Company: AIZ
Filing Date: 2025-02-20
Form Type: 10-K
Source: 0001267238-25-000008
Chunk: 107

Company: ASSURANT, INC.
Filing Date: 2025-02-20
Form: 10-K
Item: Item 7
Chunk 107
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 utilizing generally accepted actuarial loss reserving methods. Both paid claims development as well as case incurred development are typically analyzed at the product or product grouping level, considering product size and data credibility. The reserving methods widely employed by us include the Chain Ladder, Munich Chain Ladder and Bornhuetter-Ferguson methods. For Global Housing, reportable catastrophes are analyzed and reserved for separately using a frequency and severity approach. 

The methods all involve aggregating paid and case-incurred loss data by accident quarter (or accident year) and accident age for each product grouping. As the data ages, development factors are calculated that measure emerging claim development patterns between reporting periods. By selecting loss development factors indicative of remaining development, known losses are projected to an ultimate incurred basis for each accident period. The underlying premise of the Chain Ladder method is that future claims development is best estimated using past claims development, whereas the Bornhuetter-Ferguson method employs a combination of past claims development and estimates of ultimate losses based on an expected loss ratio. The Munich Chain Ladder method incorporates the correlations between paid and incurred development in projecting future development factors, and is typically more applicable to products experiencing variability in incurred to paid ratios. 

Each of these methods applied to the data groupings produces an estimate of the loss reserves for the product grouping. The best estimate is generally selected from a blend of the different methods. The determination of the best estimate is based on many factors, including:  

•the nature and extent of the underlying assumptions;

•the quality and applicability of historical data - whether internal or industry data;

•current and expected future economic and market conditions;

•regulatory, legislative, and judicial considerations;

•the extent of data segmentation - data should be homogeneous yet credible enough for loss development methods to apply;

•trends in loss frequency and severity for various causes of loss;

•consideration of the distribution of loss reserves, management’s selection of the best estimate that may exceed an estimate based on median values, suggesting that favorable development may be more likely than unfavorable development; and 

•hindsight testing of prior loss estimates - the loss estimates on some product lines will vary from actual loss experience more than others.

When employing the reserving methods, consideration is given to contractual requirements, historical utilization trends and payment patterns, coverage changes, seasonality, product mix, the legislative and regulatory environment, economic factors, natural catastrophes and other relevant factors. We consistently apply reserving principles and methodologies from year to year, while also giving