Commitments

Contingencies

From time to time we and our subsidiaries are named as defendants in various lawsuits incidental to our insurance operations. We consider legal actions relating to claims made in the ordinary course of seeking indemnification for a loss covered by the insurance policy in establishing loss and LAE reserves.

We also face, in the ordinary course of business, lawsuits that seek damages beyond policy limits, commonly known as extra-contractual claims, as well as class action and individual lawsuits that involve issues not unlike those facing other insurance companies and employers. We continually evaluate potential liabilities and reserves for litigation of these types using the criteria established by the Contingencies topic of the FASC. Under this guidance we may only record reserves for a loss if the likelihood of occurrence is probable and we can reasonably estimate the amount. If a material loss is judged to be reasonably possible, we will disclose an estimated range of loss or state that an estimate cannot be made. We consider each legal action using this guidance and record reserves for losses as warranted by establishing a reserve captured within our Consolidated Balance Sheets line-items “Unpaid losses and loss adjustment expenses” for extra-contractual claims and “Other liabilities” for class action and other non-claims related lawsuits. We record amounts incurred on the Consolidated Statements of Earnings within “Losses and loss adjustment expenses” for extra-contractual claims and “Other expenses” for class action and other non-claims related lawsuits.

Certain claims and legal actions have been brought against us for which we have accrued no loss, and for which an estimate of a possible range of loss cannot be made under the above rules. While it is not possible to predict the ultimate outcome of these claims or lawsuits, we do not believe they are likely to have a material effect on our financial condition or liquidity. However, losses incurred because of these cases could have a material adverse impact on net earnings in a given period.