Gross premiums written
(ii) Items included. Gross premiums written include (A) Any additional premiums resulting from increases in risk exposure during the effective period of an insurance contract; (B) Amounts subtracted from a premium stabilization reserve to pay for insurance coverage; and (C) Consideration in respect of assuming insurance liabilities under insurance contracts not issued by the taxpayer (such as a payment or transfer of property in an assumption reinsurance transaction). (5) Method of reporting gross premiums written(i) In general. Except as otherwise provided under this paragraph (a)(5), an insurance company reports gross premiums written for the earlier of the taxable year that includes the effective date of the insurance contract or the year in which the company receives all or a portion of the gross premium for the insurance contract. The effective date of the insurance contract is the date on which the insurance coverage provided by the contract commences. The effective period of an insurance contract is the period over which one or more rates for insurance coverage are guaranteed in the contract. If a new rate for insurance coverage is guaranteed after the effective date of an insurance contract, the making of such a guarantee generally is treated as the issuance of a new insurance contract with an effective period equal to the duration of the new guaranteed rate for insurance coverage. (ii) Special rule for additional premiums resulting from an increase in risk exposure. An insurance company reports additional premiums that result from an increase in risk exposure during the effective period of an insurance contract in gross premiums written for the taxable year in which the change in risk exposure occurs. Unless the increase in risk exposure is of temporary duration (for example, an increase in risk exposure under a workers' compensation policy due to seasonal variations in the policyholder's payroll), the company reports additional premiums resulting from an increase in risk exposure based on the remainder of the effective period of the insurance contract. (iii) Exception for certain advance premiums. If an insurance company receives a portion of the gross premium for an insurance contract prior to the first day of the taxable year that includes the effective date of the contract, the company may report the advance premium (rather than the full amount of the gross premium for the contract) in gross premiums written for the taxable year in which the advance premium is received. An insurance company may adopt this method of reporting advance premiums only if the company's deduction for premium acquisition expenses for the taxable year in which the company receives the advance premium does not exceed the limitation of paragraph (a)(5)(vii) of this section. A company that reports an advance premium in gross premiums written under this paragraph (a)(5)(iii) takes into account the remainder of the gross premium written and premium acquisition expenses for the contract in the taxable year that includes the effective date of the contract. A company that adopts this method of reporting advance premiums must use the method for all contracts with advance premiums. (iv) Exception for certain cancellable accident and health insurance contracts with installment premiums. If an insurance company issues or proportionally reinsures a cancellable accident and health insurance contract (other than a contract with an effective period that exceeds 12 months) for which the gross premium is payable in installments over the effective period of the contract, the company may report the installment premiums (rather than the total gross premium for the contract) in gross premiums written for the earlier of the taxable year in which the installment premiums are due under the terms of the contract or the year in which the installment premiums are received. An insurance company may adopt this method of reporting installment premiums for a cancellable accident and health insurance contract only if the company's deduction for premium acquisition expenses for the first taxable year in which an installment premium is due or received under the contract does not exceed the limitation of paragraph (a)(5)(vii) of this section. A company that adopts this method of reporting installment premiums for a cancellable accident and health contract must use the method for all of its cancellable accident and health insurance contracts with installment premiums. (v) Exception for certain multi-year insurance contracts. If an insurance company issues or proportionally reinsures an insurance contract, other than a contract described in paragraph (a)(5)(vi) of this section, with an effective period that exceeds 12 months, for which the gross premium is payable in installments over the effective period of the contract, the company may treat the insurance coverage provided under the multi-year contract as a series of separate insurance contracts. The first contract in the series is treated as having been written for an effective period of twelve months. Each subsequent contract in the series is treated as having been written for an effective period equal to the lesser of 12 months or the remainder of the period for which the rates for insurance coverage are guaranteed in the multi-year insurance contract. An insurance company may adopt this method of reporting premiums on a multi-year contract only if the company's deduction for premium acquisition expenses for each year of the multi-year contract does not exceed the limitation of paragraph (a)(5)(vii) of this section. A company that adopts this method of reporting premiums for a multi-year contract must use the method for all multi-year contracts with installment premiums. (vi) Exception for insurance contracts described in section 832(b)(7). If an insurance company issues or reinsures the risks related to a contract described in section 832(b)(7), the company may report gross premiums written for the contract in the manner required by sections 803 and 811(a) for life insurance companies. An insurance company may adopt this method of reporting premiums on contracts described in section 832(b)(7) only if the company also determines the deduction for premium acquisition costs for the contract in accordance with section 811(a), as adjusted by the amount required to be taken into account under section 848 in connection with the net premiums of the contract. A company that adopts this method of reporting premiums for a contract described in section 832(b)(7) must use the method for all of its contracts described in that section. (vii) Limitation on deduction of premium acquisition expenses. An insurance company's deduction for premium acquisition expenses (for example, commissions, state premium taxes, overhead reimbursements to agents or brokers, and other similar amounts) related to an insurance contract is within the limitation of this paragraph (a)(5)(vii) if (A) The ratio obtained by dividing the sum of the company's deduction for premium acquisition expenses related to the insurance contract for the taxable year and previous taxable years by the total premium acquisition expenses attributable to the insurance contract; does not exceed (B) The ratio obtained by dividing the sum of the amounts included in gross premiums written with regard to the insurance contract for the taxable year and previous taxable years by the total gross premium written for the insurance contract. (viii) Change in method of reporting gross premiums. An insurance company that adopts a method of accounting for gross premiums written and premium acquisition expenses described in paragraph (a)(5)(iii), (iv), (v), or (vi) of this section must continue to use the method to report gross premiums written and premium acquisition expenses unless the company obtains the consent of the Commissioner to change to a different method under section 446(e) and 1.446-1(e). (6) Return premiums(i) In general. An insurance company's liability for return premiums includes amounts previously included in an insurance company's gross premiums written, which are refundable to a policyholder or ceding company, provided that the amounts are fixed by the insurance contract and do not depend on the experience of the insurance company or the discretion of its management. (ii) Items included. Return premiums include amounts (A) Which were previously paid and become refundable due to policy cancellations or decreases in risk exposure during the effective period of an insurance contract; (B) Which reflect the unearned portion of unpaid premiums for an insurance contract that is canceled or for which there is a decrease in risk exposure during its effective period; or (C) Which are either previously paid and refundable or which reflect the unearned portion of unpaid premiums for an insurance contract, arising from the redetermination of a premium due to correction of posting or other similar errors. (7) Method of reporting return premiums. An insurance company reports the liability for a return premium resulting from the cancellation of an insurance contract for the taxable year in which the contract is canceled. An insurance company reports the liability for a return premium attributable to a reduction in risk exposure under an insurance contract for the taxable year in which the reduction in risk exposure occurs. (8) Unearned premiums(i) In general. The unearned premium for a contract, other than a contract described in section 816(b)(1)(B), generally is the portion of the gross premium written that is attributable to future insurance coverage during the effective period of the insurance contract. However, unearned premiums held by an insurance company with regard to the net value of risks reinsured with other solvent companies (whether or not authorized to conduct business under state law) are subtracted from the company's unearned premiums. Unearned premiums also do not include any additional liability established by the insurance company on its annual statement to cover premium deficiencies. Unearned premiums do not include an insurance company's estimate of its liability for amounts to be paid or credited to a customer with regard to the expired portion of a retrospectively rated contract (retro credits). An insurance company's estimate of additional amounts payable by its customers with regard to the expired portion of a retrospectively rated contract (retro debits) cannot be subtracted from unearned premiums. (ii) Special rules for unearned premiums. For purposes of computing premiums earned on insurance contracts during the taxable year under section 832(b)(4), the amount of unearned premiums includes (A) Life insurance reserves (as defined in section 816(b), but computed in accordance with section 807(d) and sections 811(c) and (d)); (B) In the case of a mutual flood or fire insurance company described in section 832(b)(1)(D) (with respect to contracts described in that section), the amount of unabsorbed premium deposits that the company would be obligated to return to its policyholders at the close of the taxable year if all its insurance contracts were terminated at that time; (C) In the case of an interinsurer or reciprocal underwriter that reports unearned premiums on its annual statement net of premium acquisition expenses, the unearned premiums on the company's annual statement increased by the portion of premium acquisition expenses allocable to those unearned premiums; and (D) In the case of a title insurance company, its discounted unearned premiums (computed in accordance with section 832(b)(8)). (9) Method of determining unearned premiums. If the risk of loss under an insurance contract does not vary significantly over the effective period of the contract, the unearned premium attributable to the unexpired portion of the effective period of the contract is determined on a pro rata basis. If the risk of loss varies significantly over the effective period of the contract, the insurance company may consider the pattern and incidence of the risk in determining the portion of the gross premium that is attributable to the unexpired portion of the effective period of the contract. An insurance company that uses a method of computing unearned premiums other than the pro rata method must maintain sufficient information to demonstrate that its method of computing unearned premiums accurately reflects the pattern and incidence of the risk for the insurance contract. (10) Examples. The provisions of paragraphs (a)(4) through (a)(9) of this section are illustrated by the following examples: (11) Change in method of accounting(i) In general. A change in the method of determining premiums earned to comply with the provisions of paragraphs (a)(3) through (a)(10) of this section is a change in method of accounting for which the consent of the Commissioner is required under section 446(e) and 1.446-1(e). (ii) Application. For the first taxable year beginning after December 31, 1999, a taxpayer is granted consent of the Commissioner to change its method of accounting for determining premiums earned to comply with the provisions of paragraphs (a)(3) through (a)(10) of this section. A taxpayer changing its method of accounting in accordance with this section must follow the automatic change in accounting provisions of Rev. Proc. 99-49, 1999-52 I.R.B. 725 (see 601.601(d)(2) of this chapter), except that (A) The scope limitations in section 4.02 of Rev. Proc. 99-49 shall not apply; (B) The timely duplicate filing requirement in section 6.02(2) of Rev. Proc. 99-49 shall not apply; and (C) If the method of accounting for determining premiums earned is an issue under consideration within the meaning of section 3.09 of Rev. Proc. 99-49 as of January 5, 2000, then section 7.01 of Rev. Proc. 99-49 shall not apply. (12) Effective date. Paragraphs (a)(3) through (a)(11) of this section are applicable with respect to the determination of premiums earned for taxable years beginning after December 31, 1999. (13) In computing the amount of unabsorbed premium deposits which a mutual fire or flood insurance company described in section 831(a)(3)(B) would be obligated to return to its policyholders at the close of its taxable year, the company must use its own schedule of unabsorbed premium deposit returns then in effect. A copy of the applicable schedule must be filed with the company's income tax return for each taxable year for which a computation based upon such schedule is made. In addition, a taxpayer making such a computation must provide the following information for each taxable year for which the computation is made: (i) The amount of gross premiums received during the taxable year, and the amount of premiums paid for reinsurance during the taxable year, on the policies described in section 831(a)(3)(B) and on other policies; (ii) The amount of insurance written during the taxable year under the policies described in section 831(a)(3)(B) and under other policies, and the amount of such insurance written which was reinsured during the taxable year. The information required under this subdivision shall only be submitted upon the specific request of the district director for a statement setting forth such information, and, if required, such statement shall be filed in the manner provided by this subparagraph or in such other manner as is satisfactory to the district director; (iii) The amount of premiums earned during the taxable year on the policies described in section 831(a)(3)(B) and on other policies and the computations by which such amounts were determined, including sufficient information to support the taxpayer's determination of the amount of unearned premiums on premium deposit plan and other policies at the beginning and end of the taxable year, and the amount of unabsorbed premium deposits at the beginning and end of the taxable year on policies described in section 831(a)(3)(B). (14) In computing losses incurred the determination of unpaid losses at the close of each year must represent actual unpaid losses as nearly as it is possible to ascertain them.