Entities subject to assessments may be able to obtain information to assist in estimating the total guaranty-fund cost or the following years' assessments, as appropriate, for an insolvency from entities such as the state guaranty fund associations, the National Organization of Life and Health Insurance Guaranty Associations, and the National Conference of Insurance Guaranty Funds.
An entity need not be able to compute the exact amounts of the assessments or be formally notified of such assessments by a guaranty fund to make a reasonable estimate of its liability. Entities subject to assessments may have to make assumptions about future events, such as when the fund will incur costs and pay claims that will determine the amounts and the timing of assessments.
The best available information about market share or premiums by state and premiums by line of business shall be used to estimate the amount of an insurance entity's future assessments.
If a noninsurance entity's assessments are based on premiums, it may be necessary to consider the amount of premium the self-insurer would have paid if it had insured its liability with an insurer. If a noninsurance entity's assessments are based on losses, it shall consider the losses that have been incurred by the entity when determining the liability. Most often, assessments that have an impact on noninsurance entities that self-insure workers' compensation obligations are for second-injury funds. Second-injury funds generally assess insurance entities and self-insurers based on paid losses.
Because of the uncertainties surrounding some insurance-related assessments, the range of assessment liability may have to be reevaluated regularly during the assessment process. For some ranges, there may be amounts that appear to be better estimates than any other within the range. If this is the case, the liability recorded shall be based on the best estimate within the range. For ranges in which there is no such best estimate, the liability that should be recorded shall be based on the amount representing the minimum amount in the range.
Current practice in the insurance industry is to allow, but not require (with limited exceptions, such as pensions and postretirement benefits), the discounting of liabilities to reflect the time value of money when the aggregate amount of the obligation and the amount and timing of the cash payments are fixed or reliably determinable for a particular liability.
Similarly, for assessments that meet those criteria, the liability may be recorded at its present value by discounting the estimated future cash flows at an appropriate interest rate.
The time value of money need not be considered in the determination of the recorded amount of a potential recovery if the liability is not discounted. In instances in which the recovery period for an asset is substantially longer than the payout period for the liability, it may be appropriate to record the asset on a discounted basis regardless of whether the liability is discounted.