Other revenues in all years presented included revenues from Simply Business and installment premium charges.
Income tax expense in 2020 was $213 million, $10 million or 4% lower than in 2019, primarily reflecting the impact of the $93 million decrease in income before income taxes in 2020.
Factors contributing to net prior year reserve development during the years ended December 31, 2020, 2019 and 2018 are discussed in more detail in note 8 of notes to the consolidated financial statements.
Amortization of deferred acquisition costs in 2020 was $519 million, $41 million or 9% higher than in 2019, generally consistent with the increase in earned premiums.
The Company’s invested assets at December 31, 2020 were $84.42 billion, of which 94% was invested in fixed maturity and short-term investments, 1% in equity securities, 1% in real estate investments and 4% in other investments. Because the primary purpose of the investment portfolio is to fund future claims payments, the Company employs a thoughtful investment philosophy that focuses on appropriate risk-adjusted returns. A significant majority of funds available for investment are deployed in a widely diversified portfolio of high quality, liquid, taxable U.S. government, tax-exempt and taxable U.S. municipal and taxable corporate and U.S. agency mortgage-backed bonds.
The Company meets its capital requirements to support its underwriting at Lloyd’s using a combination of the share capital and retained earnings of the Company's subsidiaries participating in Lloyd's, trust deposits and uncollateralized letters of credit. Securities with a fair value of approximately $119 million and $173 million held by a wholly-owned subsidiary at December 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively, and $35 million and $34 million held by TRV at December 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively, were pledged into Lloyd’s trust accounts to provide a portion of the Lloyd’s capital requirements. For more information regarding the Company’s utilization of uncollateralized letters of credit, see “Liquidity and Capital Resources” herein.
The impacts of COVID-19 and related economic conditions on the Company's financial results, which began to affect the Company late in the first quarter of 2020, continue to be highly uncertain and outside the Company’s control. The scope, duration and magnitude of the direct and indirect effects of COVID-19 continue to evolve in ways that are difficult or impossible to anticipate. As a result, its impact on the Company’s results in 2020 is not indicative of its impact on the Company’s results in 2021. For additional information on the risks posed by COVID-19, see “The impact of COVID-19 and related risks could materially affect our results of operations, financial position and/or liquidity” included in “Part I-Item 1A - Risk Factors.”
In October 2020, the FASB issued updated guidance to amend and supersede SEC paragraphs in the Accounting Standards Codification to reflect the issuance of SEC Release No. 33-10762. The amendments to the release became effective on January 4, 2021; however, the SEC permitted voluntary compliance in advance of the effective date. The Company elected to apply the amended requirements beginning with the quarter ended March 31, 2020, and no longer provides condensed consolidating financial information regarding the registered debt obligations of its subsidiaries, Travelers Property Casualty Corp. and Travelers Insurance Group Holdings Inc., that are disclosed in note 9.
Also included in other investments are non-public common equities, preferred equities and derivatives. Non-public common equities and preferred equities are reported at fair value with changes in fair value recognized in net income. The Company’s derivative financial instruments are carried at fair value, with the changes in fair value reflected in the consolidated statement of income in net realized investment gains (losses). For a further discussion of the derivatives used by the Company, see note 3.
Intangible assets that are deemed to have a finite useful life are amortized over their useful lives. The carrying amount of intangible assets with a finite useful life is regularly reviewed for indicators of impairment in value. Impairment is recognized only if the carrying amount of the intangible asset is not recoverable from its undiscounted cash flows and is measured as the difference between the carrying amount and the fair value of the asset.
Compensation cost is measured based on the grant-date fair value of an award, utilizing the assumptions discussed in note 14. Compensation cost is recognized for financial reporting purposes over the period in which the employee is required to provide service in exchange for the award (generally the vesting period). In connection with certain share-based awards, participants are entitled to receive dividends during the vesting period, either in cash or dividend equivalent shares, commensurate with the dividends paid to common shareholders. Dividends and dividend equivalent shares on awards that are expected to vest are recorded in retained earnings. Dividends paid on awards that are not expected to vest as part of the Company’s forfeiture estimate are recorded as compensation expense.
•International, through its operations in Canada, the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, provides property and casualty insurance and risk management services to several customer groups, including, among others, those in the technology, manufacturing and public services industry sectors. International also provides insurance for both the foreign exposures of United States organizations and the United States exposures of foreign organizations through Global Services. At its Lloyd’s syndicate (Syndicate 5000), for which the Company provides 100% of the capital, International underwrites six principal businesses - international marine, retail marine, global property, construction & special risks, energy and aviation.
The following table presents the cumulative amount of, and the changes during the year in, credit losses on fixed maturities held at December 31, 2019 that were recognized in the consolidated statement of income from other-than-temporary impairments (OTTI) and for which a portion of the OTTI was recognized in other comprehensive income (loss) in the consolidated balance sheet:
Concentrations of credit risk arise from exposure to counterparties that are engaged in similar activities and have similar economic characteristics that could cause their ability to meet contractual obligations to be similarly affected by changes in economic or other conditions. The Company seeks to mitigate credit risk by actively monitoring the creditworthiness of counterparties, obtaining collateral as deemed appropriate and applying controls that include credit approvals, limits of credit exposure and other monitoring procedures.
Included in fixed maturities are below investment grade securities totaling $1.34 billion and $1.46 billion at December 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively. The Company defines its below investment grade securities as those securities rated below investment grade by external rating agencies, or the equivalent by the Company when a public rating does not exist. Such securities include below investment grade bonds that are publicly traded and certain other privately issued bonds that are classified as below investment grade loans.
•Level 3 - Valuations based on models where significant inputs are not observable. The unobservable inputs reflect the Company’s own assumptions about the inputs that market participants would use.
The following tables present the level within the fair value hierarchy at which the Company’s financial assets and financial liabilities are measured on a recurring basis.
industry loss minimum under the program is $200 million. The program excludes from participation the following types of insurance: Federal crop insurance, private mortgage insurance, financial guaranty insurance, medical malpractice insurance, health or life insurance, flood insurance, reinsurance, commercial automobile, professional liability (other than directors' and officers’), surety, burglary and theft, and farm-owners multi-peril. In the case of a war declared by Congress, only workers’ compensation losses are covered by the program. All commercial property and casualty insurers licensed in the United States are generally required to participate in the program. Under the program, a participating insurer, in exchange for making terrorism insurance available, is entitled to be reimbursed by the Federal Government for 80% of subject losses, after an insurer deductible, subject to an annual cap.
•Commercial automobile - higher than expected loss experience in the segment's domestic operations for recent accident years; and
•General liability (excluding asbestos and environmental) - higher than expected loss experience in the segment's domestic operations for both primary and excess coverages for multiple accident years; and
At December 31, 2020 and 2019, the Company’s claims and claim adjustment expense reserves included $1.65 billion and $1.60 billion, respectively, for asbestos and environmental-related claims, net of reinsurance.
resolution process; and the applicable law in each jurisdiction. The evaluation of the exposure presented by a policyholder can change as information concerning that policyholder and the many variables presented is developed. Conventional actuarial methods are not used to estimate these reserves.
For tax return purposes, as of December 31, 2020, the Company had net operating loss (NOL) carryforwards in the United States, Canada, the Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom. The amount and timing of realizing the benefits of NOL carryforwards depend on future taxable income and limitations imposed by tax laws. Only the benefits of the United Kingdom NOL carryforwards have been recognized in the consolidated financial statements and are included in net deferred tax assets. The NOL amounts by jurisdiction and year of expiration are as follows:
At December 31, 2020, there was $133 million of total unrecognized compensation cost related to all nonvested share-based incentive compensation awards. This includes stock options, restricted and deferred stock units and performance shares granted under the 2014 Incentive Plan. The unrecognized compensation cost is expected to be recognized over a weighted-average period of 1.7 years. Cash received from the exercise of employee stock options under share-based compensation plans totaled $127 million, $213 million and $132 million in 2020, 2019 and 2018, respectively. The tax benefit for tax deductions from employee stock options exercised during 2020, 2019 and 2018 totaled $10 million, $18 million and $14 million, respectively.