of revenue, the Company’s financial condition will be impacted by fluctuations in investment performance of equity-based Separate Accounts assets. During 2011, average variable account balances decreased $28.4 million (or 4.6%) to $593.4 million as compared to the same period in 2010.

Fluctuations in the U.S. equity market also directly impact the Company’s exposure to guaranteed benefit provisions contained in the variable contracts it manufactures. Minimal or negative investment performance generally results in greater exposure to guarantee provisions. Prolonged periods of minimal or negative investment performance will result in greater guaranteed benefit costs as compared to assumptions. If the Company determines that it needs to increase its estimated long term cost of guaranteed benefits, it will result in establishing greater guaranteed benefit liabilities as compared to current practice.

Medium Term Interest Rates, Corporate Credit and Credit Spreads

Changes in interest rates affect the value of investments, primarily fixed maturity securities and preferred equity securities, as well as interest-sensitive liabilities. Changes in interest rates have an inverse relationship to the value of investments and interest-sensitive liabilities. Also, since the Company has certain fixed products that contain guaranteed minimum crediting rates, decreases in interest rates can decrease the amount of interest spread earned.

 

21


Changes in the corporate credit environment directly impact the value of the Company’s investments, primarily fixed maturity securities. The Company primarily invests in investment-grade corporate debt to support its fixed rate product liabilities.

Credit spreads represent the credit risk premiums required by market participants for a given credit quality, i.e., the additional yield that a debt instrument issued by an AA-rated entity must produce over a risk-free alternative (e.g., U.S. Treasury instruments). Changes in credit spreads have an inverse relationship to the value of interest sensitive investments.

The impact of changes in medium term interest rates, corporate credit and credit spreads on market valuations were as follows:

 

 

        2011                 2010                 2009        

Average medium term interest rate yield (a)

    0.40%        0.97%        1.43%   

Increase (decrease) in medium term interest rates (in basis points)

    (57     (46     54   

Credit spreads (in basis points) (b)

    285        175        200   

Expanding (contracting) of credit spreads (in basis points)

    110        (25     (535

Increase (decrease) on market valuations: (in millions)

     

Available-for-sale investment securities

  $ 3.6      $ 5.4      $ 15.2   

Interest-sensitive policyholder liabilities

    (0.4     0.1        0.3   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net change on market valuations

  $ 3.2      $ 5.5      $ 15.5   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

(a)

The Company defines medium term interest rates as the average interest rate on U.S. Treasury securities with terms of one to five years.

(b)

The Company defines credit spreads according to the Merrill Lynch U.S. Corporate Bond Index for BBB-A Rated bonds with three to five year maturities.

At December 31, 2011 and 2010, the Company had 994 and 1,069 life insurance and annuity contracts inforce with interest rate guarantees, respectively. The estimated average rate of interest credited on behalf of contract owners was 4.1% and 4.0% during 2011 and 2010, respectively. Total invested assets supporting these liabilities with interest rate guarantees had an estimated average effective yield of 4.3% and 6.3% during 2011 and 2010, respectively.

 

 

Liquidity and Capital Resources

 

Liquidity

The Company’s liquidity requirements include the payment of sales commissions and other underwriting expenses and the funding of its contractual obligations for the life insurance and annuity contracts it has in force. The Company has developed and utilizes a cash flow projection system and regularly performs asset/liability duration matching in the management of its asset and liability portfolios. The Company anticipates funding its cash requirements utilizing cash from operations, normal investment maturities and anticipated calls and repayments, consistent with prior years. At December 31, 2011 and 2010, the Company’s assets included $174.1 million and $170.6 million, respectively, of cash, short-term investments and investment grade publicly traded AFS securities that could be liquidated if funds were required.

Capital Resources

During 2011 and 2010, the Company did not receive a capital contribution from AUSA. In 2011, the Company paid a cash dividend of $25.0 million to AUSA. In 2010, the Company did not pay a dividend to AUSA.

Ratings

Ratings are an important factor in establishing the competitive position in the insurance and financial services marketplace. Rating agencies rate insurance companies based on financial strength and the ability to pay claims, factors more relevant to contract holders than investors.

 

22


The financial strength rating scales of S&P, A.M. Best, and Fitch Ratings (“Fitch”) are characterized as follows:

 

   

S&P – AAA to R

   

A.M. Best – A++ to S

   

Fitch – AAA to C

On August 19, 2011, S&P upgraded the Company’s outlook from negative to stable. The Company’s financial strength rating remained the same.

The following table summarizes the Company’s ratings at March 29, 2012:

 

S&P

     AA-   

(4th out of 21)

A.M. Best

   A+   

(2nd out of 16)

Fitch

     AA-   

(4th out of 19)

A downgrade of our financial strength rating could affect our competitive position in the insurance industry as customers may select companies with higher financial strength ratings. These ratings are not a recommendation to buy or hold any of the Company’s securities and they may be revised or revoked at any time at the sole discretion of the rating organization.

 

 

Commitments and Contingencies

 

The following table summarizes the Company’s policyholders’ obligations at December 31, 2011:

 

(dollars in millions)

  Less
  Than One  
Year
      One To  
Three
Years
      Four To
Five
Years
    More
  Than Five  
Years
      Total    

General accounts (a)

  $ 15.5      $ 28.1      $ 24.6      $ 103.8      $ 172.0   

Separate Accounts (a)

    71.4        123.9        112.5        449.1        756.9   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 
  $ 86.9      $ 152.0      $ 137.1      $ 552.9      $ 928.9   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

(a)

The policyholder liabilities include benefit and claim liabilities of which a significant portion represents policies and contracts that do not have a stated contractual maturity. The projected cash benefit payments in the table above are based on management’s best estimates of the expected gross benefits and expenses, partially offset by the expected gross premiums, fees and charges relating to the existing business in force. Estimated cash benefit payments are based on mortality and lapse assumptions comparable with the Company’s historical experience, modified for recently observed trends. Actual payment obligations may differ if experience varies from these assumptions. The cash benefit payments are presented on an undiscounted basis and are before deduction of tax and before reinsurance. The liability amounts in the Company’s Financial Statements reflect the discounting for interest as well as adjustments for the timing of other factors as described above. As a result, the sum of the cash benefit payments shown for all years in the table above exceeds the corresponding policyholder liability amounts.

The Company has utilized public information to estimate the future assessments it will incur as a result of life insurance company insolvencies. At December 31, 2011, the Company’s estimated liability for future guaranty fund assessments was $0.3 million. At December 31, 2010, the Company did not have a liability for future guaranty fund assessments. In addition, the Company has a receivable for future premium tax deductions of $0.1 million at December 31, 2011. At December 31, 2010, the Company did not have a receivable for future premium tax deductions. The Company regularly monitors public information regarding insurer insolvencies and adjusts its estimated liability as appropriate.

In the normal course of business, the Company is subject to various claims and assessments. Management believes the settlement of these matters would not have a material effect on the financial position, results of operations or cash flows of the Company.

 

 

Results of Operations

 

The Company’s gross earnings are principally derived from two sources:

 

 

the charges imposed on variable annuity and variable life insurance contracts, and

 

the net earnings from investment of fixed rate life insurance and annuity contract owner deposits less interest credited to contract owners, commonly known as interest spread

 

23


The costs associated with acquiring contract owner deposits (DAC) are amortized based on the estimated gross profits for a group of contracts, as noted in the Critical Accounting Policies section above. Insurance expenses and taxes reported in the Statements of Income are net of amounts deferred. In addition, the Company incurs expenses associated with the maintenance of in force contracts.

2011 compared to 2010

For the years ended December 31, 2011 and 2010, the Company recorded net income of $6.2 million and $12.1 million, respectively. The decline in income during 2011 as compared to 2010 was primarily due to higher policy benefits and a higher effective tax rate.

Policy charge revenue decreased $0.6 million (or 4.2%) to $14.0 million during 2011, as compared to $14.6 million in 2010. The following table provides the changes in policy charge revenue by type for each respective period:

 

$00,000 $00,000 $00,000

(dollars in millions)

  2011     2010     Change  

Asset-based policy charge revenue

  $ 8.5      $ 9.0      $ (0.5 ) (a) 

Guaranteed benefit based policy charge revenue

    1.2        1.1        0.1   

Non-asset based policy charge revenue

    4.3        4.5        (0.2
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total policy charge revenue

  $ 14.0      $ 14.6      $ (0.6
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

(a)

Asset-based policy charge revenue for 2011 was negatively impacted by the decline in average variable account balances.

Net realized investment gains decreased $0.3 million to $0.6 million during 2011 as compared to $0.9 million in 2010. The following table provides the changes in net realized investment gains (losses) by type:

 

$00,000 $00,000 $00,000

(dollars in millions)

  2011     2010     Change  

Interest related gains

  $ 1.1      $ 1.7      $ (0.6 ) (a) 

Equity related losses

    (0.5     (0.8     0.3   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total net realized investment gains

  $ 0.6      $ 0.9      $ (0.3
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Write-downs for OTTI included in net realized investment gains (losses)

  $ -          $ -          $ -       

 

(a)

The decrease in interest related gains in 2011 as compared to 2010 is primarily due to a decrease in gains on sales of fixed maturity securities in 2011.

Policy benefits increased $2.8 million during 2011 as compared to 2010. The following table provides the changes in policy benefits by type:

 

$00,000 $00,000 $00,000

(dollars in millions)

  2011     2010     Change  

Annuity benefit unlocking

  $ 2.4      $ (2.4   $ 4.8    (a) 

Annuity benefit expense

    0.5        1.9        (1.4 )  (b) 

Life insurance mortality expense

    1.7        2.3        (0.6 )  (c) 
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total policy benefits

  $ 4.6      $ 1.8      $ 2.8   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

(a)

See the Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates section above for further discussion of annuity benefit unlocking.

(b)

The decrease in annuity benefit expense in 2011 as compared to 2010 was primarily driven by a reduction in risk neutral rates and lower equity market performance which favorably impacted the GMIB Reinsurance reserves.

(c)

Life insurance mortality expense decreased in 2011 as compared to 2010 primarily due to 2010 claims with a high net amount at risk.

 

24


Amortization of VOBA was $1.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2011, which included unfavorable unlocking of $0.7 million. Amortization of VOBA was $1.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2010, which included favorable unlocking of $0.6 million. 2011 was impacted by unfavorable equity markets and long-term interest rate assumption changes during the third quarter resulting in lower amortization expense and unfavorable unlocking as compared to 2010.

Insurance expenses and taxes decreased $0.7 million as compared to 2010. The following table provides the changes in insurance expenses and taxes for each respective period:

 

$00,000 $00,000 $00,000

(dollars in millions)         

   2011      2010      Change  

Commissions

   $ 2.7       $ 2.8       $ (0.1

General insurance expense

     1.7         2.4         (0.7 )  (a) 

Taxes, licenses, and fees

     0.1         -             0.1   
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total insurance expenses and taxes

   $ 4.5       $ 5.2       $ (0.7
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

 

(a)

The decline in general insurance expenses is primarily due to lower transition and system conversion related expenses in 2011 as compared to 2010.

2010 compared to 2009

For the years ended December 31, 2010 and 2009, the Company recorded net income (loss) of $12.1 million and ($6.2) million, respectively. The increase in income during 2010 as compared to 2009 was primarily due to the 2009 VOBA impairment, net realized investment gains in 2010 compared to losses in 2009, the change in the valuation allowance on deferred tax assets, and a decline in policy benefits.

Policy charge revenue decreased $0.2 million (or 1%) to $14.6 million during 2010, as compared to $14.8 million in 2009. The following table provides the changes in policy charge revenue by type for each respective period:

 

$00,000 $00,000 $00,000

(dollars in millions)

   2010      2009      Change  

Asset-based policy charge revenue

   $ 9.0       $ 8.8       $ 0.2   

Guaranteed benefit based policy charge revenue

     1.1         1.4         (0.3 )       

Non-asset based policy charge revenue

     4.5         4.6         (0.1
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total policy charge revenue

   $ 14.6       $ 14.8       $ (0.2
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Net realized investment gains (losses) increased $3.8 million to $0.9 million during 2010 as compared to ($2.9) million in 2009. The following table provides the changes in net realized investment gains (losses) by type:

 

$00,000 $00,000 $00,000

(dollars in millions)

   2010     2009     Change  

Credit related losses

   $ -          $ (0.6   $ 0.6   (a) 

Interest related gains (losses)

     1.7        (0.3     2.0   (b) 

Equity related losses

     (0.8     (2.0     1.2   (c) 
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total net realized investment gains (losses)

   $ 0.9      $ (2.9   $ 3.8   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Write-downs for OTTI included in net realized investment gains (losses)

   $ -          $ (0.9   $ 0.9   (a) 

 

(a)

The change in credit related losses as compared to 2009 is primarily due to a decrease in OTTI impairments along with the change in accounting principle for OTTI impairments in 2009. See Note 3 to the Financial Statements for further discussion.

(b)

The increase in interest related gains was principally due to the credit spread movement tightening in 2010.

(c)

The change in equity related losses principally relates to the lower net losses on futures contracts during 2010 as compared to 2009.

 

25


Policy benefits decreased $1.5 million during 2010 as compared to 2009. The following table provides the changes in policy benefits by type:

 

$00,000 $00,000 $00,000

(dollars in millions)

   2010     2009     Change  

Annuity benefit unlocking

   $ (2.4   $ 0.1      $ (2.5 ) (a) 

Annuity benefit expense

     1.9        1.7        0.2   

Amortization of deferred sales inducements

     -            0.1        (0.1

Life insurance mortality expense

     2.3        1.4        0.9   (b) 
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total policy benefits

   $ 1.8      $ 3.3      $ (1.5
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

(a)

See the Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates section above for further discussion of annuity benefit unlocking.

(b)

Life insurance mortality expenses increased in 2010 primarily due to an increase in claims with a high net amount at risk.

Reinsurance premiums ceded increased $0.3 million during 2010 as compared to 2009 principally due to refined calculations related to a system conversion. At December 31, 2010, the Company had recaptured the majority of its life reinsurance which had started in second quarter of 2008.

Amortization of VOBA was $1.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2010, which included favorable unlocking of $0.6 million. Amortization and impairment of VOBA was $10.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2009, which included unfavorable unlocking of $0.5 million. Favorable unlocking during 2010 was primarily driven by the favorable equity market in the latter half of the year, while in 2009 poor equity market performance during the first quarter resulted in unfavorable unlocking. In addition, during 2009, an impairment charge for $7.2 million was recorded as estimated future gross profits were less than the unamortized balance at March 31, 2009.

Insurance expenses and taxes decreased $0.8 million as compared to 2009. The following table provides the changes in insurance expenses and taxes for each respective period:

 

$00,000 $00,000 $00,000

(dollars in millions)

   2010     2009     Change  

Commissions

   $ 2.8      $ 2.8      $ -       

General insurance expense

     2.4        3.5        (1.1 )  (a) 

Taxes, licenses, and fees

     -            (0.3     0.3   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total insurance expenses and taxes

   $ 5.2      $ 6.0      $ (0.8
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

(a)

The decrease in general insurance expenses is primarily due to lower transition and system conversion related expenses in 2010 as compared to 2009.

 

 

Segment Information

 

The Company’s operating results are categorized into two business segments: Annuity and Life Insurance. The Company’s Annuity segment consists of variable annuity and interest-sensitive annuity contracts. The Company’s Life Insurance segment consists of variable life insurance and interest-sensitive life insurance contracts. The accounting policies of the business segments are the same as those described in the summary of significant accounting policies. All revenue and expense transactions are recorded at the contract level and accumulated at the business segment level for review by management.

 

26


Select financial information by segment for the years ended December 31 is as follows:

 

(dollars in millions)

     Annuity       Life
  Insurance  
        Total      

2011

      

Net revenues (a)

   $     13.1      $     5.7      $     18.8   

Amortization (accretion) of VOBA

     (0.5     2.1        1.6   

Policy benefits (net of reinsurance recoveries)

     2.8        1.8        4.6   

Federal income tax expense (benefit)

     1.6        (0.1     1.5   

Net income

     5.2        1.0        6.2   

2010

      

Net revenues (a)

   $ 14.2      $ 5.7      $ 19.9   

Amortization of VOBA

     0.6        0.6        1.2   

Policy benefits (net of reinsurance recoveries)

     (0.5     2.3        1.8   

Federal income tax benefit

     (1.1     (0.1     (1.2

Net income

     10.6        1.5        12.1   

2009

      

Net revenues (a)

   $ 9.3      $ 5.8      $ 15.1   

Amortization and impairment of VOBA

     9.2        1.6        10.8   

Policy benefits (net of reinsurance recoveries)

     1.9        1.4        3.3   

Federal income tax expense

     0.1        0.6        0.7   

Net income (loss)

     (7.6     1.5        (6.2

 

(a)

Management considers interest credited to policyholder liabilities in evaluating net revenues.

The Company is not dependent upon any single customer, and no single customer accounted for more than 10% of its revenues during 2011, 2010 or 2009.

Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk

Market Risk

As an insurance company, the Company is in the “risk” business and as a result is exposed to a variety of risks. A description of our risk management and control systems is given below on the basis of significant identified risks for us. Our largest exposures are to changes in the financial markets (e.g. interest rate, credit and equity market risks) that affect the value of the investments, liabilities from products that we sold, deferred expenses, and value of business acquired.

Results of the Company’s sensitivity analyses are presented to show the estimated sensitivity of net income to various scenarios. For each type of market risk, the analysis shows how net income would have been affected by changes in the relevant risk variables that were reasonably possible at the reporting date. For each sensitivity test, the impact of a reasonably possible change in a single factor (or shock) is shown. The analysis considers the interdependency between interest rates and lapse behavior for products sold where there is clear evidence of dynamic lapse behavior. Management action is taken into account to the extent that it is part of the Company’s regular policies and procedures. However, incidental management actions that would require a change in policies and procedures are not considered.

Each sensitivity analysis reflects the extent to which the shock tested would affect management’s critical accounting estimates and judgment in applying the Company’s accounting policies (See Note 1 of the Financial Statements for a description of the critical accounting estimates and judgments). The shock may affect the measurement of assets and liabilities based on assumptions that are not observable in the market as well as market consistent assumptions. For example, a shock in interest rates may lead to changes in the amortization schedule of DAC or to increased impairment losses on equity investments. Although management’s short-term assumption may change if there is a reasonable change in a risk factor, long-term assumptions will generally not be revised unless there is evidence that the movement is permanent. This fact is reflected in the sensitivity analyses provided below.

The sensitivities do not reflect what the net income for the period would have been if risk variables had been different because the analysis is based on the exposures in existence at the reporting date rather than on those that actually occurred during the year. Nor are the results of the sensitivities intended to be an accurate prediction of the Company’s future income. The analysis does not

 

27


consider all methods available to management to respond to changes in the financial environment, such as changing investment portfolio allocations or adjusting crediting rates. Furthermore, the results of the analysis cannot be extrapolated for wider variations since effects do not tend to be linear. No risk management process can clearly predict future results.

Interest Rate Risk

Interest rate risk arises from the possibility that changes in interest rates will affect the value of investments, primarily fixed maturity securities and preferred equity securities. Changes in interest rates have an inverse relationship to the value of investments. The Company manages interest rate risk as part of its asset/liability management strategy. For each portfolio, management monitors the expected changes in assets and liabilities, as produced by the Company’s model, resulting from various interest rate scenarios. Based on these results, management closely matches the duration of insurance liabilities to the duration of assets supporting those liabilities.

The table below shows the interest rates at the end of the last five years:

 

$000,000.00 $000,000.00 $000,000.00 $000,000.00 $000,000.00 $000,000.00

 

          2011             2010             2009             2008             2007      

3-Month US Libor

      0.58%        0.30%        0.25%        1.43%        4.70%   

10-Year U.S. Treasury

      1.89%        3.38%        3.85%        2.21%        4.03%   

The sensitivity analysis in the table below shows an estimate of the effect of a parallel shift in the yield curve on net income and equity. Increases in interest rates have a negative effect on GAAP equity and net income in the current year because it results in unrealized losses on investments that are carried at fair value. The offsetting economic gain on the insurance contracts is however, not fully reflected in the sensitivities because many of these liabilities are not measured at fair value. Over time, the short-term reduction in net income due to rising interest rates would be offset by higher net income in later years, all else being equal.

 

    Estimated Approximate Effects on:  

Change in Interest Rates: (dollars in millions)

  Net Income     Equity  

2011                                                 

           

Shift Up of 100 Basis Points

  $ (0.8   $ (5.1

Shift Down of 100 Basis Points

  $ 1.0      $ 5.4   

2010                                                 

           

Shift Up of 100 Basis Points

  $ (0.8   $ (5.2

Shift Down of 100 Basis Points

  $ 1.0      $ 5.6   

The sensitivity analysis above reflects the assets and liabilities held at year-end. This does not necessarily reflect the risk exposure during the year as significant events do not necessarily occur on January 1. The selection of a 100 basis point immediate, parallel increase or decrease in interest rates is a hypothetical rate scenario used to demonstrate potential risk. While a 100 basis point immediate, parallel increase does not represent the Company’s view of future market changes, it is a near term reasonably possible hypothetical change that illustrates the potential impact of such events. While the income and equity impacts provide a presentation of interest rate sensitivity, they are based on the portfolio exposures at a point in time and may not be representative of future market results. These exposures will change as a result of ongoing portfolio transactions in response to management’s assessment of changing market conditions and available investment opportunities.

Credit Risk

Credit risk represents the loss that the Company would incur if an issuer fails to perform its contractual obligations and the value of the security held has been impaired or is deemed worthless. The Company manages its credit risk by setting investment policy guidelines that assure diversification with respect to investment, issuer, geographic location and credit quality. Management regularly monitors compliance of each investment portfolio’s status with the investment policy guidelines, including timely updates of credit-related securities.

Equity Market Risk

Fluctuations in the equity markets have affected the Company’s profitability, capital position and sales of equity related products in the past and may continue to do so. Exposure to equity markets exists in both assets and liabilities. Asset exposure exists through direct equity investment, where the Company bears all or most of the volatility in returns and investment performance risk. Equity market exposure is also present in insurance contracts for account of policyholders where funds are invested in

 

28


equities such as variable annuities and life insurance. Although most of the risk remains with the policyholder, lower investment returns can reduce the asset management fee earned by the Company on the asset balance in these products. In addition, some of this business has minimum guarantees.

The table that follows sets forth the closing levels of certain major indices at the end of the last five years:

 

$000,000.00 $000,000.00 $000,000.00 $000,000.00 $000,000.00 $000,000.00

 

          2011             2010             2009             2008             2007      

S&P 500

      1,258        1,258        1,115        903        1,468   

NASDAQ

      2,605        2,653        2,269        1,577        2,652   

DOW

      12,218        11,578        10,428        8,776        13,265   

The sensitivity analysis of net income to change in equity prices is presented in the table below. The sensitivity of net income to changes in equity markets reflects changes in the market value of the Company’s portfolio, changes in DAC amortization and the strengthening of the guaranteed minimum benefits, where applicable. The results of equity sensitivity tests are non-linear. The main reason for this is due to equity options sold to clients that are embedded in some of these products and the more severe scenarios could cause accelerated DAC amortization and guaranteed minimum benefits provisioning, while moderate scenarios may not.

 

    Estimated Approximate Effect on
Net Income
 

Immediate Change of: (dollars in millions)

  2011     2010  

Equity Increase of 10%

  $ 1.1      $ 0.6   

Equity Increase of 20%

  $ 1.8      $ 0.9   

Equity Decrease of 10%

  $ (1.5   $ (0.8

Equity Decrease of 20%

  $ (4.0   $ (1.9

The selection of a 10% and 20% change in the equity markets should not be construed as a prediction of future market events, but rather as an illustration of the potential impact of such an event. The Company’s exposure can change as a result of changes in the Company’s mix of business.

Liquidity Risk

Liquidity risk is inherent in much of the Company businesses. Each asset purchased and liability sold has liquidity characteristics that are unique. Some liabilities are surrenderable while some assets, such as private placements, mortgages loans and limited partnerships have low liquidity. If the Company requires significant amounts of cash on short notice in excess of normal cash requirements, the Company may have difficulty selling these investments at attractive prices, in a timely manner or both.

Underwriting Risk

The Company’s earnings depend significantly upon the extent to which actual claims experience is consistent with the assumptions used in setting the prices for products and establishing the technical liabilities and liabilities for claims. To the extent that actual claims experience is less favorable than the underlying assumptions used in establishing such liabilities, income would be reduced. Furthermore, if these higher claims were part of a permanent trend, the Company may be required to increase liabilities, which could reduce income. In addition, certain acquisition costs related to the sale of new policies and the purchase of policies already in force have been recorded as assets on the balance sheet and are being amortized into income over time. If the assumptions relating to the future profitability of these policies (such as future claims, investment income and expenses) are not realized, the amortization of these costs could be accelerated and may even require write offs due to unrecoverability. This could have a materially adverse effect on the Company’s business, results of operations and financial condition.

Sources of underwriting risk include policy lapses and policy claims such as mortality and expenses. In general, the Company is at risk if policy lapses increase as sometimes the Company is unable to fully recover up front expenses in selling a product despite the presence of commission recoveries or surrender charges and fees. Within variable annuity contracts with certain guarantee benefits, the Company is at risk if policy lapses decrease, as more contracts would remain in force until guaranteed payments are made. For mortality risk, the Company sells certain types of policies that are at risk if mortality increases, such as term life insurance or guaranteed minimum death benefits, and sells certain types of policies that are at risk if mortality decreases (longevity risk) such as certain annuity products. The Company is also at risk if expenses are higher than assumed by management.

The Company monitors and manages its underwriting risk by underwriting risk type. Attribution analysis is performed on earnings and reserve movements in order to understand the source of any material variation in actual results from what was expected. The

 

29


Company’s units also perform experience studies for underwriting risk assumptions, comparing the Company’s experience to industry experience as well as combining the Company’s experience and industry experience based on the depth of the history of each source to the Company’s underwriting assumptions. The Company also has the ability to reduce expense levels over time, thus mitigating unfavorable expense variation.

Sensitivity analysis of net income to various underwriting risks is shown in the table that follows. The sensitivities represent an increase or decrease of mortality rates over 2011. Increases in mortality rates lead to an increase in the level of benefits and claims on most business. The impact on net income and equity of sales transactions of investments required to meet the higher cash outflow from lapses or deaths are reflected in the sensitivities.

 

      Estimated Approximate  Effect
on Net Income
 

Immediate Change of: (dollars in millions)

   2011     2010  

20% Increase in Lapse Rates

   $ (0.1   $ (0.0

20% Decrease in Lapse Rates

   $           0.1      $           0.0   

10% Increase in Mortality Rates

   $ (0.2   $ (0.2

10% Decrease in Mortality Rates

   $ 0.2      $ 0.2   

A shock in mortality rates will generally not lead to a change in the assumptions underlying the measurement of the insurance liabilities as management will recognize that the shock is temporary. Life insurers are also exposed to longevity risk.

Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data

The financials statements of Registrant are set forth in Part IV hereof and are incorporated herein by reference.

Item 9. Changes in and Disagreements with Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure

No information is required to be disclosed under this item.

Item 9A. Controls and Procedures

a) Evaluation of disclosure controls and procedures

The term “disclosure controls and procedures” (defined in the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 Rule 13a-15(e)) generally refers to the controls and other procedures of a company that are designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed by a company in the reports that it files or submits under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the “Exchange Act”) is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within required time periods. Disclosure controls and procedures include, without limitation, controls and procedures designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed by TALICNY in the reports that it files or submits under the Exchange Act is accumulated and communicated to TALICNY’s management, including TALICNY’s principal executive and financial officers, as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure. TALICNY’s management, with the participation of the Chairman of the Board and President and Chief Financial Officer, have evaluated the effectiveness of the TALICNY’s disclosure controls and procedures as of the end of the period covered by this annual report (the “Evaluation Date”). Based on that evaluation, TALICNY’s Chairman of the Board and President and Chief Financial Officer have concluded that, as of the Evaluation Date, such disclosure controls and procedures were effective.

b) Management’s annual report on internal control over financial reporting

The term “internal control over financial reporting” (defined in Exchange Act Rule 13a-15(f)) generally refers to the process of a company that is designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles.

TALICNY’s management, with the participation of the Chairman of the Board and President and Chief Financial Officer, is responsible for establishing and maintaining an adequate system of internal control over financial reporting. TALICNY’s management, with the participation of the Chairman of the Board and President and Chief Financial Officer, has conducted an evaluation of the effectiveness of TALICNY’s internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2011 based on the

 

30


criteria related to internal control over financial reporting described in “Internal Control - Integrated Framework” issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission. Based on that evaluation, TALICNY’s management concluded that the internal control over financial reporting was effective as of December 31, 2011.

This annual report does not include an attestation report of TALICNY’s registered public accounting firm regarding internal control over financial reporting because TALICNY is a non-accelerated filer.

c) Changes in internal control over financial reporting

During the fiscal quarter ended December 31, 2011, there have been no changes in TALICNY’s internal control over financial reporting that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, TALICNY’s internal control over financial reporting.

Item 9B. Other Information

No information is required to be disclosed under this item.

 

31


PART III

Information called for by items 10 through 13 of this part is omitted pursuant to General instruction I. of form 10-K.

Item 14. Principal Account Fees and Services

Fees Paid to the Registrant’s Independent Auditor

The aggregate fees for professional services rendered by Ernst & Young LLP (“E&Y”) for the audit of TALICNY’s Financial Statements in 2011, 2010 and 2009 were:

 

$000,000 $000,000 $000,000

 

   2011      2010      2009  

Audit (a)

   $ 225,000       $ 250,000       $ 328,000   

 

(a)

Audit fees consist of fees for the annual financial statement audit (including required quarterly reviews) and other procedures required to be performed by the independent auditor to be able to form an opinion on TALICNY’s financial statements. These other procedures include information systems and procedural reviews and testing performed in order to understand and place reliance on the systems of internal control, and consultations relating the audit or quarterly review. They also include fees billed for other audit services, which are those services that only the external auditor reasonably can provide, and include statutory audits, comfort letters, services associated with SEC registration statements, periodic reports and other documents filed with the SEC.

Audit Committee Pre-approval Policies and Procedures

TALICNY’s Audit Committee is responsible, among other matters, for the oversight of the external auditor. Consistent with SEC rules regarding auditor independence, the Audit Committee has adopted a policy regarding pre-approval of audit and permissible non-audit services provided by our independent auditors (the “Pre-approval Policy”).

Under the Pre-approval Policy, proposed services either:

 

(i)

may be pre-approved by the Audit Committee without consideration of specific case-by-case services (“general pre-approval”); or

 

(ii)

require the specific pre-approval of the Audit Committee (“specific pre-approval”). Appendices to the Pre-approval Policy (that are adopted each year) set out the audit, audit-related, tax, and other services that have received the general pre-approval of the Audit Committee. All other audit, audit-related, tax and other services must receive specific pre-approval from the Audit Committee.

During 2011, all services provided to TALICNY by E&Y were pre-approved by the Audit Committee in accordance with the Pre-approval policy.

 

32


PART IV

 

Item 15. Exhibits and Financial Statement Schedules

 

    (a)

Financial Statements and Exhibits

 

  (1)

The following financial statements of the Registrant are filed as part of this report

 

  a.

  Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm Report dated March 29, 2012 (Ernst & Young LLP).

 

  b.

  Balance Sheets at December 31, 2011 and 2010.

 

  c.

  Statements of Income for the Years Ended December 31, 2011, 2010 and 2009.

 

  d.

  Statements of Comprehensive Income for the Years Ended December 31, 2011, 2010 and 2009.

 

  e.

  Statements of Stockholder’s Equity for the Years Ended December 31, 2011, 2010 and 2009.

 

  f.

  Statements of Cash Flows for the Years Ended December 31, 2011, 2010 and 2009.

 

  g.

  Notes to Financial Statements for the Years Ended December 31, 2011, 2010 and 2009.

 

  (2)

Not applicable.

 

  (3)

The following exhibits are filed as part of this report:

 

33


  3.1    Certificate of Amendment of the Charter of ML Life Insurance Company of New York. (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 6(a)(ii) to Post-Effective Amendment No. 10 to ML of New York Variable Annuity Account A’s registration statement on Form N-4, File No. 33-43654, filed December 9, 1996.)
  3.2    Certificate of Amendment of the Charter of ML Life Insurance Company of New York. (Incorporated by Reference to Exhibit 3.2 to Registrant’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, File Nos. 33-34562, 33-60288, 333-48983, and 333-133224, filed August 12, 2010.)
  3.3    By-Laws of Transamerica Advisors Life Insurance Company of New York. (Incorporated by Reference to Exhibit 3.3 to Registrant’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, File Nos. 33-34562, 33-60288, 333-48983, and 333-133224, filed August 12, 2010.)
  4.1    Modified Guaranteed Annuity Contract. (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4(a) to Pre-Effective Amendment No. 1 to the Registrant’s registration statement on Form S-1, File No. 33-34562, filed October 16, 1990.)
  4.2    Modified Guaranteed Annuity Contract Application. (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4(b) to Pre-Effective Amendment No. 1 to the Registrant’s registration statement on Form S-1, File No. 33-34562, filed October 16, 1990.)
  4.3    Qualified Retirement Plan Endorsement. (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4(c) to Pre-Effective Amendment No. 1 to the Registrant’s registration statement on Form S-1, File No. 33-34562, filed October 16, 1990.)
  4.4    IRA Endorsement. (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4(d) to Pre-Effective Amendment No. 1 to the Registrant’s registration statement on Form S-1, File No. 33-34562, filed October 16, 1990.)
  4.5    Company Name Change Endorsement. (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4(e) to Post-Effective Amendment No. 3 to the Registrant’s registration statement on Form S-1, File No. 33-34562, filed March 30, 1992.)
  4.6    IRA Endorsement, MLNY009 (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4(d)(2) to Post-Effective Amendment No. 1 to the Registrant’s registration statement on Form S-1, File No. 33-60288, filed March 31, 1994).
  4.7    Modified Guaranteed Annuity Contract MLNY-AY-991/94. (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4(a)(2) to Post-Effective Amendment No. 3 to the Registrant’s registration statement on Form S-1, File No. 33-60288, filed December 7, 1994).
  4.8    Qualified Retirement Plan Endorsement MLNY-AYQ-991/94. (Incorporation by reference to Exhibit 4(c)(2) to Post-Effective Amendment No. 3 to the Registrant’s registration statement on Form S-1, File No. 33-60288, filed December 7, 1994).
10.1    General Agency Agreement between Royal Tandem Life Insurance Company and Merrill Lynch Life Agency Inc. (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10(a) to Pre-Effective Amendment No. 1 to the Registrant’s registration statement on Form S-1, File No. 33-34562, filed October 16, 1990.)
10.2    Investment Management Agreement by and between Royal Tandem Life Insurance Company and Equitable Capital Management Corporation. (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10(b) to Pre-Effective Amendment No. 1 to the Registrant’s registration statement on Form S-1, File No. 33-34562, filed October 16, 1990.)
10.3    Shareholders’ Agreement by and among The Equitable Life Assurance Society of the United States and Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc. and Tandem Financial Group, Inc. (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10(c) to Pre-Effective Amendment No. 1 to the Registrant’s registration statement on Form S-1, File No. 33-34562, filed October 16, 1990.)
10.4    Service Agreement by and between Royal Tandem Life Insurance Company and Tandem Financial Group, Inc. (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10(d) to Pre-Effective Amendment No. 1 to the Registrant’s registration statement on Form S-1, File No. 33-34562, filed October 16, 1990.)

 

34


10.5    Service Agreement by and between Tandem Financial Group, Inc. and Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc. (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10(e) to Pre-Effective Amendment No. 1 to the Registrant’s registration statement on Form S-1, File No. 33-34562, filed October 16, 1990.)
10.6    Form of Investment Management Agreement by and between Royal Tandem Life Insurance Company and Merrill Lynch Asset Management, Inc. (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10(f) to Post-Effective Amendment No. 1 to the Registrant’s registration statement on Form S-1, File No. 33-34562, filed March 7, 1991.)
10.7    Assumption Reinsurance Agreement between Merrill Lynch Life Insurance Company, Tandem Insurance Group, Inc. and Royal Tandem Life Insurance Company and Family Life Insurance Company. (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10(g) to Post-Effective Amendment No. 3 to the Registrant’s registration statement on Form S-1, File No. 33-34562, filed March 30, 1992.)
10.8    Indemnity Agreement between ML Life Insurance Company of New York and Merrill Lynch Life Agency, Inc. (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10(h) to Post-Effective Amendment No. 3 to the Registrant’s registration statement on Form S-1, File No. 33-34562, filed March 30, 1992.)
10.9    Amended General Agency Agreement between ML Life Insurance Company of New York and Merrill Lynch Life Agency, Inc. (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10(i) to Post-Effective Amendment No. 3 to the Registrant’s registration statement on Form S-1, File No. 33-34562, filed March 30, 1992.)
10.10    Amended Management Agreement between ML Life Insurance Company of New York and Merrill Lynch Asset Management, Inc. (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10(j) to the Registrant’s registration statement on Form S-1, File No. 33-60288, filed March 30, 1993.)
10.11    Mortgage Loan Servicing Agreement between ML Life Insurance Company of New York and Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc. (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10(k) to Post-Effective Amendment No. 4 to the Registrant’s registration statement on Form S-1, File No. 33-60288, filed March 29, 1995.)
10.12    Master Distribution Agreement between Merrill Lynch Insurance Group, Inc., Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc., and AEGON USA, Inc. (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.2 to Registrant’s Current Report on Form 8-K, File No. 33-34562, filed January 4, 2008.)
10.13    Non-Affiliated Broker-Dealer Wholesaling Agreement between ML Life Insurance Company of New York, Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated, and Transamerica Capital, Inc. (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.13 to the Registrant’s Annual Report on Form 10-K, File Nos. 33-34562, 33-60288, 333-48983, and 333-133224, filed March 27, 2008.)
10.14    Selling Agreement between ML Life Insurance Company of New York, Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated, and Merrill Lynch Life Agency, Inc. (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.14 to the Registrant’s Annual Report on Form 10-K, File Nos. 33-34562, 33-60288, 333-48983, and 333-133224, filed March 27, 2008.)
10.15    Purchase Agreement between Merrill Lynch Insurance Group, Inc., Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc., and AEGON USA, Inc. (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to Registrant’s Current Report on Form 8-K, File No. 33-34562, filed August 17, 2007.)
10.16    First Amendment to Purchase Agreement between Merrill Lynch Insurance Group, Inc., Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc., and AEGON USA, Inc. (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to Registrant’s Current Report on Form 8-K, File No. 33-34562, filed January 4, 2008.)

 

35


10.17    Principal Underwriting Agreement between Transamerica Capital, Inc. and ML Life Insurance Company of New York (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.18 to the Registrant’s Annual Report on Form 10-K, File Nos. 33-34562,33-60288, 333-48983, and 333-133224, filed March 26, 2009.)
10.18    Amended and Restated Principal Underwriting Agreement between Transamerica Capital, Inc. and Transamerica Advisors Life Insurance Company of New York. (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.18 to the Registrant’s Annual Report on Form 10-K, File Nos. 33-34562, 33-60288, 333-48983, and 333-133224, filed March 25, 2011.)
10.19    Investment Management Services Agreement among Transamerica Asset Management, Inc., Transamerica Advisors Life Insurance Company and Transamerica Advisors Life Insurance Company of New York. (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.19 to the Registrant’s Annual Report on Form 10-K, File Nos. 33-34562, 33-60288, 333-48983, and 333-133224, filed March 25, 2011.)
24.1    Powers of Attorney for Eric J. Martin, William Brown, Jr., Steven E. Frushtick, and John T. Mallett. (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 24.1 to the Registrant’s Annual Report on Form 10-K, Nos. 34562, 33-60288, 333-48983, and 333-133224, filed March 25, 2010.)
24.2    Powers of Attorney for Peter P. Post, Thomas A. Swank, and Marc Cahn. (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 24.2 to the Registrant’s Annual Report on Form 10-K, File Nos. 33-34562, 33-60288, 333-48983, and 333-133224, filed March 25, 2011.)
31.1    Certification by the Chief Executive Officer of the Registrant pursuant to Rule 15d-14(a), is filed herewith.
31.2    Certification by the Chief Financial Officer of the Registrant pursuant to Rule 15d-14(a), is filed herewith.
32.1    Certification by the Chief Executive Officer of the Registrant pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as adopted pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, is filed herewith.
32.2    Certification by the Chief Financial Officer of the Registrant pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as adopted pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, is filed herewith.
101.INS    XBRL Instance Document, is filed herewith.
101.SCH    XBRL Taxonomy Extension Schema, is filed herewith.
101.CAL    XBRL Taxonomy Extension Calculation Linkbase, is filed herewith.
101.DEF    XBRL Taxonomy Definition Linkbase, is filed herewith.
101.LAB    XBRL Taxonomy Extension Label Linkbase, is filed herewith.
101.PRE    XBRL Taxonomy Extension Presentation Linkbase, is filed herewith.

 

36


Management Report on Internal Control over Financial Reporting

MANAGEMENT REPORT ON INTERNAL CONTROL OVER FINANCIAL REPORTING

Management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting for TALICNY to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of our financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. Internal control over financial reporting includes those policies and procedures that: (i) pertain to the maintenance of records that in reasonable detail accurately and fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions of our assets; (ii) provide reasonable assurance that transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, and that our receipts and expenditures are being made only in accordance with authorizations of our management and directors; and (iii) provide reasonable assurance regarding prevention or timely detection of unauthorized acquisition, use or disposition of our assets that could have a material effect on the financial statements.

Because of its inherent limitations, internal control over financial reporting may not prevent or detect misstatements. Projections of any evaluation of internal control over financial reporting effectiveness to future periods are subject to risks. Over time, controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions or deterioration in the degree of compliance with policies or procedures.

Management assessed our internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2011, the end of our fiscal year. Management based its assessment on criteria established in Internal Control-Integrated Framework issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission. Management’s assessment included evaluation of such elements as the design and operating effectiveness of key financial reporting controls, process documentation, accounting policies, and our overall control environment.

Based on the assessment, management has concluded that our internal control over financial reporting was effective as of the end of the fiscal year to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external reporting purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles.

 

37


INDEX TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm Report

Balance Sheets at December 31, 2011 and 2010

Statements of Income for the Years Ended December 31, 2011, 2010 and 2009

Statements of Comprehensive Income for the Years Ended December 31, 2011, 2010 and 2009

Statements of Stockholder’s Equity for the Years Ended December 31, 2011, 2010 and 2009

Statements of Cash Flows for the Years Ended December 31, 2011, 2010 and 2009

Notes to Financial Statements for the Years Ended December 31, 2011, 2010 and 2009

 

38


[ERNST & YOUNG LLP]

Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

The Board of Directors

Transamerica Advisors Life Insurance Company of New York

We have audited the accompanying balance sheets of Transamerica Advisors Life Insurance Company of New York as of December 31, 2011 and 2010, and the related statements of income, comprehensive income, stockholder’s equity, and cash flows for each of the three years in the period ended December 31, 2011. These financial statements are the responsibility of the Company’s management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on these financial statements based on our audits.

We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States). Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement. We were not engaged to perform an audit of the Company’s internal control over financial reporting. Our audits included consideration of internal control over financial reporting as a basis for designing audit procedures that are appropriate in the circumstances, but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the Company’s internal control over financial reporting. Accordingly, we express no such opinion. An audit also includes examining, on a test basis, evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements, assessing the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, and evaluating the overall financial statement presentation. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.

In our opinion, the financial statements referred to above present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of Transamerica Advisors Life Insurance Company of New York at December 31, 2011 and 2010, and the results of its operations and its cash flows for each of the three years in the period ended December 31, 2011, in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles.

/s/ Ernst & Young LLP

Des Moines, Iowa

March 29, 2012

 

39


TRANSAMERICA ADVISORS LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY OF NEW YORK

(A WHOLLY OWNED SUBSIDIARY OF AEGON USA, LLC)

BALANCE SHEETS

 

     December 31,  

(dollars in thousands, except share data)

   2011     2010  

ASSETS

    

Investments

    

Fixed maturity available-for-sale securities, at estimated fair value (amortized cost:
2011 - $137,690; 2010 - $137,198)

   $ 149,707      $ 145,547   

Fixed maturity trading securities

     138        1,295   

Equity available-for-sale securities, at estimated fair value (cost: 2011 - $1,228;
2010 - $80)

     1,131        66   

Policy loans

     53,433        58,839   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total investments

     204,409        205,747   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Cash and cash equivalents

     10,120        28,617   

Accrued investment income

     3,018        3,159   

Deferred policy acquisition costs

     466        364   

Deferred sales inducements

     170        133   

Value of business acquired

     27,563        29,639   

Goodwill

     500        500   

Federal income taxes - current

     1,014        113   

Reinsurance receivables - net

     -            171   

Receivable for investments sold - net

     41        13   

Other assets

     3,389        3,498   

Separate Accounts assets

     541,690        636,012   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total Assets

   $ 792,380      $ 907,966   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDER’S EQUITY

    

Liabilities

    

Policyholder liabilities and accruals

    

Policyholder account balances

   $ 105,163      $ 115,096   

Future policy benefits

     19,066        17,439   

Claims and claims settlement expenses

     5,184        3,359   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total policyholder liabilities and accruals

     129,413        135,894   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Federal income taxes - deferred

     3,995        1,317   

Affiliated payables - net

     3        148   

Reinsurance payables - net

     31        -       

Other liabilities

     1,053        1,433   

Separate Accounts liabilities

     541,690        636,012   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total Liabilities

     676,185        774,804   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Stockholder’s Equity

    

Common stock ($10 par value; 220,000 shares authorized, issued and outstanding)

     2,200        2,200   

Additional paid-in capital

     128,638        128,638   

Accumulated other comprehensive income, net of taxes

     7,347        5,549   

Retained deficit

     (21,990     (3,225
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total Stockholder’s Equity

     116,195        133,162   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total Liabilities and Stockholder’s Equity

   $         792,380      $         907,966   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

See Notes to Financial Statements

    

 

40


TRANSAMERICA ADVISORS LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY OF NEW YORK

(A WHOLLY OWNED SUBSIDIARY OF AEGON USA, LLC)

STATEMENTS OF INCOME

 

 

     For the Years Ended December 31,  

(dollars in thousands)

   2011     2010     2009  

Revenues

      

Policy charge revenue

   $ 13,975      $ 14,586      $ 14,774   

Net investment income

     10,033        10,450        9,900   

Net realized investment gains (losses)

      

Other-than-temporary impairment losses on securities

     (62     (212     (942

Portion of other-than-temporary impairment losses recognized in other comprehensive income

     62        164        -       

Portion of other-than-temporary impairments previously recognized in other comprehensive income

     (22     -            33   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net other-than-temporary impairment losses on securities recognized in income

     (22     (48     (909

Net realized investment gains (losses), excluding other-than-temporary impairment losses on securities

     594        914        (2,054
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net realized investment gains (losses)

     572        866        (2,963
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total Revenues

     24,580        25,902        21,711   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Benefits and Expenses

      

Interest credited to policyholder liabilities

     5,823        6,040        6,597   

Policy benefits (net of reinsurance recoveries: 2011 - $132; 2010 - $440;
2009 - $61)

     4,570        1,817        3,278   

Reinsurance premium ceded

     363        707        383   

Amortization (accretion) of deferred policy acquisition costs

     (97     2        117   

Amortization and impairment of value of business acquired

     1,648        1,246        10,800   

Insurance expenses and taxes

     4,524        5,192        5,980   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total Benefits and Expenses

     16,831        15,004        27,155   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Income (Loss) Before Taxes

     7,749        10,898        (5,444
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Federal Income Tax Expense (Benefit)

      

Current

     (151     20        561   

Deferred

     1,665        (1,227     176   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Federal Income Tax Expense (Benefit)

     1,514        (1,207     737   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net Income (Loss)

   $         6,235      $         12,105      $         (6,181
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

See Notes to Financial Statements

    

 

41


TRANSAMERICA ADVISORS LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY OF NEW YORK

(A WHOLLY OWNED SUBSIDIARY OF AEGON USA, LLC)

STATEMENTS OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOME

 

 

     For the Years Ended December 31,  

(dollars in thousands)

   2011     2010     2009  

Net Income (Loss)

   $ 6,235      $ 12,105      $ (6,181
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Other Comprehensive Income (Loss)

      

Net unrealized gains (losses) on available-for-sale securities

      

Net unrealized holding gains arising during the period

     3,922        5,990        12,600   

Reclassification adjustment for (gains) losses included in net income (loss)

     (355     (478     2,629   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 
     3,567        5,512        15,229   

Net unrealized other-than-temporary impairments on securities

      

Net unrealized other-than-temporary impairment losses arising during the period

     (62     (164     -       

Change in previously recognized unrealized other-than-temporary impairments

     58        23        79   

Reclassification adjustment for other-than-temporary impairments included in net income (loss)

     22        -            (33
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 
     18        (141     46   

Adjustments

      

Policyholder liabilities

     (369     119        333   

Deferred policy acquisition costs

     -            -            38   

Value of business acquired

     (405     (65     392   

Deferred federal income taxes

     (1,013     (1,926     (5,591
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 
     (1,787     (1,872     (4,828
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total other comprehensive income, net of taxes

     1,798        3,499        10,447   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Comprehensive Income

   $         8,033      $         15,604      $         4,266   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

See Notes to Financial Statements

    

 

42


TRANSAMERICA ADVISORS LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY OF NEW YORK

(A WHOLLY OWNED SUBSIDIARY OF AEGON USA, LLC)

STATEMENTS OF STOCKHOLDER’S EQUITY

 

 

     For the Years Ended December 31,  

(dollars in thousands)

   2011     2010     2009  

Common Stock

   $ 2,200      $ 2,200      $ 2,200   

Additional Paid-in Capital

   $ 128,638      $ 128,638      $ 128,638   

Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income (Loss)

      

Balance at beginning of year

   $ 5,549      $ 2,050      $ (8,333

Total other comprehensive income, net of taxes

     1,798        3,499        10,447   

Cumulative effect of adoption of other-than-temporary impairment guidance

     -            -            (64
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Balance at end of year

   $ 7,347      $ 5,549      $ 2,050   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Retained Earnings (Deficit)

      

Balance at beginning of year

   $ (3,225   $ (15,330   $ (9,213

Net income (loss)

     6,235        12,105        (6,181

Cash dividend paid to AEGON USA, LLC

     (25,000     -            -       

Cumulative effect of adoption of other-than-temporary impairment guidance

     -            -            64   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Balance at end of year

   $ (21,990   $ (3,225   $ (15,330
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total Stockholder’s Equity

   $         116,195      $         133,162      $         117,558   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

See Notes to Financial Statements

    

 

43


TRANSAMERICA ADVISORS LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY OF NEW YORK

(A WHOLLY OWNED SUBSIDIARY OF AEGON USA, LLC)

STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS

 

     For the Years Ended December 31,  

(dollars in thousands)

   2011     2010     2009  

CASH FLOWS FROM OPERATING ACTIVITIES

      

Net income (loss)

   $ 6,235      $ 12,105      $ (6,181

Adjustments to reconcile net income (loss) to net cash and cash equivalents provided by operating activities:

      

Change in deferred policy acquisition costs

     (102     (4     51   

Change in deferred sales inducements

     (37     (3     35   

Change in value of business acquired

     1,648        1,246        10,800   

Change in benefit reserves

     1,593        (1,729     (598

Change in federal income tax accruals

     764        (1,708     1,986   

Change in claims and claims settlement expenses

     1,825        1,441        (178

Change in other operating assets and liabilities, net

     (102     593        1,921   

Amortization (accretion) of investments

     248        55        (188

Interest credited to policyholder liabilities

     5,823        6,040        6,597   

Net change in fixed maturity trading securities

     9        (160     -       

Net realized investment (gains) losses

     (572     (866     2,963   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net cash and cash equivalents provided by operating activities

     17,332        17,010        17,208   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

CASH FLOWS FROM INVESTING ACTIVITIES

      

Sales of available-for-sale securities

     49,697        34,285        28,544   

Maturities of available-for-sale securities

     4,242        9,025        12,358   

Purchases of available-for-sale securities

     (54,710     (69,238     (24,370

Sales of fixed maturity trading securities

     1,148        -            -       

Net settlements on futures contracts

     (521     (806     (1,849

Policy loans on insurance contracts, net

     5,406        4,206        4,342   

Other

     -            183        -       
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net cash and cash equivalents provided in (used in) investing activities

     5,262        (22,345     19,025   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

CASH FLOWS FROM FINANCING ACTIVITIES

      

Policyholder deposits

     706        596        2,907   

Policyholder withdrawals

     (16,797     (16,067     (19,690

Cash dividend paid to AEGON USA, LLC

     (25,000     -            -       
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net cash and cash equivalents used in financing activities

     (41,091     (15,471     (16,783
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents (1)

     (18,497     (20,806     19,450   

Cash and cash equivalents, beginning of year

     28,617        49,423        29,973   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Cash and cash equivalents, end of year

   $         10,120      $         28,617      $         49,423   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

(1) Included in net increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents is interest received (2011 - $0; 2010 - $2; 2009 - $0); interest paid (2011 - $1; 2010 - $2; 2009 - $1); federal income taxes paid (2011 - $750; 2010 - $805; 2009 - $100); and federal income taxes received (2011 - $0; 2010 - $307; 2009 - $1,350)

 

See Notes to Financial Statements

    

 

44


TRANSAMERICA ADVISORS LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY OF NEW YORK

(A WHOLLY OWNED SUBSIDIARY OF AEGON USA, LLC)

NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

(Dollars in Thousands)

 

 

 

Note 1. Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

 

Basis of Presentation

Transamerica Advisors Life Insurance Company of New York (“TALICNY” or the “Company”) is a wholly owned subsidiary of AEGON USA, LLC (“AUSA”). AUSA is an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of AEGON N.V., a limited liability share company organized under Dutch law. AEGON N.V. and its subsidiaries and joint ventures have life insurance and pension operations in over twenty countries in Europe, the Americas, and Asia and are also active in savings and investment operations, accident and health insurance, general insurance and limited banking operations in a number of these countries. Prior to December 28, 2007, the Company was an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc. (“ML&Co”).

The Company is a life insurance company, who conducts its business primarily in the annuity markets and to a lesser extent in the life insurance markets of the financial services industry. The Company is domiciled in the State of New York and is currently licensed to sell insurance and annuities in nine states. Currently, the Company is not issuing new life insurance, variable annuity and market value adjusted annuity products.

Basis of Reporting

The accompanying financial statements have been prepared in conformity with United States generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”). The Company also submits financial statements to insurance industry regulatory authorities, which are prepared on the basis of statutory accounting principles (“SAP”). The significant accounting policies and related judgments underlying the Company’s financial statements are summarized below.

Certain reclassifications and format changes have been made to prior period financial statements, where appropriate, to conform to the current period presentation. These reclassifications have no effect on net income or stockholder’s equity of the prior year.

Accounting Estimates and Assumptions

The preparation of financial statements requires management to make estimates and assumptions affecting the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenues and expenses and the disclosures of contingent assets and liabilities. Those estimates are inherently subject to change and actual results could differ from those estimates. Included among the material (or potentially material) reported amounts and disclosures that require extensive use of estimates are: fair value of certain invested assets, asset valuation allowances, deferred policy acquisition costs, deferred sales inducements, value of business acquired, goodwill, policyholder liabilities, income taxes, and potential effects of unresolved litigated matters.

Investments

Fixed maturity and equity securities

The Company’s investments consist principally of fixed maturity and equity securities that are classified as available-for-sale (“AFS”) which are reported at estimated fair value. In addition, the Company holds fixed maturity securities which contain a conversion to equity feature, which is considered an embedded derivative. These fixed maturity securities have been classified as trading and are reported at estimated fair value. The fair values of fixed maturity and equity securities are determined by management after taking into consideration several sources of data. When available, the Company uses quoted market prices in active markets to determine the fair value of its investments. The Company’s valuation policy utilizes a pricing hierarchy which dictates that publicly available prices are initially sought from indices and third-party pricing services. In the event that pricing is not available from these sources, those securities are submitted to brokers to obtain quotes. Lastly, securities are priced using internal cash flow modeling techniques. These valuation methodologies commonly use reported trades, bids, offers, issuer spreads, benchmark yields, estimated prepayment speeds, and/or estimated cash flows.

To understand the valuation methodologies used by third-party pricing services, the Company reviews and monitors their applicable methodology documents. Any changes to their methodologies are noted and reviewed for reasonableness. In addition, the Company performs in-depth reviews of prices received from third-party pricing services on a sample basis. The objective for such reviews is to demonstrate that the Company can corroborate detailed information such as assumptions, inputs and methodologies used in pricing individual securities against documented pricing methodologies. Only third-party pricing services and brokers with a substantial presence in the market and with appropriate experience and expertise are used.

Each month, the Company performs an analysis of the information obtained from third-party services and brokers to ensure that the information is reasonable and produces a reasonable estimate of fair value. The Company considers both qualitative and quantitative factors as part of this analysis, including but not limited to, recent transactional activity for similar fixed maturities,

 

45


review of pricing statistics and trends, and consideration of recent relevant market events. Other controls and procedures over pricing received from indices, third-party pricing services, or brokers include validation checks such as exception reports which highlight significant price changes, stale prices or un-priced securities. Additionally, during 2011, the Company began performing back testing on a sample basis. Back testing involves selecting a sample of securities trades and comparing the prices in those transactions to prices used for financial reporting. Significant variances between the price used for financial reporting and the transaction price are investigated to explain the cause of the difference.

The Company’s portfolio of private placement securities is valued using a matrix pricing methodology. The pricing methodology is obtained from a third party service and indicates current spreads for securities based on weighted average life, credit rating and industry sector. Monthly, the Company reviews the matrix to ensure the spreads are reasonable by comparing them to observed spreads for similar securities traded in the market. In order to account for the illiquid nature of these securities, illiquidity premiums are included in the valuation and are determined based upon the pricing of recent transactions in the private placement market, as well as comparing the value of the privately offered security to a similar public security. The impact of the illiquidity premium to the overall valuation is less than 1% of the value.

For fixed maturity securities, premiums are amortized to the earlier of the call or maturity date, discounts are accreted to the maturity date, and interest income is accrued daily. For equity securities, dividends are recognized on the ex-dividend date. Investment transactions are recorded on the trade date. Realized gains and losses on the sale or maturity of investments are determined on the basis of specific identification.

Changes in the fair value of fixed maturity and equity securities deemed AFS are reported as a component of accumulated other comprehensive income (loss), net of taxes on the Balance Sheets and are not reflected in the Statements of Income until a sale transaction occurs or when credit-related declines in estimated fair value are deemed other-than-temporary. Changes in fair value of fixed maturity securities deemed trading are reported as a component of net investment income.

Other-than-temporary impairments (“OTTI”)

If management determines that a decline in the value of an available-for-sale security is other-than-temporary, an impairment loss is recognized. Management makes this determination through a series of discussions with the Company’s portfolio managers and credit analysts, and information obtained from external sources (i.e., company announcements, ratings agency announcements, or news wire services). For equity securities, the Company also considers the ability and intent to hold the investments for a period of time sufficient for a forecasted market price recovery up to or beyond the amortized cost of the investment. The factors that may give rise to a potential OTTI include, but are not limited to, i) certain credit-related events such as default of principal or interest payments by the issuer, ii) bankruptcy of issuer, iii) certain security restructurings, and iv) fair market value less than cost or amortized cost for an extended period of time. In the absence of a readily ascertainable market value, the estimated fair value on these securities represents management’s best estimate and is based on comparable securities and other assumptions as appropriate. Management bases this determination on the most recent information available.

For equity securities, once management determines a decline in the value of an AFS security is other-than-temporary, the cost basis of the equity security is reduced to its fair value, with a corresponding charge to earnings.

For debt securities, an OTTI must be recognized in earnings when an entity either a) has the intent to sell the debt security or b) more likely than not will be required to sell the debt security before its anticipated recovery. If the Company meets either of these criteria, the OTTI is recognized in earnings in an amount equal to the entire difference between the security’s amortized cost basis and its fair value at the balance sheet date. For debt securities in unrealized loss positions that do not meet these criteria, the Company must analyze its ability to recover the amortized cost by comparing the net present value of projected future cash flows with the amortized cost of the security. The net present value is calculated by discounting the Company’s best estimate of projected future cash flows. If the net present value is less than the amortized cost of the investment, an OTTI is recorded. The OTTI is separated into two pieces: an amount representing the credit loss, where the present value of cash flows expected to be collected is less than the amortized cost basis of the security, and an amount related to all other factors (referred to as the non credit portion). The credit loss is recognized in earnings and the non credit loss is recognized in other comprehensive income (“OCI”), net of applicable taxes and value of business acquired. Management records subsequent changes in the estimated fair value (positive and negative) of AFS debt securities for which non credit OTTI was previously recognized in OCI in OCI-OTTI.

Policy loans

Policy loans on insurance contracts are stated at unpaid principal balances. The Company estimates the fair value of policy loans as equal to the book value of the loans. Policy loans are fully collateralized by the account value of the associated insurance contracts, and the spread between the policy loan interest rate and the interest rate credited to the account value held as collateral is fixed.

 

46


Derivative Instruments

Derivatives are financial instruments in which the value changes in response to an underlying variable, that require little or no net initial investment and are settled at a future date. The Company has entered into exchange traded derivatives, such as futures, and variance swaps to hedge the costs of the volatility of the Standard & Poor’s (“S&P”) market. All derivatives recognized on the Balance Sheets are carried at fair value. All changes in fair value are recognized in the Statements of Income. The fair value for exchange traded derivatives, such as futures, is calculated net of the interest accrued to date and is based on quoted market prices. Net settlements on the futures occur daily.

Cash and Cash Equivalents

Cash and cash equivalents include cash on hand and on deposit and short-term investments with original maturities of three months or less. Cash and cash equivalents are primarily valued at amortized cost, which approximates fair value.

Value of Business Acquired (“VOBA”), Deferred Policy Acquisition Costs (“DAC”) and Deferred Sales Inducements (“DSI”)

VOBA

VOBA represents the portion of the purchase price that is allocated to the value of the right to receive future cash flows from the insurance and annuity contracts in force at the acquisition date. VOBA is based on actuarially determined projections, for each block of business, of future policy and contract charges, premiums, mortality, policyholder behavior, Separate Account performance, operating expenses, investment returns, and other factors. Actual experience on the purchased business may vary from these projections. Revisions in estimates result in changes to the amounts expensed in the reporting period in which the revisions are made and could result in the impairment of the asset and a charge to income if estimated future gross profits are less than the unamortized balance. See Note 4 to the financial statements for further discussion.

DAC

The costs of acquiring business, principally commissions, certain expenses related to policy issuance, and certain variable sales expenses that relate to and vary with the production of new and renewal business are deferred and amortized based on the estimated future gross profits for a group of contracts. DAC are subject to recoverability testing at the time of policy issuance and loss recognition testing at the end of each reporting period.

DAC for variable annuities is amortized with interest over the anticipated lives of the insurance contracts in relation to the present values of estimated future gross profits from asset-based fees, guaranteed benefit rider fees, contract fees, and surrender charges, less a provision for guaranteed death and living benefit expenses, policy maintenance expenses, and non-capitalized commissions. Future gross profit estimates are subject to periodic evaluation with necessary revisions applied against amortization to date. The impact of revisions and assumptions to estimates on cumulative amortization is recorded as a charge or credit to current operations, commonly referred to as “unlocking”. Changes in assumptions can have a significant impact on the amount of DAC reported and the related amortization patterns. In general, increases in the estimated Separate Accounts return and decreases in surrender or mortality assumptions increase the expected future profitability of the underlying business and may lower the rate of DAC amortization. Conversely, decreases in the estimated Separate Accounts returns and increases in surrender or mortality assumptions reduce the expected future profitability of the underlying business and may increase the rate of DAC amortization.

At December 31, 2011 and 2010, variable annuities accounted for the Company’s entire DAC asset. See Note 4 to the Financial Statements for further discussion.

DSI

The Company offers a sales inducement whereby the contract owner receives a bonus which increases the initial account balance by an amount equal to a specified percentage of the contract owner’s deposit. This amount may be subject to recapture under certain circumstances. Consistent with DAC, sales inducements for variable annuity contracts are deferred and amortized based on the estimated future gross profits for each group of contracts. These future gross profit estimates are subject to periodic evaluation by the Company, with necessary revisions applied against amortization to date. The impact of these revisions on cumulative amortization is recorded as a charge or credit to current operations, commonly referred to as “unlocking”. It is reasonably possible that estimates of future gross profits could be reduced in the future, resulting in a material reduction in the carrying amount of the deferred sales inducement asset.

The expense and the subsequent capitalization and amortization are recorded as a component of policy benefits in the Statements of Income. At December 31, 2011 and 2010, variable annuities accounted for the Company’s entire DSI asset. See Note 4 to the Financial Statements for further discussion.

 

47


The long-term growth rate assumption for the amortization of VOBA, DAC and DSI was 9% at December 31, 2011, 2010 and 2009. The short-term growth rate assumption for the amortization of VOBA, DAC and DSI was 9% at December 31, 2011 and 2010 and 7.25% at December 31, 2009.

Goodwill

Goodwill is the excess of the purchase price over the estimated fair value of net assets acquired. Goodwill and intangible assets with indefinite lives are not amortized, but are subject to impairment tests conducted at least annually. Impairment testing is to be performed using the fair value approach, which requires the use of estimates and judgment, at the “reporting unit” level. A reporting unit represents the operating segment which is the level at which the financial information is prepared and regularly reviewed by management. The entire asset amount has been allocated to annuities. Goodwill is reviewed for indications of value impairment, with consideration given to financial performance and other relevant factors. In addition, certain events including a significant adverse change in legal factors or the business climate, an adverse action or assessment by a regulator, or unanticipated competition would cause the Company to review the carrying amounts of goodwill for impairment. The Company performed the annual test of goodwill at December 31, 2011, 2010 and 2009 and determined there was no impairment of goodwill.

Separate Accounts

The Company’s Separate Accounts consist of variable annuities and variable life insurance contracts, of which the assets and liabilities are legally segregated and reported as separate captions in the Balance Sheets. Separate Accounts are established in conformity with New York State Insurance Law and are generally not chargeable with liabilities that arise from any other business of the Company. Separate Accounts assets may be subject to claims of the Company only to the extent the value of such assets exceeds Separate Accounts liabilities. The assets of the Separate Accounts are carried at the daily net asset value of the mutual funds in which they invest.

Absent any contract provision wherein the Company guarantees either a minimum return or account value upon death or annuitization, the net investment income and net realized and unrealized gains and losses attributable to Separate Accounts assets supporting variable annuities and variable life contracts accrue directly to the contract owner and are not reported as revenue in the Statements of Income. Mortality, guaranteed benefit fees, policy administration, maintenance, and withdrawal charges associated with Separate Accounts products are included in policy charge revenue in the Statements of Income.

Policyholder Account Balances

The Company’s liability for policyholder account balances represents the contract value that has accrued to the benefit of the policyholder as of the Balance Sheet dates. The liability is generally equal to the accumulated account deposits plus interest credited less policyholders’ withdrawals and other charges assessed against the account balance. Interest-crediting rates for the Company’s fixed rate products are as follows:

 

      2011    2010

Interest-sensitive life products

   4.00%    4.00%

Interest-sensitive deferred annuities

   3.00% - 6.05%    3.00% - 6.15%

These rates may be changed at the option of the Company after initial guaranteed rates expire, unless contracts are subject to minimum interest rate guarantees.

Future Policy Benefits

The Company’s liability for future policy benefits consists of liabilities for immediate annuities and liabilities for certain guaranteed benefits contained in the variable insurance products the Company manufactures. Liabilities for immediate annuities are equal to the present value of estimated future payments to or on behalf of policyholders, where the timing and amount of payment generally depends on policyholder mortality. Interest rates used in establishing such liabilities were in the range of 2.55% to 5.75% during 2011 and 2010, respectively. See Note 5 to the Financial Statements for further discussion.

Revenue Recognition

Revenues for variable annuity contracts consist of policy charges for i) mortality and expense risks, ii) certain guaranteed benefits selected by the contract owner, iii) administration fees, iv) annual contract maintenance charges, and v) withdrawal charges assessed on contracts surrendered during the withdrawal charge period. Revenues for variable annuity contracts are recognized when policy charges are assessed or earned.

 

48


Revenues for variable life insurance contracts consist of policy charges for i) mortality and expense risks, ii) cost of insurance fees, iii) amortization of front-end and deferred sales charges, and iv) withdrawal charges assessed on contracts surrendered during the withdrawal charge period. Revenues for variable life insurance contracts are recognized when policy charges are assessed or earned.

Revenues for interest-sensitive annuity contracts (market value adjusted annuities, immediate annuities, and single premium deferred annuities) and interest-sensitive life insurance contracts (single premium whole life insurance) consist of i) investment income, ii) gains (losses) on the sale of invested assets, and iii) withdrawal charges assessed on contracts surrendered during the withdrawal charge period. Revenues for interest-sensitive annuity and life insurance contracts are recognized when investment income and investment sales are earned while revenues for contract charges are recognized when assessed or earned.

Claims and Claims Settlement Expenses

Liabilities for claims and claims settlement expenses equal the death benefit (plus accrued interest) for claims that have been reported to the Company but have not settled and an estimate, based upon prior experience, for unreported claims.

Federal Income Taxes

The Company provides for income taxes on all transactions that have been recognized in the financial statements in accordance with GAAP guidance. Accordingly, deferred taxes are adjusted to reflect the tax rates at which future taxable amounts will likely be settled or realized. The effects of tax rate changes on future deferred tax liabilities and deferred tax assets, as well as other changes in income tax laws, are recognized in net income (loss) in the year during which such changes are enacted.

The Company files a separate federal income tax return for the years 2008 through 2012. Beginning in 2013 and assuming no changes in ownership, the Company will join the affiliated consolidated tax group.

The Company is subject to taxes on premiums and is exempt from state income taxes in most states.

Subsequent Events

The financial statements are adjusted to reflect events that occurred between the balance sheet date and the date when the financial statements are issued, provided they give evidence of conditions that existed at the balance sheet date.

Events that are indicative of conditions that arose after the balance sheet date are disclosed, but do not result in an adjustment of the financial statements themselves.

Recent Accounting Guidance

Current Adoption of Recent Accounting Guidance

Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) 820, Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures

On January 1, 2011, the Company adopted guidance (Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) 2010-06, Improving Disclosures about Fair Value Measurements) requiring separate presentation of information about purchases, sales, issuances, and settlements in the Level 3 reconciliation for fair value measurements using significant unobservable inputs. The adoption affected disclosures but did not impact the Company’s results of operations or financial position.

ASC 944, Financial Services—Insurance

On January 1, 2011, the Company adopted guidance (ASU 2010-15, How Investments Held Through Separate Accounts Affect an Insurer’s Consolidation Analysis of Those Investments) clarifying that an insurance entity should not consider any separate account interest held for the benefit of policyholders in an investment to be the insurer’s interest and should not combine those interests with its general account interest in the same investment when assessing the investment for consolidation. The adoption did not impact the Company’s results of operations or financial position.

 

49


ASC 350, Intangibles—Goodwill and Other

On January 1, 2011 the Company adopted guidance (ASU 2010-28, When to Perform Step 2 of the Goodwill Impairment Test for Reporting Units with Zero or Negative Carrying Amounts), which requires entities with a zero or negative carrying value to assess, considering qualitative factors, whether it is more likely than not that a goodwill impairment exists. If an entity concludes that it is more likely than not that a goodwill impairment exists, the entity must perform step 2 of the goodwill impairment test. The adoption did not have a material impact on the Company’s results of operations and financial position.

Accounting Guidance Adopted in 2010

ASC 820, Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures

The Company adopted guidance (ASU 2010-06, Improving Disclosures about Fair Value Measurements), which included new disclosures and clarifications of existing disclosures about fair value measurements for the period ended March 31, 2010. The guidance requires disclosure of significant transfers in and out of Levels 1 and 2 of the fair value hierarchy and reasons for the transfers. Additionally, the ASU clarifies the level of disaggregation for fair value disclosures, requiring disclosures for each class of assets and liabilities. The guidance clarified that a reporting entity should provide disclosures about the valuation techniques and inputs used to measure fair value for both recurring and nonrecurring fair value measurements that fall in either Level 2 or Level 3. The adoption required updates to the Company’s financial statement disclosures, but did not impact the Company’s results of operations or financial position.

Future Adoption of Accounting Guidance

ASC 944, Financial Services—Insurance

In October 2010, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued ASU 2010-26, Accounting for Costs Associated with Acquiring or Renewing Insurance Contracts. This guidance modifies the definition of the types of costs incurred by insurance entities that can be capitalized in the acquisition of new and renewal contracts. An insurance entity may only capitalize incremental direct costs of contract acquisition, the portion of employees’ compensation directly related to time spent performing specified acquisition activities for a contract that has actually been acquired, other costs related directly to specified activities that would not have been incurred had the acquisition contract transaction not occurred, and advertising costs that meet capitalization criteria in other GAAP guidance. The guidance is effective for fiscal years, and interim periods within those years, beginning after December 15, 2011. The Company will adopt the guidance prospectively on January 1, 2012. The adoption is not expected to have a material impact on the Company’s results of operations and financial position.

ASC 820, Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures

In May 2011, the FASB issued ASU 2011-04, Amendments to Achieve Common Fair Value Measurement and Disclosure Requirements in U.S. GAAP and IFRS, which amends current guidance to achieve common fair value measurement and disclosure requirements in U.S. GAAP and International Financial Reporting Standards (“IFRS”). Some of the amendments represent clarifications of existing requirements. Other amendments change a particular principle or requirement for measuring fair value or disclosing information about fair value measurements. The guidance is effective for interim and annual periods beginning after December 15, 2011. The Company will adopt the guidance on January 1, 2012. The adoption will affect disclosures but is not expected to have a material impact on the Company’s results of operations and financial position.

ASC 220, Comprehensive Income

 

   

In June 2011, the FASB issued ASU 2011-05, Presentation of Comprehensive Income, which requires an entity to report components of comprehensive income in either a single, continuous statement of comprehensive income or two separate but consecutive statements. Under the two statement approach, the first statement would include components of net income and the second statement would include components of OCI.

Regardless of format, an entity is required to present items that are reclassified from OCI to net income in both net income and OCI. The guidance is effective for fiscal years, and interim periods within those years, beginning after December 15, 2011. The Company will adopt the guidance on January 1, 2012 and does not expect the adoption to have a material impact on the Company’s results of operations and financial position.

 

   

In December 2011, the FASB issued ASU 2011-12, Deferral of the Effective Date for Amendments to the Presentation of Reclassifications of Items Out of Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income in Accounting Standards Update No. 2011-05. This guidance defers the portion of ASU 2011-05 that requires an entity to present reclassification adjustments and the effect of those reclassification adjustments on the face of the financial statements where net income is presented, by component of net income, and on the face of the financial statements where OCI is presented, by

 

50


 

component of OCI. The deferral is effective at the same time as ASU 2011-05, for fiscal years, and interim periods within those years, beginning after December 15, 2011.

ASC 350, Intangibles—Goodwill and Other

In September 2011, the FASB issued ASU 2011-08, Testing Goodwill for Impairment, which gives entities the option of performing a qualitative assessment to determine whether it is necessary to perform the two-step goodwill impairment test. If, after assessing qualitative factors, a company determines that it is not more likely than not that the fair value of a reporting unit is less than its carrying amount, then the company does not need to perform further testing. If it is more likely than not that the fair value of a reporting unit is less than its carrying amount, then the company would have to perform the two step goodwill impairment test. The option is unconditional so it may be skipped in any reporting period and an entity may resume performing the qualitative assessment in any subsequent period. The guidance is effective for annual and interim goodwill impairment tests performed for fiscal years beginning on or after December 15, 2011. The Company will adopt the guidance on January 1, 2012 and does not expect the adoption to have a material impact on the Company’s results of operations and financial position.

ASC 210, Balance Sheet

In December 2011, the FASB issued ASU 2011-11, Disclosures about Offsetting Assets and Liabilities, which enhances disclosures about financial instruments and derivative instruments that are either offset on the statement of financial position or subject to an enforceable master netting arrangement or similar agreement. Entities are required to provide both net and gross information for these assets and liabilities in order to enhance comparability between those entities that prepare their financial statements on the basis of GAAP and those entities that prepare their financial statements on the basis of IFRS. The guidance is effective for annual reporting periods, and interim periods within those years, beginning on or after January 1, 2013. The disclosures required by this guidance should be applied retrospectively for all comparative periods presented. The Company will adopt the guidance on January 1, 2013, which affects disclosures and therefore will not impact the Company’s results of operations and financial position.

 

 

Note 2. Fair Value of Financial Instruments

 

Fair Value Measurements

ASC 820 defines fair value, establishes a framework for measuring fair value, establishes a fair value hierarchy based on the quality of inputs used to measure fair value and enhances disclosure requirements for fair value measurements.

Fair Value Hierarchy

The Company has categorized its financial instruments into a three level hierarchy which is based on the priority of the inputs to the valuation technique. The fair value hierarchy gives the highest priority to quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities (Level 1) and the lowest priority to unobservable inputs (Level 3). If the inputs used to measure fair value fall within different levels of the hierarchy, the category level is based on the lowest priority level input that is significant to the fair value measurement of the instrument.

Assets and liabilities recorded at fair value on the Balance Sheets are categorized as follows:

Level 1. Unadjusted quoted prices for identical assets or liabilities in an active market.

Level 2. Quoted prices in markets that are not active or inputs that are observable either directly or indirectly for substantially the full term of the asset or liability. Level 2 inputs include the following:

a)     Quoted prices for similar assets or liabilities in active markets

b)     Quoted prices for identical or similar assets or liabilities in non-active markets

c)     Inputs other than quoted market prices that are observable

d)     Inputs that are derived principally from or corroborated by observable market data through correlation or other means

Level 3. Prices or valuation techniques that require inputs that are both unobservable and significant to the overall fair value measurement. They reflect management’s own assumptions about the assumptions a market participant would use in pricing the asset or liability.

The Company recognizes transfers between levels at the beginning of the quarter.

 

51


The following table presents the Company’s hierarchy for its assets and liabilities measured at fair value on a recurring basis:

 

     December 31, 2011  

 

   Level 1      Level 2      Level 3     Total  

Assets

          

Fixed maturity AFS securities (a)

          

Corporate securities

   $ -           $ 108,402       $ -          $ 108,402   

Asset-backed securities

     -             3,467         -            3,467   

Commercial mortgage-backed securities

     -             25,501         -            25,501   

Residential mortgage-backed securities

     -             4,120         1,098        5,218   

Government and government agencies

          

United States

     3,370         -             -            3,370   

Foreign

     2,711         1,038         -            3,749   
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total fixed maturity AFS securities (a)

     6,081         142,528         1,098        149,707   

Fixed maturity trading securities - corporate securities (a)

     -             138         -            138   

Equity securities - banking securities (a)

     -             1,131         -            1,131   

Cash equivalents (b)

     -             10,603         -            10,603   

Separate Accounts assets (c)

     541,690         -             -            541,690   
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total assets

   $         547,771       $         154,400       $ 1,098      $         703,269   
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

 

Liabilities

          

Future policy benefits (embedded derivatives only) (d)

   $ -           $ -           $ (6,356   $ (6,356
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total liabilities

   $ -           $ -           $         (6,356   $ (6,356
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

     December 31, 2010  

 

   Level 1      Level 2      Level 3     Total  

Assets

          

Fixed maturity AFS securities (a)

          

Corporate securities

   $ -           $ 106,361       $ -          $ 106,361   

Asset-backed securities

     -             4,434         -            4,434   

Commercial mortgage-backed securities

     -             27,232         -            27,232   

Residential mortgage-backed securities

     -             1,202         -            1,202   

Government and government agencies

          

United States

     2,936         -             -            2,936   

Foreign

     2,401         981         -            3,382   
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total fixed maturity AFS securities (a)

     5,337         140,210         -            145,547   

Fixed maturity trading securities - corporate securities (a)

     -             1,295         -            1,295   

Equity securities - banking securities (a)

     -             66         -            66   

Cash equivalents (b)

     -             29,722         -            29,722   

Separate Accounts assets (c)

     636,012         -             -            636,012   
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total assets

   $         641,349       $         171,293       $ -          $         812,642   
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

 

Liabilities

          

Future policy benefits (embedded derivatives only) (d)

   $ -           $ -           $ (4,973   $ (4,973
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total liabilities

   $ -           $ -           $         (4,973   $ (4,973
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

(a)

Securities are classified as Level 1 if the fair value is determined by observable inputs that reflect quoted prices for identical assets in active markets that the Company has the ability to access at the measurement date. Level 1 securities primarily include highly liquid U.S. Treasury and U.S. government agency securities. Securities are classified as Level 2 if the fair value is determined by observable inputs, other than quoted prices included in Level 1, for the asset or prices for similar assets. Securities are classified as Level 3 if the valuations are derived from techniques in which one or more of the significant inputs are unobservable. Level 3 consists principally of fixed maturity securities whose fair value is estimated based on non-binding broker quotes.

 

52


(b)

Cash equivalents are primarily valued at amortized cost, which approximates fair value. Operating cash is not included in the abovementioned table.

(c)

Separate Accounts assets are carried at the net asset value provided by the fund managers.

(d)

The Company issued contracts containing guaranteed minimum withdrawal benefit riders (“GMWB”) and obtained reinsurance on guaranteed minimum income benefit riders (“GMIB reinsurance”). GMWB and GMIB reinsurance are treated as embedded derivatives and are required to be reported separately from the host variable annuity contract. The fair value of these guarantees is calculated as the present value of future expected payments to policyholders less the present value of assessed rider fees attributable to the guarantees. Given the complexity and long-term nature of these guarantees, their fair values are determined using stochastic techniques under a variety of market return, discount rates and actuarial assumptions. Since many of the assumptions are unobservable and are considered to be significant inputs to the liability valuation, the liability included in future policy benefits has been reflected within Level 3 of the fair value hierarchy.

During 2011 and 2010, there were no transfers between Level 1 and 2, respectively.

The following table provides a summary of the change in fair value of the Company’s Level 3 assets at December 31, 2011 and 2010:

 

     December 31,  

Fixed maturity AFS securities

   2011     2010  

Balance at beginning of period (a)

   $ -          $ 2,216   

Change in unrealized gains (b)

     28        22   

Purchases

     2,162        -       

Sales

     (1,092     (29

Transfers out of Level 3

     -            (2,213

Changes in valuation (c)

     -            4   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Balance at end of period (a)

   $         1,098      $         -       
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

(a)

Recorded as a component of fixed maturity AFS securities in the Balance Sheets.

(b)

Recorded as a component of other comprehensive income (loss).

(c)

Recorded as a component of net investment income in the Statements of Income.

In certain circumstances, the Company will obtain non-binding broker quotes from brokers to assist in the determination of fair value. If those quotes can be corroborated by other market observable data, the investments will be classified as Level 2 investments. If not, the investments are classified as Level 3 due to the unobservable nature of the brokers’ valuation processes. The increase in Level 3 securities at December 31, 2011 is primarily due to a security whose fair value was based on a non binding quote. The decrease in Level 3 securities at December 31, 2010 is primarily due to an increase in market activity and availability of market observable data (Level 2).

The Company’s Level 3 liabilities (assets) consist of provisions for GMWB and GMIB reinsurance. The fair value of these guarantees is calculated as the present value of future expected payments to policyholders less the present value of assessed rider fees attributable to the guarantees. Given the complexity and long-term nature of these guarantees which are unlike instruments available in financial markets, their fair values are determined using stochastic techniques under a variety of market return scenarios. A variety of factors are considered, including expected market rates of return, equity and interest rate volatility, credit spread, correlations of market returns, discount rates and actuarial assumptions.

The expected returns are based on risk-free rates, such as the current London Inter-Bank Offered Rate (“LIBOR”) forward curve. The credit spread is set by using the credit default swap (“CDS”) spreads of a reference portfolio of life insurance companies, adjusted to reflect the subordination of senior debt holders at the holding company level to the position of policyholders at the operating company level (who have priority in payments to other creditors). The credit spread was 135 basis points (“bps”) and 90 bps at December 31, 2011 and 2010, respectively.

 

53


For equity volatility, the Company uses a term structure assumption with market-based implied volatility inputs for the first five years and a long-term forward rate assumption of 25% thereafter. The volume of observable option trading from which volatilities are derived generally declines as the contracts’ term increases, therefore, the volatility curve grades from implied volatilities for five years to the ultimate rate. The resulting volatility assumption in year 20 for the S&P 500 index (expressed as a spot rate) was 25.9% at December 31, 2011 and 24.8% at December 31, 2010. Correlations of market returns across underlying indices are based on historical market returns and their inter-relationships over a number of years preceding the valuation date. Assumptions regarding policyholder behavior, such as lapses, included in the models are derived in the same way as the assumptions used to measure insurance liabilities. These assumptions are reviewed at each valuation date and updated based on historical experience and observable market data as required.

The following table provides a summary of the changes in fair value of the Company’s Level 3 liabilities (assets) at December 31, 2011 and 2010:

 

    December 31, 2011     December 31, 2010  

    

  GMWB     GMIB
Reinsurance
    GMWB     GMIB
Reinsurance
 

Balance at beginning of period (b)

  $ 529      $                 (5,502)      $                 1,263       $                 (5,745)   

Changes in interest rates (a)

                    1,397        (2,628)        527         (799)   

Changes in equity markets (a)

    808        (936)        28         315    

Other (a)

    42        (66)        (1,289)        727    
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Balance at end of period (b)

  $ 2,776      $ (9,132)      $ 529       $ (5,502)   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

(a)

  Recorded as a component of policy benefits in the Statements of Income.

(b)

  Recorded as a component of future policy benefits in the Balance Sheets.

During 2011, the change in GMWB and GMIB reinsurance reserves was primarily driven by the reduction in risk neutral rates and lower equity market performance. During 2010, the decrease in the GMWB and GMIB reinsurance reserves was principally driven by a decline in risk neutral rates and updated policyholder behavior assumptions partially offset by improved equity markets.

 

54


 

Note 3. Investments

 

Fixed Maturity and Equity Securities

The amortized cost/cost and estimated fair value of investments in fixed maturity and equity AFS securities at December 31, 2011 and 2010 were:

 

  December 31, 2011  
          Gross Unrealized         Estimated      

    

      Amortized    
  Cost/Cost  
        Gains         Losses/
    OTTI (1)    
    Fair
Value
 

Fixed maturity AFS securities

       

Corporate securities

  $         99,892      $         9,247      $         (737)      $         108,402   

Asset-backed securities

    3,423        50        (6)        3,467   

Commercial mortgage-backed securities

    22,967        2,534        -              25,501   

Residential mortgage-backed securities

    5,252        125        (159)        5,218   

Government and government agencies

       

United States

    2,972        398        -              3,370   

Foreign

    3,184        666        (101)        3,749   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total fixed maturity AFS securities

  $ 137,690      $ 13,020      $ (1,003)      $ 149,707   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Equity securities - banking securities

  $ 1,228      $ -            $ (97)      $ 1,131   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total equity securities

  $ 1,228      $ -            $ (97)      $ 1,131   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

    

  December 31, 2010  
        Gross Unrealized     Estimated  
  Amortized
Cost/Cost
    Gains     Losses/
OTTI (1)
    Fair
Value
 

Fixed maturity AFS securities

       

Corporate securities

  $ 100,552      $ 6,198      $ (389)      $ 106,361   

Asset-backed securities

    4,286        148        -              4,434   

Commercial mortgage-backed securities

    24,859        2,373        -              27,232   

Residential mortgage-backed securities

    1,320        23        (141)        1,202   

Government and government agencies

       

United States

    2,986        58        (108)        2,936   

Foreign

    3,195        275        (88)        3,382   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total fixed maturity AFS securities

  $ 137,198      $ 9,075      $ (726)      $ 145,547   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Equity securities - banking securities

  $ 80      $  -            $ (14)      $ 66   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total equity securities

  $ 80      $  -            $ (14)      $ 66   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

(1) Subsequent unrealized gains (losses) on OTTI securities are included in OCI-OTTI.

  

Excluding investments in U.S. government and government agencies, the Company is not exposed to any significant concentration of credit risk in its fixed maturity securities portfolio.

 

55


The amortized cost and estimated fair value of fixed maturity AFS securities by investment grade at December 31, 2011 and 2010 were:

 

    

  December 31, 2011     December 31, 2010  
    Amortized  
Cost
      Estimated  
Fair

Value
      Amortized  
Cost
      Estimated  
Fair
Value
 

Investment grade

  $         133,857      $         145,732      $         132,510      $         140,665   

Below investment grade

    3,833        3,975        4,688        4,882   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total fixed maturity AFS securities

  $ 137,690      $ 149,707      $ 137,198      $ 145,547   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

At December 31, 2011 and 2010, the estimated fair value of fixed maturity securities rated BBB- were $4,098 and $11,174, respectively, which is the lowest investment grade rating given by S&P. Below investment grade securities are speculative and are subject to significantly greater risks related to the creditworthiness of the issuers and the liquidity of the market for such securities. The Company closely monitors such investments.

The amortized cost and estimated fair value of fixed maturity AFS securities at December 31, 2011 and 2010 by contractual maturities were:

 

    December 31, 2011     December 31, 2010  

    

    Amortized  
Cost
      Estimated  
Fair

Value
      Amortized  
Cost
      Estimated  
Fair

Value
 

Fixed maturity AFS securities

       

Due in one year or less

  $ 6,188      $ 6,261      $ 415      $ 417   

Due after one year through five years

    33,286        35,906        30,148        31,240   

Due after five years through ten years

    56,878        62,056        65,964        70,502   

Due after ten years

    9,696        11,298        10,206        10,520   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 
    106,048        115,521        106,733        112,679   

Mortgage-backed securities and other asset-backed securities

    31,642        34,186        30,465        32,868   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total fixed maturity AFS securities

  $     137,690      $     149,707      $     137,198      $     145,547   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

In the preceding table fixed maturity securities not due at a single maturity date, have been included in the year of final maturity. Actual maturities may differ from contractual maturities because borrowers may have the right to call or prepay obligations with or without call or prepayment penalties.

During 2011, 2010 and 2009, there was $29, $88 and $88, respectively, of investment income on fixed maturity trading securities recorded in net investment income in the Statements of Income. During 2011 and 2010, there was $35 and $24, respectively, of loss recognized from the change in the fair value on fixed maturity trading securities recorded in net investment income in the Statements of Income. The Company recognized gains of $25 during 2011 on the conversion of fixed maturity trading securities to preferred stock. There were no conversions of fixed maturity trading securities to preferred stock in 2010 or 2009.

The Company had investment securities with an estimated fair value of $1,008 and $951 that were deposited with insurance regulatory authorities at December 31, 2011 and 2010, respectively.

Unrealized Gains (Losses) on Fixed Maturity and Equity Securities

The Company’s investments in fixed maturity and equity securities classified as AFS are carried at estimated fair value with unrealized gains and losses included in stockholder’s equity as a component of accumulated other comprehensive income (loss), net of taxes.

 

56


The estimated fair value and gross unrealized losses and OTTI of fixed maturity and equity AFS securities aggregated by length of time that individual securities have been in a continuous unrealized loss position at December 31, 2011 and 2010 were as follows:

 

     December 31, 2011  

 

   Estimated
Fair Value
     Amortized
Cost/Cost
     Gross
Unrealized
Losses and
OTTI  (1)
 

Less than or equal to six months

        

Fixed maturity AFS securities - corporate securities

   $         3,635       $         3,978       $         (343)   

Equity securities - banking securities

     1,068         1,148         (80)   
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total fixed maturity and equity securities

     4,703         5,126         (423)   
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Greater than one year

        

Fixed maturity AFS securities

        

Corporate securities

     3,890         4,284         (394)   

Asset-backed securities

     1,649         1,655         (6)   

Residential mortgage-backed securities

     667         826         (159)   

Government and government agencies - foreign

     360         461         (101)   

Equity securities - banking securities

     63         80         (17)   
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total fixed maturity and equity securities

     6,629         7,306         (677)   
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total fixed maturity and equity securities

   $ 11,332       $ 12,432       $ (1,100)   
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

 

      December 31, 2010  
   Estimated
Fair Value
     Amortized
Cost/Cost
     Gross
Unrealized
Losses and
OTTI  (1)
 

Less than or equal to six months

        

Fixed maturity AFS securities

        

Corporate securities

   $         9,862       $         10,238       $         (376)   

Residential mortgage-backed securities

     3         3         -       

Government and government agencies - United States

     921         1,029         (108)   
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total fixed maturity and equity securities

     10,786         11,270         (484)   
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Greater than one year

        

Fixed maturity AFS securities

        

Corporate securities

     771         784         (13)   

Residential mortgage-backed securities

     812         953         (141)   

Government and government agencies - foreign

     373         461         (88)   

Equity securities - banking securities

     66         80         (14)   
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total fixed maturity and equity securities

     2,022         2,278         (256)   
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total fixed maturity and equity securities

   $     12,808       $     13,548       $     (740)   
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

(1) Subsequent unrealized gains (losses) on OTTI securities are included in OCI-OTTI.

The total number of securities in an unrealized loss position was 18 and 11 at December 31, 2011 and 2010, respectively.

 

57


At December 31, 2011, the estimated fair value, gross unrealized losses, OTTI and number of securities where the fair value had declined below amortized cost by greater than 20% were as follows:

 

     December 31, 2011  

 

   Estimated
Fair
Value
    Gross
Unrealized
Losses/OTTI (1)
    Number of
Securities
 

Decline > 20%

      

Greater than one year

   $         423      $         (119     2   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total

   $         423      $         (119     2   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

(1) Subsequent unrealized gains (losses) on OTTI securities are included in OCI-OTTI.

At December 31, 2010, there were no securities whose fair value had declined below amortized cost by greater than 20%.

Unrealized gains (losses) incurred during the year ended December 31, 2011 and 2010 were primarily due to price fluctuations resulting from changes in interest rates and credit spreads. If the Company has the intent to sell or it is more likely than not that the Company will be required to sell these securities prior to the anticipated recovery of the amortized cost, securities are written down to fair value. If cash flow models indicate a credit event will impact future cash flows, the security is impaired to discounted cash flows. As the remaining unrealized losses in the portfolio relate to holdings where the Company expects to receive full principal and interest, the Company does not consider the underlying investments to be impaired.

The components of net unrealized gain (loss) and OTTI included in accumulated other comprehensive income, net of taxes, at December 31, 2011 and 2010 were as follows:

 

     December 31,  

 

   2011     2010  

Assets

    

Fixed maturity securities

   $         12,017        $        8,349    

Equity securities

     (97     (14)   

Value of business acquired

     (532     (127)   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 
     11,388        8,208    
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Liabilities

    

Policyholder account balances

     -            369    

Federal income taxes - deferred

     (4,042     (3,028)   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 
     (4,042     (2,659)   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Stockholder’s equity

    

Accumulated other comprehensive income, net of taxes

   $         7,347        $        5,549    
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

The Company records certain adjustments to policyholder account balances in conjunction with the unrealized holding gains or losses on investments classified as available-for-sale. The Company adjusts a portion of these liabilities as if the unrealized holding gains or losses had actually been realized, with corresponding credits or charges reported in accumulated other comprehensive income (loss), net of taxes.

Policy Loans

Policy loans on insurance contracts are stated at unpaid principal balances. The Company estimates the fair value of policy loans as equal to the book value of the loans. The estimated fair value of the policy loans at December 31, 2011 and 2010 was $53,433 and $58,839, respectively. Policy loans are fully collateralized by the account value of the associated insurance contracts, and the spread between the policy loan interest rate and the interest rate credited to the account value held as collateral is fixed.

Derivatives

The Company uses derivatives to manage the capital market risk associated with the GMWB. The derivatives, which are S&P 500 Composite Stock Price Index futures contracts, are used to hedge the equity risk associated with these types of variable guaranteed products, in particular the claim and/or revenue risks of the liability portfolio. The Company will not seek hedge accounting on these hedges because, in most cases, the derivatives’ change in value will create a natural offset in the Statements of Income with the change in reserves. Net settlements on the futures occur daily. At December 31, 2011, the Company had 20 outstanding short futures contracts with a notional value of $6,263. At December 31, 2010, the Company had 20 outstanding short futures contracts with a notional value of $6,265.

 

58


Net Investment Income

Net investment income by source for the years ended December 31 was as follows:

 

 

   2011     2010     2009  

Fixed maturity AFS securities

     $ 7,314        $ 7,530        $ 6,643   

Fixed maturity trading securities

     19        64        88   

Equity securities

     58        4        12   

Policy loans

     2,792        3,001        3,180   

Cash and cash equivalents

     51        46        178   

Other

     5        5        -       
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Gross investment income

     10,239        10,650        10,101   

Less: investment expenses

     (206     (200     (201
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net investment income

     $       10,033        $       10,450        $         9,900   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Realized Investment Gains (Losses)

The Company considers fair value at the date of sale to be equal to proceeds received. Proceeds and gross realized investment gains (losses) from the sale of AFS securities for the years ended December 31 were as follows:

 

 

   2011     2010     2009  

Proceeds

     $       49,697        $       34,285        $       28,544   

Gross realized investment gains

     1,151        1,840        564   

Gross realized investment losses

     (14     (87     (735

Proceeds on AFS securities sold at a realized loss

     21,630        2,599        7,878   

Net realized investment gains (losses) for the years ended December 31 were as follows:

 

 

   2011     2010     2009  

Fixed maturity AFS securities

     $ 1,116        $ 1,704        $ (904

Derivatives

     (521     (806     (1,849

Equity securities

     -            -            (177

Associated amortization of VOBA

     (23     (32     (33
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net realized investment gains (losses)

     $           572        $           866        $        (2,963
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

OTTI

If management determines that a decline in the value of an available-for-sale equity security is other-than-temporary, the cost basis is adjusted to estimated fair value and the decline in value is recorded as a net realized investment loss. For debt securities, the manner in which an OTTI is recorded depends on whether management intends to sell a security or it is more likely than not that it will be required to sell a security in an unrealized loss position before its anticipated recovery. If management intends to sell or more likely than not will be required to sell the debt security before recovery, the OTTI is recognized in earnings for the difference between amortized cost and fair value. If these criteria are not met, the OTTI is bifurcated into two pieces: a credit loss is recognized in earnings at an amount equal to the difference between the amortized cost of the debt security and the present value of the security’s anticipated cash flows, and a non credit loss is recognized in OCI for any difference between the fair value and the net present value of the debt security at the impairment measurement date.

 

59


The following table sets forth the amount of credit loss impairments on fixed maturity securities held by the Company as of the dates indicated, for which a portion of the OTTI loss was recognized in OCI, and the corresponding changes in such amounts for the years ended December 31:

 

     December 31,  

 

   2011     2010  

Balance at beginning of period

   $         25      $         -       

Credit loss impairment recognized in the current period on securities not previously impaired

     -            48   

Additional credit loss impairments recognized in the current period on securities previously impaired through other comprehensive income

     22        -       

Accretion of credit loss impairments previously recognized

     (11     (23
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Balance at end of period

   $ 36      $ 25   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

The components of OTTI reflected in the Statements of Income for the years ended December 31 were as follows:

 

 

   2011      2010      2009  

Gross OTTI losses on securities

   $         84       $         212       $         909   

Net OTTI loss recognized in OCI

     62         164         -       
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Net OTTI losses

   $ 22       $ 48       $ 909   
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

For the year ended December 31, 2011, the impairment losses were principally the result of the Company impairing its holding of a 2005 vintage residential mortgage-backed security due to an adverse change in cash flows. For the year ended December 31, 2010, the impairment losses were principally the result of the Company impairing its holding of a 2005 vintage residential mortgage-backed security due to an adverse change in cash flows.

The Company adopted revised guidance for the recognition and presentation of OTTI in 2009. As permitted by the guidance, the Company recorded an increase of $64 to the opening balance of retained earnings with a corresponding decrease to accumulated OCI on the Statement of Stockholder’s Equity to reclassify the non credit portion of previously other-than-temporarily impaired AFS securities held at April 1, 2009.

The following summarizes the components for this cumulative effect adjustment:

 

 

   Unrealized
OTTI
on AFS
Securities
    Net
Unrealized
Loss on
AFS
Securities
    Total
Cumulative
Effect
Adjustment
in OCI
 

Increase in amortized cost of AFS securities

   $         70      $         131      $         201   

Change in VOBA

     -            (102     (102

Income tax

     (24     (11     (35
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net cumulative effect adjustment

   $ 46      $ 18      $ 64   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

The cumulative effect adjustment was calculated for all AFS securities held at April 1, 2009, for which an OTTI was previously recognized, but at April 1, 2009, the Company did not intend to sell the security and it was not more likely than not that the Company would be required to sell the security before recovery of its amortized cost, by comparing the present value of cash flows expected to be received at April 1, 2009, to the amortized cost basis of the AFS securities. The discount rate used to calculate the present value of the cash flows expected to be collected was the rate for each respective AFS security in effect before recognizing any OTTI. In addition, because the carrying amounts of VOBA are adjusted for the effects of realized and unrealized gains and losses on AFS securities, the Company recognized a true-up to the VOBA balances for this cumulative effect adjustment.

Included in the 2009 impairment losses was $70 related to the non credit impairments previously recorded in income during the first quarter of 2009 prior to adoption of the revised OTTI guidance.

 

60


 

Note 4. VOBA, DAC, and DSI

 

VOBA

VOBA reflects the estimated fair value of in force contracts acquired and represents the portion of the purchase price that is allocated to the value of the right to receive future cash flows from the life insurance and annuity contracts in force at the acquisition date. VOBA is based on actuarially determined projections, for each block of business, of future policy and contract charges, premiums, mortality, Separate Account performance, surrenders, operating expenses, investment returns and other factors. Actual experience on the purchased business may vary from these projections. If estimated gross profits or premiums differ from expectations, the amortization of VOBA is adjusted to reflect actual experience. The long-term growth rate assumption for the amortization of VOBA, DAC and DSI was 9% at December 31, 2011 and 2010. The short-term growth rate assumption for the amortization of VOBA, DAC and DSI was 9% at December 31, 2011 and 2010 and 7.25% at December 31, 2009.

The change in the carrying amount of VOBA for the years ended December 31 was as follows:

 

 

   2011     2010  

Balance at beginning of period

   $         29,639      $         30,982   

Amortization expense

     (916     (1,816

Unlocking

     (732     570   

Adjustment related to realized gains on investments and OTTI

     (23     (32

Adjustment related to unrealized gains and OTTI on investments

     (405     (65
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Balance at end of period

   $ 27,563      $ 29,639   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

2011 was impacted by unfavorable equity markets and long-term interest rate assumption changes during the third quarter resulting in lower amortization expense and unfavorable unlocking as compared to 2010.

The estimated future amortization of VOBA from 2012 to 2016 is as follows:

 

2012

   $                 2,143   

2013

   $ 2,145   

2014

   $ 2,160   

2015

   $ 2,131   

2016

   $ 2,093   

DAC and DSI

The carrying amount of DAC and DSI for the years ended December 31 was as follows:

 

 

   DAC     DSI  

Balance, January 1, 2010

   $                 360      $                 130   

Capitalization

     7        5   

Amortization expense

     (10     (3

Unlocking

     7        1   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Balance, December 31, 2010

     364        133   

Capitalization

     5        1   

Accretion expense

     146        53   

Unlocking

     (49     (17
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Balance, December 31, 2011

   $ 466      $ 170   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

2011 was impacted by unfavorable equity markets and long-term interest rate assumption changes during the third quarter resulting in accretion as compared to amortization in 2010.

 

61


 

Note 5. Variable Contracts Containing Guaranteed Benefits

 

Variable Annuity Contracts Containing Guaranteed Benefits

Prior to 2009, the Company issued variable annuity contracts in which the Company may have contractually guaranteed to the contract owner a guaranteed minimum death benefit (“GMDB”) and/or an optional guaranteed living benefit provision. The living benefit provisions offered by the Company included a guaranteed minimum income benefit (“GMIB”) and a GMWB. Information regarding the general characteristics of each guaranteed benefit type is provided below:

 

   

In general, contracts containing GMDB provisions provide a death benefit equal to the greater of the GMDB or the contract value. Depending on the type of contract, the GMDB may equal: i) contract deposits accumulated at a specified interest rate, ii) the contract value on specified contract anniversaries, iii) return of contract deposits, or iv) some combination of these benefits. Each benefit type is reduced for contract withdrawals.

 

   

In general, contracts containing GMIB provisions provide the option to receive a guaranteed future income stream upon annuitization. There is a waiting period of ten years from contract issue that must elapse before the GMIB provision can be exercised.

 

   

Contracts containing GMWB provisions provide the contract owner the ability to withdraw minimum annual payments regardless of the impact of market performance on the contract owner’s account value. In general, withdrawal percentages are based on the contract owner’s age at the time of the first withdrawal.

The Company had the following variable annuity contracts containing guaranteed benefits at December 31:

 

    GMDB     GMIB     GMWB  

2011

                 

Net amount at risk (a)

  $ 55,901      $ 858      $ 5,413   

Average attained age of contract owners

    71        65        76   

Weighted average period remaining until expected annuitization

    n/a        3.2 yrs        n/a   

2010

                 

Net amount at risk (a)

  $       46,702      $             155      $       3,207   

Average attained age of contract owners

    71        63        75   

Weighted average period remaining until expected annuitization

    n/a        4.1 yrs        n/a   

 

(a)

Net amount at risk for GMDB is defined as the current GMDB in excess of the contract owners’ account balance at the Balance Sheet date. Net amount at risk for GMIB is defined as the present value of the minimum guaranteed annuity payments available to the contract owner in excess of the contract owners’ account balance at the Balance Sheet date. Net amount at risk for GMWB is defined as the difference between the maximum amount payable under the guarantee and the contract owners’ account balance at the Balance Sheet date.

The Company records liabilities for contracts containing GMDB and GMIB as a component of future policy benefits in the Balance Sheets and changes in the liabilities are included as a component of policy benefits in the Statements of Income. The GMDB and GMIB liabilities are determined by projecting future expected guaranteed benefits under multiple scenarios for returns on Separate Accounts assets. The Company uses estimates for mortality and policyholder behavior assumptions based on actual and projected experience for each contract type. These estimates are consistent with the estimates used in the calculation of DAC. The Company regularly evaluates the estimates used and adjusts the GMDB and/or GMIB liability balances with a related charge or credit to earnings (“unlocking”), if actual experience or evidence suggests that earlier assumptions should be revised.

 

62


The changes in the variable annuity GMDB and GMIB liabilities for the years ended December 31 were as follows:

 

 

   GMDB     GMIB  

Balance, January 1, 2010

   $ 307      $ 2,546   

Guaranteed benefits incurred

     2,078        1,088   

Guaranteed benefits paid

     (1,616     -     

Unlocking

     (759     (1,621
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Balance, December 31, 2010

     10        2,013   

Guaranteed benefits incurred

     1,789        837   

Guaranteed benefits paid

     (1,372     -     

Unlocking

     449        1,929   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Balance, December 31, 2011

   $           876      $           4,779   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

The increase in the GMDB and GMIB liabilities in 2011 was principally driven by unfavorable equity markets and long-term interest rate assumption changes during the third quarter resulting in unfavorable unlocking as compared to 2010.

At December 31, contract owners’ account balances by mutual fund class by guaranteed benefit provisions were comprised as follows:

 

      Equity      Bond      Balanced      Money
Market
     Total  

2011

                                  

GMDB only

   $     127,771       $     52,645       $     35,709       $     11,742       $     227,867   

GMDB and GMIB

     67,886         19,012         25,104         3,449         115,451   

GMDB and GMWB

     8,292         1,709         4,203         26         14,230   

GMWB only

     8,353         1,389         3,686         110         13,538   

GMIB only

     4,632         436         1,146         44         6,258   

No guaranteed benefit

     1,622         845         1,745         152         4,364   
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total

   $ 218,556       $ 76,036       $ 71,593       $ 15,523       $ 381,708   
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

2010

                                  

GMDB only

   $ 159,045       $ 59,994       $ 43,067       $ 14,411       $ 276,517   

GMDB and GMIB

     83,767         21,869         28,968         3,498         138,102   

GMDB and GMWB

     9,680         1,875         4,898         27         16,480   

GMWB only

     11,002         2,031         4,574         182         17,789   

GMIB only

     4,970         411         1,168         49         6,598   

No guaranteed benefit

     1,825         878         1,742         218         4,663   
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total

   $ 270,289       $ 87,058       $ 84,417       $ 18,385       $ 460,149   
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Variable Life Contracts Containing Guaranteed Benefits

The Company has issued variable life contracts in which the Company contractually guarantees to the contract owner a GMDB. In general, contracts containing GMDB provisions provide a death benefit equal to the amount specified in the contract regardless of the level of the contract’s account value.

 

63


At December 31, contract owners’ account balances by mutual fund class by GMDB provisions were distributed as follows:

 

 

   2011      2010  

Balanced

   $ 75,178       $ 79,588   

Equity

     42,495         49,927   

Bond

     22,282         23,899   

Money Market

     20,027         22,449   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total

   $             159,982       $             175,863   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

 

 

Note 6. Federal Income Taxes

 

The following is a reconciliation of the provision for income taxes based on income (loss) before federal income taxes, computed using the federal statutory rate versus the reported provision for income taxes for the years ended December 31.

 

 

     2011     2010     2009  

Provisions for income taxes computed at Federal statutory rate (35%)

     $ 2,712      $ 3,814      $ (1,905

Increase (decrease) in income taxes resulting from:

        

Dividend received deduction

       (840     (700     (700

Tax credits

       (68     (37     (151

Tax goodwill amortization

       -            (68     -       

Valuation allowance on deferred tax assets

       -            (3,705     3,705   

Provision to return adjustment

       (138     (586     (608

Unrecognized tax benefits

       (174     60        343   

Other

       22        15        53   
    

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Federal income tax provision

       $            1,514        $            (1,207     $            737   
    

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Effective tax rate

       20     -11     -14

The Company provides for deferred income taxes resulting from temporary differences that arise from recording certain transactions in different years for income tax reporting purposes than for financial reporting purposes.

Deferred tax assets and liabilities were as follows:

 

     December 31,  

 

   2011     2010  

Deferred tax assets

    

DAC

   $             6,510      $             7,698   

Tax credits

     640        518   

Net operating and capital loss carryforward

     6,341        2,874   

Intangible assets

     2,863        3,140   

Guaranty fund assessments

     70        (1

Other

     1,704        813   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total deferred tax assets

     18,128        15,042   

Deferred tax liabilities

    

VOBA

     9,083        9,758   

Investment adjustments

     8,185        6,552   

Policyholder account balances

     4,855        49   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total deferred tax liabilities

     22,123        16,359   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total net deferred tax liability

   $ (3,995   $ (1,317
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

At December 31, 2011 and 2010, the Company did not have a tax valuation allowance for deferred tax assets. A tax valuation allowance was not deemed necessary as management determined that it is more likely than not that the deferred tax assets will be realized. In assessing the realizability of deferred tax assets, management considers whether it is more likely than not that all or some of the deferred tax assets will not be realized. The ultimate realization of deferred tax assets depends on generation of future taxable income during the periods in which those temporary differences are deductible. Management considers the scheduled reversal of deferred tax liabilities, projected taxable income, and tax-planning strategies in making the assessment.

 

64


The Company has analyzed all material tax positions under the guidance of ASC 740, Income Taxes, related to the accounting for uncertainty in income tax, and determined there were tax benefits of $229 (gross $654) and $403 (gross $1,152) that should not be recognized at December 31, 2011 and 2010, respectively, which primarily relates to uncertainty regarding the sustainability of certain deductions taken on the 2010, 2009 and 2008 U.S. Federal income tax return. To the extent these unrecognized tax benefits are ultimately recognized, they will impact the effective tax rate in a future period. It is not anticipated that the total amounts of unrecognized tax benefits will significantly increase within twelve months of the reporting date.

The components of the change in the unrecognized tax benefits were as follows:

 

     December 31,  

 

   2011     2010  

Balance at beginning of period

     $            403        $            343   

Additions for tax positions of prior years

     -          60   

Reductions for tax positions of prior years

     (174     -     
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Balance at end of period

     $            229        $            403   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

At December 31, 2011 and 2010, the Company had an operating loss carryforward for federal income tax purposes of $17,461 (net of the ASC 740 reduction of $654) and $7,059 (net of the ASC 740 reduction of $1,152), respectively, with a carryforward period of fifteen years that expire at various dates up to 2026. The Company has a foreign tax credit carryforward at December 31, 2011 and 2010 of $443 and $343, respectively, with a carryforward period of ten years that will expire at various dates up to 2021. Also, the Company has an Alternative Minimum Tax tax credit carryforward for federal income tax purposes of $198 and $174 at December 31, 2011 and 2010, respectively, with an indefinite carryforward period.

The Company classifies interest and penalties related to income taxes as interest expense and penalty expense, respectively. The Company has not incurred or recognized any penalties in its financial statements at December 31, 2011 and 2010, respectively. The Company did not recognize any interest expense for the year ended December 31, 2011. The Company recognized interest expense of ($11) for the year ended December 31, 2010. The accrued interest expense related to federal income tax was released during 2010 based on the expectation that the net operating loss will offset any taxable income generated by the uncertain tax position for the Company in future tax periods.

The Company files a separate federal income tax return for the years 2008 through 2012. Beginning in 2013 and assuming no changes in ownership, the Company will join the affiliated consolidated tax group. A tax return has been filed for 2010, 2009 and 2008, but no examination by the Internal Revenue Service has commenced.

 

 

Note 7. Stockholder’s Equity and Statutory Accounting Principles

 

The Company’s statutory financial statements are presented on the basis of accounting practices prescribed or permitted by the New York Insurance Department. The State of New York has adopted the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (“NAIC”) statutory accounting principles as a component of prescribed or permitted practices by the State of New York.

The Company’s statutory net income (loss) for the years ended December 31, 2011, 2010 and 2009 was ($13,012), $14,090 and $10,479, respectively.

Statutory capital and surplus at December 31, 2011 and 2010 was $58,111 and $95,501, respectively. At December 31, 2011 there was no amount of stockholder’s equity available for dividend distribution that would not require approval by the New York Insurance Department. At December 31, 2010, approximately $9,550 of stockholder’s equity was available for dividend distribution that would not require approval by the New York Insurance Department, subject to the availability of unassigned surplus. During 2011, the Company paid a $25,000 dividend to AUSA. During 2010, the Company did not pay any dividends to AUSA or receive any capital contribution from AUSA.

The NAIC utilizes the Risk Based Capital (“RBC”) adequacy monitoring system. The RBC calculates the amount of adjusted capital that a life insurance company should hold based upon that company’s risk profile. At December 31, 2011 and 2010, based on the RBC formula, the Company’s total adjusted capital level was well in excess of the minimum amount of capital required to avoid regulatory action.

 

65


A financial exam of the Company, for the period January 1, 2005 through December 31, 2009, was completed on April 21, 2011. The Report on Examination – Financial Condition, as of December 31, 2009, was adopted by the New York Insurance Department and made an official record on June 24, 2011. There were no changes to the Company’s financial statements as a result of the exam.

 

 

Note 8. Reinsurance

 

In the normal course of business, the Company seeks to limit its exposure to loss on any single insured life and to recover a portion of benefits paid by ceding mortality risk to other insurance enterprises or reinsurers under indemnity reinsurance agreements, primarily quota share coverage and coinsurance agreements. The maximum amount of mortality risk retained by the Company is approximately $1,000 on single and joint life policies. At December 31, 2010, the Company had recaptured the majority of its life reinsurance which had started in 2008.

Indemnity reinsurance agreements do not relieve the Company from its obligations to contract owners. Failure of reinsurers to honor their obligations could result in losses to the Company. The Company regularly evaluates the financial condition of its reinsurers so as to minimize its exposure to significant losses from reinsurer insolvencies. At December 31, 2011 and 2010, reinsurance receivables (payables) were ($31) and $171, respectively. The Company has a reinsurance reserve on a portion of the recapture of the life reinsurance of $43 and $89 at December 31, 2011 and 2010, respectively.

At December 31, 2011, the Company had the following life insurance inforce:

 

      Gross
amount
     Ceded to
other
companies
     Assumed
from other
companies
     Net
amount
     Percentage
of amount
assumed to
net
 

Life insurance inforce

   $         370,454       $         3,470       $         1,296       $         368,280         0.35%   

In addition, the Company seeks to limit its exposure to guaranteed benefit features contained in certain variable annuity contracts. Specifically, the Company reinsures certain GMIB and GMDB provisions to the extent reinsurance capacity is available in the marketplace. At December 31, 2011, 56% and 7% of the account value for variable annuity contracts containing GMIB and GMDB provisions, respectively, were reinsured. At December 31, 2010, 58% and 7% of the account value for variable annuity contracts containing GMIB and GMDB provisions, respectively, were reinsured.

 

 

Note 9. Related Party Transactions

 

At December 31, 2011, the Company had the following related party agreements in effect:

The Company is party to a common cost allocation service agreement between AUSA companies in which various affiliated companies may perform specified administrative functions in connection with the operation of the Company, in consideration of reimbursement of actual costs of services rendered. During 2011, 2010 and 2009, the Company incurred $562, $757 and $1,868, respectively, in expenses under this agreement. Charges attributable to this agreement are included in insurance expenses and taxes, net of amounts capitalized.

AEGON USA Investment Management, LLC acts as a discretionary investment manager under an investment management agreement with the Company. During 2011, 2010 and 2009, the Company incurred $205, $196 and $196, respectively, in expenses under this agreement. Charges attributable to this agreement are included in net investment income.

Transamerica Capital, Inc. provides underwriting and distribution services for the Company under an underwriting agreement. During 2011, 2010 and 2009, the Company incurred $2,506, $2,583 and $2,620, respectively, in expenses under this agreement. Charges attributable to this agreement are included in insurance expenses and taxes, net of amounts capitalized.

Transamerica Asset Management, Inc. acts as the investment advisor for certain related party funds in the Company’s Separate Accounts under multiple service agreements. During 2011 and 2010, the Company incurred $17 and $3, respectively, in expenses under this agreement. During 2009, the Company did not incur any expenses under these agreements. Charges attributed to these agreements are included in insurance expenses and taxes, net of amounts capitalized.

 

66


The Company has a participation agreement with Transamerica Series Trust to offer certain funds in the Company’s Separate Accounts. Transamerica Capital, Inc. acts as the distributor for said related party funds. The Company has entered into a distribution and shareholder services agreement for certain of the said funds. During 2011, 2010 and 2009, the Company received $79, $2 and $1 under this agreement, respectively. Revenue attributable to this agreement is included in policy charge revenue.

The Company has a reinsurance agreement with Transamerica Life Insurance Company. During 2011, the Company did not incur any reinsurance premium ceded expense under this agreement and there were no reinsurance recoveries on death claims. During 2010, the Company received a refund of $39 in reinsurance premiums. During 2009, the Company incurred $19 in reinsurance premium ceded expense under this agreement and there were no reinsurance recoveries on death claims incurred.

The Company has a service agreement with Western Reserve Life Assurance Co. of Ohio (“WRL”) whereby WRL will perform specified administrative functions in connection with the operation of the Company except to the extent that the services are performed for the Company by another party. During 2011, 2010 and 2009, the Company incurred $698, $726 and $149, respectively, in expenses under this agreement. Charges attributable to this agreement are included in insurance expenses and taxes, net of amounts capitalized.

While management believes that the service agreements referenced above are calculated on a reasonable basis, they may not necessarily be indicative of the costs that would have been incurred with an unrelated third party. Affiliated agreements generally contain reciprocal indemnity provisions pertaining to each party’s representations and contractual obligations thereunder.

 

 

Note 10. Commitments and Contingencies

 

State insurance laws generally require that all life insurers who are licensed to transact business within a state become members of the state’s life insurance guaranty association. These associations have been established for the protection of contract owners from loss (within specified limits) as a result of the insolvency of an insurer. At the time an insolvency occurs, the guaranty association assesses the remaining members of the association an amount sufficient to satisfy the insolvent insurer’s contract owner obligations (within specified limits). The Company has utilized public information to estimate what future assessments it will incur as a result of insolvencies. At December 31, 2011, the Company’s estimated liability for future guaranty fund assessments was $285. At December 31, 2010, the Company did not have a liability for future guaranty fund assessments. In addition, the Company has a receivable for future premium tax deductions of $88 at December 31, 2011. At December 31, 2010, the Company did not have a receivable for future premium tax deductions. If future insolvencies occur, the Company’s estimated liability may not be sufficient to fund these insolvencies and the estimated liability may need to be adjusted. The Company regularly monitors public information regarding insurer insolvencies and adjusts its estimated liability appropriately.

In the normal course of business, the Company is subject to various claims and assessments. Management believes the settlement of these matters would not have a material effect on the financial position, results of operations or cash flows of the Company.

 

 

Note 11. Segment Information

 

In reporting to management, the Company’s operating results are categorized into two business segments: Annuity and Life Insurance. The Company’s Annuity segment consists of variable annuities and interest-sensitive annuities. The Company’s Life Insurance segment consists of variable life insurance products and interest-sensitive life insurance products. The accounting policies of the business segments are the same as those for the Company’s financial statements included herein. All revenue and expense transactions are recorded at the product level and accumulated at the business segment level for review by management.

 

67


The following tables summarize each business segment’s contribution to select Statements of Income information for the years ended December 31:

 

       Annuity       Life
Insurance
        Total      

2011

                  

Net revenues (a)

     $ 13,064        $     5,693        $     18,757   

Amortization (accretion) of VOBA

     (453     2,101        1,648   

Policy benefits (net of reinsurance recoveries)

     2,829        1,741        4,570   

Federal income tax expense (benefit)

     1,634        (120     1,514   

Net income

     5,207        1,028        6,235   

2010

                  

Net revenues (a)

     $     14,141        $     5,721        $     19,862   

Amortization of VOBA

     644        602        1,246   

Policy benefits (net of reinsurance recoveries)

     (499     2,316        1,817   

Federal income tax benefit

     (1,119     (88     (1,207

Net income

     10,559        1,546        12,105   

2009

                  

Net revenues (a)

     $     9,306        $     5,808        $     15,114   

Amortization and impairment of VOBA

     9,178        1,622        10,800   

Policy benefits (net of reinsurance recoveries)

     1,888        1,390        3,278   

Federal income tax expense

     99        638        737   

Net income (loss)

     (7,650     1,469        (6,181

 

(a)

Net revenues include total revenues net of interest credited to policyholder liabilities.

The following tables represent select Balance Sheet information at December 31:

 

      Total
     Assets    
     Total
    Policyholder    
Liabilities
 

2011

             

Annuity

     $ 540,719         $ 67,929   

Life Insurance

     251,661         61,484   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total

     $ 792,380         $ 129,413   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

2010

             

Annuity

     $ 636,251         $ 68,530   

Life Insurance

     271,715         67,364   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total

     $               907,966         $ 135,894   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

 

68


SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.

 

     

Transamerica Advisors Life Insurance Company of New York

     

(Registrant)

Date: March 29, 2012

 

By:

 

*

     

Eric Martin

     

Chief Financial Officer, Vice President, Treasurer,

and Controller

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, this Report has been signed below by the following persons on behalf of the registrant and in the capacities and on the dates indicated.

 

Signatures

  

Title

 

Date

*

Thomas A. Swank

  

Director, Chairman of the Board and President

 

March 29, 2012

*

  

Director

 

March 29, 2012

William Brown, Jr.

    

*

  

Director

 

March 29, 2012

Steven E. Frushtick

    

*

  

Director and Vice President

 

March 29, 2012

John T. Mallett

    

*

  

Director

 

March 29, 2012

Peter P. Post

    

*

Eric J. Martin

   Chief Financial Officer, Vice President, Treasurer, and Controller  

March 29, 2012

*

  

Director

 

March 29, 2012

Marc Cahn

    

/s/ Darin D. Smith

Darin D. Smith

  

Director, Vice President and Secretary

 

March 29, 2012

 

*

By: Darin D. Smith - Attorney-in-Fact pursuant to Powers of Attorney.

 

69


SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION TO BE FURNISHED WITH REPORTS FILED PURSUANT TO SECTION 15(d) OF THE ACT BY REGISTRANTS WHICH HAVE NOT REGISTERED SECURITIES PURSUANT TO SECTION 12 OF THE ACT.

No annual report covering the Registrant’s last fiscal year or proxy materials

has been or will be sent to Registrant’s security holder.

 

70


EXHIBIT INDEX

 

Exhibit
No.

  

Description

  

Location

  3.1

  

Certificate of Amendment of the Charter of ML Life Insurance Company of New York

  

Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 6(a)(ii) to Post-Effective Amendment No. 10 to ML of New York Variable Annuity Account A’s registration statement on Form N-4, File No. 33-43654, filed December 9, 1996.

  3.2

  

Certificate of Amendment of the Charter of ML Life Insurance Company of New York

  

Incorporated by Reference to Exhibit 3.2 to Registrant’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, File Nos. 33-34562, 33-60288, 333-48983, and 333-133224, filed August 12, 2010.

  3.3

  

By-Laws of Transamerica Advisors Life Insurance Company of New York

  

Incorporated by Reference to Exhibit 3.3 to Registrant’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, File Nos. 33-34562, 33-60288, 333-48983, and 333-133224, filed August 12, 2010.

  4.1

  

Modified Guaranteed Annuity Contract

  

Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4(a) to Pre-Effective Amendment No. 1 to the Registrant’s registration statement on Form S-1, File No. 33-34562, filed October 16, 1990.

  4.2

  

Modified Guaranteed Annuity Contract Application

  

Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4(b) to Pre-Effective Amendment No. 1 to the Registrant’s registration statement on Form S-1, File No. 33-34562, filed October 16, 1990.

  4.3

  

Qualified Retirement Plan Endorsement

  

Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4(c) to Pre-Effective Amendment No. 1 to the Registrant’s registration statement on Form S-1, File No. 33-34562, filed October 16, 1990.

  4.4

  

IRA Endorsement

  

Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4(d) to Pre-Effective Amendment No. 1 to the Registrant’s registration statement on Form S-1, File No. 33-34562, filed October 16, 1990.

 

71


  4.5

  

Company Name Change Endorsement

  

Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4(e) to Post-Effective Amendment No. 3 to the Registrant’s registration statement on Form S-1, File No. 33-34562, filed March 30, 1992.

  4.6

  

IRA Endorsement, MLNY009

  

Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4(d)(2) to Post-Effective Amendment No. 1 to the Registrant’s registration statement on Form S-1, File No. 33-60288, filed March 31, 1994.

  4.7

  

Modified Guaranteed Annuity Contract MLNY-AY-991/94

  

Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4(a)(2) to Post-Effective Amendment No. 3 to the Registrant’s registration statement on Form S-1, File No. 33-60288, filed December 7, 1994.

  4.8

  

Qualified Retirement Plan Endorsement MLNY-AYQ-991/94

  

Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4(c)(2) to Post-Effective Amendment No. 3 to the Registrant’s registration statement on Form S-1, File No. 33-60288, filed December 7, 1994.

10.1

  

General Agency Agreement between Royal Tandem Life Insurance Company and Merrill Lynch Life Agency Inc.

  

Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10(a) to Pre-Effective Amendment No. 1 to the Registrant’s registration statement on Form S-1, File No. 33-34562, filed October 16, 1990.

10.2

  

Investment Management Agreement by and between Royal Tandem Life Insurance Company and Equitable Capital Management Corporation

  

Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10(b) to Pre-Effective Amendment No. 1 to the Registrant’s registration statement on Form S-1, File No. 33-34562, filed October 16, 1990.

10.3

  

Shareholders’ Agreement by and among The Equitable Life Assurance Society of the United States and Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc. and Tandem Financial Group, Inc.

  

Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10(c) to Pre- Effective Amendment No. 1 to the Registrant’s registration statement on Form S-1, File No. 33-34562, filed October 16, 1990.

 

72


10.4

  

Service Agreement by and between Royal Tandem Life Insurance Company and Tandem Financial Group, Inc.

  

Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10(d) to Pre-Effective Amendment No. 1 to the Registrant’s registration statement on Form S-1, File No. 33-34562, filed October 16, 1990.

10.5

  

Service Agreement by and between Tandem Financial Group, Inc. and Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc.

  

Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10(e) to Pre-Effective Amendment No. 1 to the Registrant’s registration statement on Form S-1, File No. 33-34562, filed October 16, 1990.

10.6

  

Form of Investment Management Agreement by and between Royal Tandem Life Insurance Company and Merrill Lynch Asset Management, Inc.

  

Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10(f) to Post-Effective Amendment No. 1 to the Registrant’s registration statement on Form S-1, File No. 33-34562, filed March 7, 1991.

10.7

  

Assumption Reinsurance Agreement between Merrill Lynch Life Insurance Company, Tandem Insurance Group, Inc. and Royal Tandem Life Insurance Company and Family Life Insurance Company

  

Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10(g) to Post-Effective Amendment No. 3 to the Registrant’s registration statement on Form S-1, File No. 33-34562, filed March 30, 1992.

10.8

  

Indemnity Agreement between ML Life Insurance Company of New York and Merrill Lynch Life Agency, Inc.

  

Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10(h) to Post-Effective Amendment No. 3 to the Registrant’s registration statement on Form S-1, File No. 33-34562, filed March 30, 1992.

10.9

  

Amended General Agency Agreement between ML Life Insurance Company of New York and Merrill Lynch Life Agency, Inc.

  

Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10(i) to Post-Effective Amendment No. 3 to the Registrant’s registration statement on Form S-1, File No. 33-34562, filed March 30, 1992.

10.10

  

Amended Management Agreement between ML Life Insurance Company of New York and Merrill Lynch Asset Management, Inc.

  

Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10(j) to the Registrant’s registration statement on Form S-1, File No. 33-60288, filed March 30, 1993.

10.11

  

Mortgage Loan Servicing Agreement between ML Life Insurance Company of New York and Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc.

  

Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10(k) to the Registrant’s registration statement on Form S-1, File No. 33-60288, filed March 29, 1995.

10.12

  

Master Distribution Agreement between Merrill Lynch Insurance Group, Inc., Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc., and AEGON USA, Inc.

  

Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to Registrant’s Current Report on Form 8-K, File No. 33-34562, filed January 4, 2008.

10.13

  

Non-Affiliated Broker-Dealer Wholesaling Agreement between ML Life Insurance Company of New York, Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated, and Transamerica Capital, Inc.

  

Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.13 to the Registrant’s Annual Report on Form 10-K, File Nos. 33-34562, 33-60288, 333-48983, and 333-133224, filed March 27, 2008.

10.14

  

Selling Agreement between ML Life Insurance Company of New York, Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated, and Merrill Lynch Life Agency, Inc.

  

Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.14 to the Registrant’s Annual Report on Form 10-K, File Nos. 33-34562, 33-60288, 333-48983, and 333-133224, filed March 27, 2008.

 

73


10.15

  

Purchase Agreement between Merrill Lynch Insurance Group, Inc., Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc., and AEGON USA, Inc.

  

Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to Registrant’s Current Report on Form 8-K, File No. 33-34562, filed August 17, 2007.

10.16

  

First Amendment to Purchase Agreement between Merrill Lynch Insurance Group, Inc., Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc., and AEGON USA, Inc.

  

Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to Registrant’s Current Report on Form 8-K, File No. 33-34562, filed January 4, 2008.

10.17

  

Principal Underwriting Agreement between Transamerica Capital, Inc. and ML Life Insurance Company of New York.

  

Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.18 to the Registrant’s Annual Report on Form 10-K, File Nos. 33-34562, 33-60288, 333-48983, and 333-133224, filed March 26, 2009.

10.18

  

Amended and Restated Principal Underwriting Agreement between Transamerica Capital, Inc. and Transamerica Advisors Life Insurance Company of New York.

  

Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.18 to the Registrant’s Annual Report on Form 10-K, File Nos. 33-34562, 33-60288, 333-48983, and 333-133224, filed March 25, 2011.

10.19

  

Investment Management Services Agreement among Transamerica Asset Management, Inc., Transamerica Advisors Life Insurance Company and Transamerica Advisors Life Insurance Company of New York.

  

Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.19 to the Registrant’s Annual Report on Form 10-K, File Nos. 33-34562, 33-60288, 333-48983, and 333-133224, filed March 25, 2011.

24.1

  

Powers of Attorney for Eric J. Martin, William Brown, Jr., Steven E. Frushtick, and John T. Mallett.

  

Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 24.1 to the Registrant’s Annual Report on Form 10-K, Nos. 34562, 33-60288, 333-48983, and 333-133224, filed March 25, 2010.

24.2

  

Powers of Attorney for Peter P. Post, Thomas A. Swank, and Marc Cahn.

  

Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 24.2 to the Registrant’s Annual Report on Form 10-K, File Nos. 33-34562, 33-60288, 333-48983, and 333-133224, filed March 25, 2011.

31.1

  

Certification by the Chief Executive Officer pursuant to Rule 15d-14(a).

  

Exhibit 31.1

31.2

  

Certification by the Chief Financial Officer pursuant to Rule 15d-14(a).

  

Exhibit 31.2

32.1

  

Certification by the Chief Executive Officer pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as adopted pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.

  

Exhibit 32.1

32.2

  

Certification by the Chief Financial Officer pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as adopted pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.

  

Exhibit 32.2

101.INS

  

XBRL Instance Document.

  

Exhibit 101.INS

101.SCH

  

XBRL Taxonomy Extension Schema.

  

Exhibit 101.SCH

101.CAL

  

XBRL Taxonomy Extension Calculation Linkbase.

  

Exhibit 101.CAL

101.DEF

  

XBRL Taxonomy Definition Linkbase.

  

Exhibit 101.DEF

101.LAB

  

XBRL Taxonomy Extension Label Linkbase.

  

Exhibit 101.LAB

101.PRE

  

XBRL Taxonomy Extension Presentation Linkbase.

  

Exhibit 101.PRE

 

74


EXHIBIT INDEX

 

31.1   Certification by the President pursuant to Rule 15d-14(a).
31.2   Certification by the Chief Financial Officer pursuant to Rule 15d-14(a).
32.1   Certification by the President pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as adopted pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.
32.2   Certification by the Chief Financial Officer pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as adopted pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.
101.INS   XBRL Instance Document.
101.SCH   XBRL Taxonomy Extension Schema.
101.CAL   XBRL Taxonomy Extension Calculation Linkbase.
101.DEF   XBRL Taxonomy Definition Linkbase.
101.LAB   XBRL Taxonomy Extension Label Linkbase.
101.PRE   XBRL Taxonomy Extension Presentation Linkbase.

 

75