The following sections discuss the accounting policies applied in preparing our Consolidated Financial Statements that management believes are most dependent on the application of estimates and assumptions and require management’s most difficult, subjective or complex judgments.
We establish reserves for future policy benefits to, or on behalf of, policyholders, using methodologies prescribed by U.S. GAAP. The reserving methodologies used include the following:
Policyholders’ account balances liability represents the contract value that has accrued to the benefit of the policyholder as of the balance sheet date. This liability is primarily associated with the accumulated account deposits, plus interest credited, less policyholder withdrawals and other charges assessed against the account balance, as applicable. The liability also includes provisions for benefits under non-life contingent payout annuities. Our unearned revenue reserve (“URR”), also reported as a component of “Policyholders’ account balances”, gross of reinsurance with a partial offset in “Reinsurance recoverables”. The URR balance was $1,093 million as of December 31, 2019. This reserve primarily relates to the variable and universal life products and represents policy charges for services to be provided in future periods. The charges are deferred as unearned revenue and are generally amortized over the expected life of the contract in proportion to the product's estimated gross profits, similar to DAC and DSI as discussed above. Policyholders’ account balances also include amounts representing the fair value of embedded derivative instruments associated with the index-linked features of certain universal life products. For additional information regarding the valuation of these embedded derivatives, see Note 5 to the Consolidated Financial Statements.
Represents the impact of an increase or decrease in mortality rates for the Individual Annuities and Individual Life Insurance businesses.
Reinsurance recoverables increased $6 billion primarily related to the variable annuity reinsured living benefit liabilities resulting from an increase in future expected benefit payments driven by declining interest rates and credit spreads tightening, partially offset by favorable equity markets, as well as continued universal and term life business growth and a favorable impact from our annual reviews and update of assumptions and other refinements; and
Total liabilities increased $26 billion from $162 billion at December 31, 2018 to $188 billion at December 31, 2019. Significant components were:
Future policy benefits increased $6 billion primarily driven by an increase in the variable annuity living benefit liabilities, as well as growth in term and universal life business, as discussed above, the impact of unrealized gains on guaranteed minimum death benefits reserves and an unfavorable impact from our annual reviews and update of assumptions and other refinements; and
Revenues increased $120 million from $829 million in 2018 to $949 million in 2019. Excluding the impact of our annual reviews and update of assumptions and other refinements, as discussed above, revenues increased $172 million driven by higher Net investment income of $69 million driven by business growth, reinvestment of net investment income and higher income on non-coupon investments, as well as higher Policy charges and fee income of $69 million as a result of business growth, higher profits on PBR products and higher URR amortization as a result of the ongoing impact from our second quarter 2019 assumption update. Also contributing to the increase is higher Total realized investment gains (losses), net of $45 million reflecting higher gains from investment dispositions and derivative gains as a result of declining interest rates, partially offset by embedded derivative realized losses on indexed-linked universal life products, as discussed above. Partially offsetting these increases were a decrease in Premiums of $22 million as a result of a reinsurance transaction to coinsure the remaining term life business related to two affiliated captives.
The primary risk exposures of our variable annuity contracts relate to actual deviations from, or changes to, the assumptions used in the original pricing of these products, including capital markets assumptions such as equity market returns, interest rates and market volatility, along with actuarial assumptions such as contractholder mortality, the timing and amount of annuitization and withdrawals, and contract lapses. For these risk exposures, achievement of our expected earnings and profitability is subject to the risk that actual experience will differ from the assumptions used in the original pricing of these products. Prudential Financial currently manages our exposure to certain risks driven by capital markets fluctuations primarily through a combination of Product Design Features and Asset Liability Management Strategy, as discussed below. The Company also manages these risk exposures through reinsurance. For information on our reinsurance agreements, see “Business-Reinsurance” and Note 9 to the Consolidated Financial Statements.
A portion of the variable annuity contracts that we offer include an asset transfer feature. This feature is implemented at the contract level, and transfers assets between certain variable investment sub-accounts selected by the annuity contractholder and, depending on the benefit feature, a fixed-rate account in the general account or a bond fund sub-account within the separate account. The objective of the asset transfer feature is to reduce our exposure to equity market risk and market volatility. The asset transfer feature associated with currently-sold highest daily living benefit products uses a designated bond fund sub-account within the separate account. The transfers are based on a static mathematical formula used with the particular benefit which considers a number of factors, including, but not limited to, the impact of investment performance on the contractholder’s total account value. Other product design features we utilize include, among others, asset allocation restrictions, minimum issuance age requirements and certain limitations on the amount of contractholder deposits, as well as a required minimum allocation to our general account for certain of our products. We have also introduced products that diversify our risk profile and have incorporated provisions in product design allowing frequent revisions of key pricing elements for certain products. In addition, there is diversity in our fee arrangements, as certain fees are primarily based on the benefit guarantee amount, the contractholder account value and/or premiums, which helps preserve certain revenue streams when market fluctuations cause account values to decline.
The Company’s liability for income taxes includes the liability for unrecognized tax benefits and interest that relate to tax years still subject to review by the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) or other taxing authorities. The completion of review or the expiration of the Federal statute of limitations for a given audit period could result in an adjustment to the liability for income taxes. The total unrecognized benefit as of December 31, 2019, 2018 and 2017 was $0 million, $0 million and $30 million, respectively. We do not anticipate any significant changes within the next 12 months to our total unrecognized tax benefits related to tax years for which the statute of limitations has not expired.
Our businesses are subject to comprehensive regulation and supervision by domestic and international regulators. These regulations currently include, or may include in the future requirements and limitations (many of which are the subject of ongoing rule-making) relating to capital, leverage, liquidity, stress-testing, overall risk management, credit exposure reporting and credit concentration. For information on these regulatory initiatives and their potential impact on us, see "Business-Regulation” and “Risk Factors”.
Our capital management framework is primarily based on statutory Risk-Based Capital ("RBC") measures. The RBC ratios are a primary measure of the capital adequacy of the Company. RBC is calculated based on statutory financial statements and risk formulas consistent with the practices of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners ("NAIC"). RBC considers, among other things, risks related to the type and quality of the invested assets, insurance-related risks associated with an insurer’s products and liabilities, interest rate risks and general business risks. RBC ratio calculations are intended to assist insurance regulators in measuring an insurer’s solvency and ability to pay future claims. The reporting of RBC measures is not intended for the purpose of ranking any insurance company or for use in connection with any marketing, advertising or promotional activities, but is available to the public. The Company’s capital levels substantially exceed the minimum level required by applicable insurance regulations. Our regulatory capital levels may be affected in the future by changes to the applicable regulations, proposals for which are currently under consideration by both domestic and international insurance regulators.
The principal sources of the Company’s liquidity are premiums and certain annuity considerations, investment and fee income, investment maturities, sales of investments and internal borrowings. The principal uses of that liquidity include benefits, claims, and payments to policyholders and contractholders in connection with surrenders, withdrawals and net policy loan activity. Other uses of liquidity include commissions, general and administrative expenses, purchases of investments, the payment of dividends and return of capital to the parent company, hedging and reinsurance activity and payments in connection with financing activities.
Consolidated Statements of Financial Position as of December 31, 2019 and 2018
Consolidated Statements of Equity for the years ended December 31, 2019, 2018 and 2017
As discussed in Note 2 to the consolidated financial statements, the Company changed the manner in which it accounts for certain financial assets and liabilities and the manner in which its accounts for certain tax effects originally recognized in accumulated other comprehensive income in 2018 and the manner in which it accounts for certain reinsurance costs in 2017.
As discussed in Note 13 to the consolidated financial statements, the Company has entered into significant transactions with The Prudential Insurance Company of America, its parent company, and other affiliates, who are related parties.
As of December 31, 2019 and 2018 (in thousands, except share amounts)
There were no significant non-cash transactions for the years ended December 31, 2019 and 2018.
See Note 9 for more information on the reinsurance transactions mentioned above.
Pruco Life Insurance Company, (“Pruco Life”) is a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Prudential Insurance Company of America (“Prudential Insurance”), which in turn is a direct wholly-owned subsidiary of Prudential Financial, Inc. (“Prudential Financial”). Pruco Life is a stock life insurance company organized in 1971 under the laws of the State of Arizona. It is licensed to sell life insurance and annuities in the District of Columbia, Guam and in all states except New York, and sells such products primarily through affiliated and unaffiliated distributors.
Through March 31, 2016, the Company reinsured the majority of its variable annuity living benefit guarantees to an affiliated reinsurance company, Pruco Reinsurance, Ltd. ("Pruco Re"). Effective April 1, 2016, the Company recaptured the risks related to its variable annuity living benefit guarantees that were previously reinsured to Pruco Re. In addition, the Company reinsured variable annuity base contracts, along with the living benefit guarantees, to Prudential Annuities Life Assurance Corporation ("PALAC"), excluding the PLNJ business, which was reinsured to Prudential Insurance, in each case under a coinsurance and modified coinsurance agreement. These reinsurance agreements cover new and in force business and exclude business reinsured externally. The product risks related to the reinsured business are being managed in PALAC and Prudential Insurance, as applicable. In addition, the living benefit hedging program related to the reinsured living benefit guarantees is being managed within PALAC and Prudential Insurance, as applicable.
(losses), net” by $13 million, with a corresponding increase to “Interest credited to policyholders’ account balances”, which had
During the second quarter of 2019, the Company recorded an out of period adjustment resulting in a net increase of $11 million to "Income (loss) from operations before income taxes and equity in earnings of operating joint venture" for the three months ended June 30, 2019. This adjustment relates to investment income from equity method investments that should have been recorded during first quarter of 2019. Management has evaluated the impact of all out of period adjustments, both individually and in the aggregate, and concluded that they are not material to any current or previously reported quarterly or annual financial statements.
Interest income, and amortization of premium and accretion of discount are included in “Net investment income” under the effective yield method. Additionally, prepayment premiums are also included in “Net investment income”. For mortgage-backed and asset-backed securities, the effective yield is based on estimated cash flows, including interest rate and prepayment assumptions based on data from widely accepted third-party data sources or internal estimates. In addition to interest rate and prepayment assumptions, cash flow estimates also vary based on other assumptions regarding the underlying collateral, including default rates and changes in value. These assumptions can significantly impact income recognition and the amount of OTTI recognized in earnings and other comprehensive income (loss) ("OCI"). For high credit quality mortgage-backed and asset-backed securities (those rated AA or above), cash flows are provided quarterly, and the amortized cost and effective yield of the securities are adjusted as necessary to reflect historical prepayment experience and changes in estimated future prepayments. The adjustments to amortized cost are recorded as a charge or credit to "Net investment income" in accordance with the retrospective method. For mortgage-backed and asset-backed securities rated below AA or those for which an OTTI has been recorded, the effective yield is adjusted prospectively for any changes in estimated cash flows. See the discussion below on realized investment gains and losses for a description of the accounting for impairments.
Commercial mortgage and other loans consist of commercial mortgage loans and agricultural property loans. Commercial mortgage and other loans held for investment are generally carried at unpaid principal balance, net of unamortized deferred loan origination fees and expenses and net of an allowance for losses. Commercial mortgage and other loans acquired, including those related to the acquisition of a business, are recorded at fair value when purchased, reflecting any premiums or discounts to unpaid principal balances. Interest income, and the amortization of the related premiums or discounts, are included in “Net investment income” under the effective yield method. Prepayment fees are also included in “Net investment income".
When a commercial mortgage or other loan is deemed to be uncollectible, any specific valuation allowance associated with the loan is reversed and a direct write down of the carrying amount of the loan is made. The carrying amount of the loan is not adjusted for subsequent recoveries in value.
The Company’s available-for-sale securities with unrealized losses are reviewed quarterly to identify OTTI in value. In evaluating whether a decline in value is other-than-temporary, the Company considers several factors including, but not limited to the following: (1) the extent and the duration of the decline; (2) the reasons for the decline in value (credit event, currency or interest-rate related, including general credit spread widening); and (3) the financial condition of and near-term prospects of the issuer.
Items required by tax regulations to be included in the tax return may differ from the items reflected in the financial statements. As a result, the effective tax rate reflected in the financial statements may be different than the actual rate applied on the tax return. Some of these differences are permanent such as expenses that are not deductible in the Company’s tax return, and some differences are temporary, reversing over time, such as valuation of insurance reserves. Temporary differences create deferred tax assets and liabilities. Deferred tax assets generally represent items that can be used as a tax deduction or credit in future years for which the Company has already recorded the tax benefit in the Company’s Consolidated Statements of Operations. Deferred tax liabilities generally represent tax expense recognized in the Company’s financial statements for which payment has been deferred, or expenditures for which the Company has already taken a deduction in the Company’s tax returns but have not yet been recognized in the Company’s financial statements.
The Company’s liability for income taxes includes a liability for unrecognized tax benefits, interest and penalties which relate to tax years still subject to review by the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) or other taxing jurisdictions. Audit periods remain open for review until the statute of limitations has passed. Generally, for tax years which produce net operating losses, capital losses or tax credit carryforwards (“tax attributes”), the statute of limitations does not close, to the extent of these tax attributes, until the expiration of the statute of limitations for the tax year in which they are fully utilized. The completion of review or the expiration of the statute of limitations for a given audit period could result in an adjustment to the liability for income taxes. The Company classifies all interest and penalties related to tax uncertainties as income tax expense. See Note 10 for additional information regarding income taxes.
Certain individual annuity contracts provide the contractholder a guarantee that the benefit received upon death or annuitization will be no less than a minimum prescribed amount. These benefits are accounted for as insurance contracts. The Company also provides contracts with certain living benefits which are considered embedded derivatives. See Note 5 for information regarding the valuation of these embedded derivatives and Note 8 for additional information regarding these contracts.
The Company sells variable annuity contracts that include optional living benefit features that may be treated from an accounting perspective as embedded derivatives. The Company had reinsurance agreements to transfer the risks related to certain of these benefit features to an affiliate, Pruco Re through March 31, 2016. Effective April 1, 2016, the Company recaptured the risks related to its variable annuity living benefit guarantees that were previously reinsured to Pruco Re. In addition, the Company reinsured the variable annuity base contracts, along with the living benefit guarantees, to PALAC, excluding the PLNJ business, which was reinsured to Prudential Insurance, in each case under a coinsurance and modified coinsurance agreement. See Note 1 for additional information. The embedded derivatives related to the living benefit features and the related reinsurance agreements are carried at fair value and included in “Future policy benefits" and “Reinsurance recoverables”. Changes in the fair value are determined using valuation models as described in Note 5 and are recorded in “Realized investment gains (losses), net".
The corresponding impacts to the Consolidated Statement of Financial Position were a $284 million increase in "Other liabilities", a $247 million increase in "Reinsurance recoverables", a $48 million decrease in "Policyholders’ account balances", a $19 million decrease in "Deferred policy acquisition costs" and a $6 million decrease in "Future policy benefits".
Changes to U.S. GAAP are established by the Financial Accounting Standards Board ("FASB") in the form of Accounting Standards Updates ("ASUs") to the FASB Accounting Standards Codification ("ASC"). The Company considers the applicability and impact of all ASUs. ASUs listed below include those that have been adopted during the current fiscal year and/or those that have been issued but not yet adopted as of December 31, 2019, and as of the date of this filing. ASUs not listed below were assessed and determined to be either not applicable or not material.
ASU 2018-12, Financial Services - Insurance (Topic 944): Targeted Improvements to the Accounting for Long-Duration Contracts, was issued by the FASB on August 15, 2018 and is expected to have a significant impact on the Company’s Consolidated Financial Statements and Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements. In October 2019, the FASB issued ASU 2019-09, Financial Services - Insurance (Topic 944): Effective Date to affirm its decision to defer the effective date of ASU 2018-12 to January 1, 2022 (with early adoption permitted), representing a one year extension from the original effective date of January 1, 2021. This ASU will impact, at least to some extent, the accounting and disclosure requirements for all long-duration insurance and investment contracts issued by the Company. Outlined below are four key areas of change, although there are other less significant changes not noted below. In addition to the impacts to the balance sheet upon adoption, the Company also expects an impact to how earnings emerge thereafter.
Requires an entity to measure all market risk benefits (e.g., living benefit and death benefit guarantees associated with variable annuities) at fair value, and record market risk benefit assets and liabilities separately on the Consolidated Statements of Financial Position. Changes in fair value of market risk benefits are recorded in net income, except for the portion of the change that is attributable to changes in an entity’s non-performance risk (“NPR”), which is recognized in OCI.
An entity shall adopt the guidance for market risk benefits using the retrospective transition method, which includes a cumulative-effect adjustment on the balance sheet as of the earliest period presented. An entity shall maximize the use of relevant observable information and minimize the use of unobservable information in determining the balance of the market risk benefits upon adoption.
Represents the amount of unrealized losses remaining in AOCI, from the impairment measurement date. Amount excludes $1.7 million of net unrealized gains on impaired available-for-sale securities relating to changes in the value of such securities subsequent to the impairment measurement date.
Represents the amount of unrealized losses remaining in AOCI, from the impairment measurement date. Amount excludes $0.4 million of net unrealized losses on impaired available-for-sale securities relating to changes in the value of such securities subsequent to the impairment measurement date.
As of December 31, 2019, the commercial mortgage and agricultural property loans were secured by properties geographically dispersed throughout the United States (with the largest concentrations in California (19%), Texas (14%) and New York (7%)) and included loans secured by properties in Europe (9%), Mexico (2%), and Australia (2%).
The following tables set forth summarized combined financial information for significant LP/LLC interests accounted for under the equity method, including the Company’s investments in operating joint ventures. Changes between periods in the tables below reflect changes in the activities within the operating joint ventures and LPs/LLCs, as well as changes in the Company’s level of investment in such entities.
Amount represents gross liabilities of each fund where the Company has a significant investment. These liabilities consist primarily of third-party-borrowed funds and other miscellaneous liabilities.
The Company did not have agreements with remaining contractual maturities of thirty days or greater, as of the dates indicated.
In the normal course of its business activities, the Company accepts collateral that can be sold or repledged. The primary sources of this collateral are securities purchased under agreements to resell. As of December 31, 2019 and 2018, the fair value of this collateral was $0 million and $143 million, respectively, none of which had either been sold or repledged.
As of December 31, 2019 and 2018, there were available-for-sale fixed maturities of $3.8 million and $3.7 million, respectively, on deposit with governmental authorities or trustees as required by certain insurance laws.
Under currency forwards, the Company agrees with counterparties to deliver a specified amount of an identified currency at a specified future date. Typically, the price is agreed upon at the time of the contract and payment for such a contract is made at the specified future date. The Company executes forward sales of the hedged currency in exchange for U.S. dollars at a specified exchange rate. The maturities of these forwards correspond with the future periods in which the non-U.S. dollar-denominated earnings are expected to be generated.
The Company sells certain products (for example, variable annuities and index-linked universal life) which may include guaranteed benefit features that are accounted for as embedded derivatives; related to certain of these derivatives, the Company has entered into reinsurance agreements with both affiliated and unaffiliated parties. Effective April 1, 2016, the Company entered into reinsurance agreements (previously reinsured to Pruco Re) with affiliates, PALAC and Prudential Insurance. See Note 1 for additional information on the reinsurance agreements. Additionally, the Company has entered into a reinsurance agreement with an external counterparty, Union Hamilton Reinsurance, Ltd. ("Union Hamilton").
Excludes embedded derivatives and associated reinsurance recoverables which contain multiple underlying risks. The fair value of these embedded derivatives was a net liability of $8,530 million and $5,589 million as of December 31, 2019 and 2018, respectively included in "Future policy benefits" and $962 million and $13 million as of December 31, 2019 and 2018, respectively included in "Policyholders' account balances". The fair value of the related reinsurance, included in "Reinsurance recoverables" or "Other liabilities" was an asset of $8,540 million and $5,600 million as of December 31, 2019 and 2018, respectively.
The Company has no exposure from credit derivative positions where it has written credit protection as of December 31, 2019 and 2018.
“Netting” amounts represent cash collateral of $141.4 million and $0.2 million as of December 31, 2019 and 2018, respectively.
Other invested assets excluded from the fair value hierarchy include certain hedge funds, private equity funds and other funds for which fair value is measured at net asset value ("NAV") per share (or its equivalent) as a practical expedient. At December 31, 2019 and 2018, the fair values of such investments were $75 million and $70 million, respectively.
Fixed Maturity Securities - The fair values of the Company’s public fixed maturity securities are generally based on prices obtained from independent pricing services. Prices for each security are generally sourced from multiple pricing vendors, and a vendor hierarchy is maintained by asset type based on historical pricing experience and vendor expertise. The Company ultimately uses the price from the pricing service highest in the vendor hierarchy based on the respective asset type. The pricing hierarchy is updated for new financial products and recent pricing experience with various vendors. Consistent with the fair value hierarchy described above, securities with validated quotes from pricing services are generally reflected within Level 2, as they are primarily based on observable pricing for similar assets and/or other market observable inputs. Typical inputs used by these pricing services include but are not limited to, reported trades, benchmark yields, issuer spreads, bids, offers, and/or estimated cash flow, prepayment speeds, and default rates. If the pricing information received from third-party pricing services is deemed not reflective of market activity or other inputs observable in the market, the Company may challenge the price through a formal process with the pricing service or classify the securities as Level 3. If the pricing service updates the price to be more consistent with the presented market observations, the security remains within Level 2.
Derivative Instruments - Derivatives are recorded at fair value either as assets, within “Other invested assets”, or as liabilities within “Payables to parent and affiliates”, except for embedded derivatives which are recorded with the associated host contract. The fair values of derivative contracts can be affected by changes in interest rates, foreign exchange rates, credit spreads, market volatility, expected returns, NPR, liquidity and other factors.
Represents multiples of earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization "EBITDA", and are amounts used when the Company has determined that market participants would use such multiples when valuing the investments.
Policyholders’ account balances primarily represent general account liabilities for the index-linked interest credited on certain of the Company’s life products that are accounted for as embedded derivatives. Since the valuation methodology for these liabilities uses a range of inputs that vary at the contract level over the cash flow projection period, presenting a range, rather than a weighted average, is a more meaningful representation of the unobservable inputs used in the valuation.
Lapse rates for contracts with living benefit guarantees are adjusted at the contract level based on the in-the-moneyness of the living benefit and reflect other factors, such as the applicability of any surrender charges. Lapse rates are reduced when contracts are more in-the-money. Lapse rates for contracts with index-linked crediting guarantees may be adjusted at the contract level based on the applicability of any surrender charges, product type, and market related factors such as interest rates. Lapse rates are also generally assumed to be lower for the period where surrender charges apply. For any given contract, lapse rates vary throughout the period over which cash flows are projected for the purposes of valuing these embedded derivatives.
Other includes reclassifications of certain asset and liabilities between reporting categories.
The Company’s liability for future policy benefits are primarily liabilities for guaranteed benefits related to certain long-duration life and annuity contracts. Liabilities for guaranteed benefits with embedded derivative features are primarily in "Other contract liabilities" in the table above. The remaining liabilities for guaranteed benefits are primarily reflected with the underlying contract. The interest rates used in the determination of the present values range from 1.9% to 3.3%. See Note 8 for additional information regarding liabilities for guaranteed benefits related to certain long-duration life and annuity contracts.
Policyholders’ account balances represent an accumulation of account deposits plus credited interest less withdrawals, expenses and mortality charges, if applicable. These policyholders’ account balances also include provisions for benefits under non-life contingent payout annuities. Interest crediting rates range from 1.9% to 4.6% for interest-sensitive life contracts. Interest crediting rates for individual annuities range from 0.0% to 6.3%. Interest crediting rates for guaranteed interest accounts range from 1.0% to 4.1%. Interest crediting rates range from 0.5% to 8.0% for other.
In addition to the amounts invested in separate account investment options above, $3.5 billion at December 31, 2019 and $3.4 billion at December 31, 2018 of account balances of variable annuity contracts with guarantees, inclusive of contracts with MVA features, were invested in general account investment options. For the years ended December 31, 2019, 2018 and 2017 there were no transfers of assets, other than cash, from the general account to any separate account, and accordingly no gains or losses recorded.
The GMWB features provide the contractholder with access to a guaranteed remaining balance if the account value is reduced to zero through a combination of market declines and withdrawals. The guaranteed remaining balance is generally equal to the protected value under the contract, which is initially established as the greater of the account value or cumulative deposits when withdrawals commence, less cumulative withdrawals. The contractholder also has the option, after a specified time period, to reset the guaranteed remaining balance to the then-current account value, if greater. The contractholder accesses the guaranteed remaining balance through payments over time, subject to maximum annual limits. The GMWB liability is calculated as the present value of future expected payments to customers less the present value of future expected rider fees attributable to the embedded derivative feature.
Reserves related to reinsured long-duration contracts are accounted for using assumptions consistent with those used to account for the underlying contracts. Amounts recoverable from reinsurers for long-duration reinsurance arrangements are estimated in a manner consistent with the claim liabilities and policy benefits associated with the reinsured policies. Reinsurance policy charges and fee income ceded for universal life and variable annuity products are accounted for as a reduction of policy charges and fee income. Reinsurance premiums ceded for term insurance products are accounted for as a reduction of premiums.
Includes $0.0 million and $0.1 million of unaffiliated activity as of December 31, 2019 and 2018, respectively.
Reinsurance amounts, included in the Company’s Consolidated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive Income (Loss) for the years ended December 31, were as follows:
Includes $(0.6) million, $(0.2) million and $0.0 million of unaffiliated activity for the years ended December 31, 2019, 2018 and 2017, respectively.
Includes $(0.3) million, $0.1 million and $0.4 million of unaffiliated activity for the years ended December 31, 2019, 2018 and 2017, respectively.
Includes $44 million, $(34) million and $(20) million of unaffiliated activity for the years ended December 31, 2019, 2018 and 2017, respectively.
Includes $1.9 million, $0.0 million and $0.4 million of unaffiliated activity for the years ended December 31, 2019, 2018 and 2017, respectively.
Includes $(30) million, $(10) million and $4 million of unaffiliated activity for the years ended December 31, 2019, 2018 and 2017, respectively.
Effective January 1, 2017, Pruco Life entered into an automatic coinsurance agreement with GUL Re to reinsure an amount equal to 95% of all the risks associated with Universal Protector policies having no-lapse guarantees, as well as certain of its universal policies, with effective dates on or after January 1, 2017, excluding those policies that are subject to principle-based reserving.
On January 2, 2013, Pruco Life began to assume GUL business from Prudential Insurance in connection with the acquisition of the Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. ("Hartford Financial"). The GUL business assumed from Prudential Insurance was subsequently retroceded to PAR U. In May 2018, Hartford Financial sold a group of operating subsidiaries, which includes two of Prudential Insurance's counterparties to these reinsurance arrangements. There is no impact to the terms, rights or obligations of Prudential Insurance, or operation of these reinsurance arrangements, as a result of this change in control of such counterparties. Similarly, there is no impact to the Company's reinsurance arrangements with respect to such GUL business as a result of this change in control.
The Company has reinsured a group annuity contract with Prudential Insurance, in consideration for a single premium payment by the Company, providing reinsurance equal to 100% of all payments due under the contract.
Between April 1, 2015 and December 31, 2016, the Company, excluding its subsidiary, reinsured approximately 50% of the new business related to “highest daily” living benefits rider guarantees on HDI v.3.0 product, available with Prudential Premier® Retirement Variable Annuity, to Union Hamilton. This reinsurance remains in force for the duration of the underlying annuity contracts. New sales of HDI v.3.0 subsequent to December 31, 2016 are not covered by this external reinsurance agreement. As of December 31, 2019, $3.2 billion of HDI v.3.0 account values are reinsured to Union Hamilton.
2018 Industry Issue Resolution (IIR). In August 2018, the IRS released a Directive to provide guidance on the tax reserving for guaranteed benefits within variable annuity contracts and principle-based reserves on certain life insurance contracts. Adopting the methodology specified in the Directive resulted in an acceleration of taxable income for the Company's 2017 tax return for which the tax expense was calculated at 35% and an increase in future tax deduction for the same amount to be realized at 21% netting to a $5 million increase to income tax expense.
The Company’s “Income (loss) from operations before income taxes and equity in earnings of operating joint venture” includes income from domestic operations of $159 million, $58 million and $170 million for the years ended December 31, 2019, 2018 and 2017, respectively.
Statutory net income (loss) for the Company, including its subsidiary PLNJ, amounted to $262 million, $192 million and $(503) million for the years ended December 31, 2019, 2018 and 2017, respectively. Statutory surplus of the Company, including its subsidiary PLNJ, amounted to $1,665 million and $1,461 million at December 31, 2019 and 2018, respectively.
The Company’s general and administrative expenses are charged to the Company using allocation methodologies based on business production processes. Management believes that the methodology is reasonable and reflects costs incurred by Prudential Insurance to process transactions on behalf of the Company. The Company operates under service and lease agreements whereby services of officers and employees, supplies, use of equipment and office space are provided by Prudential Insurance. The Company reviews its allocation methodology periodically which it may adjust accordingly. General and administrative expenses include allocations of stock compensation expenses related to a stock-based awards program and a deferred compensation program issued by Prudential Financial. The expense charged to the Company for the stock-based awards program was $1 million for each of the years ended December 31, 2019, 2018 and 2017. The expense charged to the Company for the deferred compensation program was $6 million, $6 million and $9 million for the years ended December 31, 2019, 2018 and 2017, respectively.
The Company is charged for its share of employee benefit expenses. These expenses include costs for funded and non-funded, non-contributory defined benefit pension plans. Some of these benefits are based on final earnings and length of service while others are based on an account balance, which takes into consideration age, service and earnings during a career. The Company’s share of net expense for the pension plans was $20 million, $23 million and $26 million for the years ended December 31, 2019, 2018 and 2017, respectively.
The Company pays commissions and certain other fees to Prudential Annuities Distributors, Inc. (“PAD”) in consideration for PAD’s marketing and underwriting of the Company’s annuity products. Commissions and fees are paid by PAD to broker-dealers who sell the Company’s annuity products. Commissions and fees paid by the Company to PAD were $747 million, $739 million and $633 million for the years ended December 31, 2019, 2018 and 2017, respectively.
The Company has a revenue sharing agreement with AST Investment Services, Inc. ("ASTISI") and PGIM Investments LLC ("PGIM Investments") whereby the Company receives fee income based on policyholders' separate account balances invested in the AST. Income received from ASTISI and PGIM Investments related to this agreement was $341 million, $333 million and $323 million for the years ended December 31, 2019, 2018 and 2017, respectively. These revenues are recorded as “Asset administration fees” in the Consolidated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive Income (Loss).
Accrued interest receivable related to these loans was $1 million at both December 31, 2019 and 2018, and is included in “Other assets”. Revenues related to these assets were $4 million, $5 million and $5 million for the years ended December 31, 2019, 2018 and 2017, respectively, and are included in “Other income”.
The total interest expense to the Company related to loans payable to affiliates was $2.3 million, $0.7 million and $0.8 million for the years ended December 31, 2019, 2018 and 2017, respectively.
In December of 2019, the Company received a capital contribution in the amount of $6 million from Prudential Insurance. In March of 2018, the Company received a capital contribution in the amount of $6 million from Prudential Insurance. In March and July of 2017, the Company received capital contributions in the amounts of $5 million and $149 million, respectively, from Prudential Insurance.
In July 2017, the Company formed a joint venture with CT Corp to provide life insurance solutions in Indonesia. The Company owns a 49% interest in the joint venture and has entered into a shareholders agreement with CT Corp that sets out their respective rights and obligations with respect to the joint venture. Among other things, the shareholders agreement obligates the Company and CT Corp to provide capital to the joint venture, as necessary to comply with applicable law or to maintain a specified minimum amount of capital in the joint venture. This obligation is not limited to a maximum amount. The Company does not expect to make any payments on this guarantee and is not carrying any liabilities associated with the guarantee.
The Company establishes accruals for litigation and regulatory matters when it is probable that a loss has been incurred and the amount of that loss can be reasonably estimated. For litigation and regulatory matters where a loss may be reasonably possible, but not probable, or is probable but not reasonably estimable, no accrual is established, but the matter, if material, is disclosed. The Company estimates that as of December 31, 2019, the aggregate range of reasonably possible losses in excess of accruals established for those litigation and regulatory matters for which such an estimate currently can be made is less than $100 million. This estimate is not an indication of expected loss, if any, or the Company's maximum possible loss exposure on such matters. The Company reviews relevant information with respect to its litigation and regulatory matters on a quarterly and annual basis and updates its accruals, disclosures and estimates of reasonably possible loss based on such reviews.
In July 2017, a putative class action complaint entitled Richard Behfarin v. Pruco Life Insurance Company was filed in the United States District Court for the Central District of California, alleging that the Company imposes charges on owners of universal life policies to cure defaults and/or reinstate lapses, that are inconsistent with the applicable universal life policy. The complaint includes claims for breach of contract, breach of implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, and violation of California law, and seeks unspecified damages along with declaratory and injunctive relief. In September 2017, the Company filed its answer to the complaint. In September 2018, plaintiff filed a motion for class certification. In October 2019, plaintiff filed: (1) the First Amended Complaint adding Prudential Insurance Company of America and Pruco Life Insurance Company of New Jersey as defendants; and (2) a motion seeking preliminary certification of a settlement class, appointment of a class representative and class counsel, and preliminary approval of the proposed class action settlement. In November 2019, the court issued an order granting the motion for preliminary approval of the settlement.