Ameriprise 2013 Annual Report Download - page 185

23. Commitments, Guarantees and Contingencies
Commitments
The Company is committed to pay aggregate minimum rentals under noncancelable operating leases for office facilities
and equipment in future years as follows:
(in millions)
2014 $84
2015 77
2016 64
2017 61
2018 51
Thereafter 88
Total(1) $ 425
(1) Minimum payments have not been reduced by minimum sublease rentals due in the future under noncancelable subleases.
For the years ended December 31, 2013, 2012 and 2011, operating lease expense was $85 million, $84 million and
$91 million, respectively.
The following table presents the Company’s funding commitments as of December 31:
2013 2012
(in millions)
Commercial mortgage loan commitments $ 71 $ 76
Consumer mortgage loan commitments 542 627
Consumer lines of credit 4 5
Affordable housing partnerships 137 144
Total funding commitments $ 754 $ 852
Guarantees
The Company’s life and annuity products all have minimum interest rate guarantees in their fixed accounts. As of
December 31, 2013, these guarantees range up to 5%.
The Company is required by law to be a member of the guaranty fund association in every state where it is licensed to do
business. In the event of insolvency of one or more unaffiliated insurance companies, the Company could be adversely
affected by the requirement to pay assessments to the guaranty fund associations. Uncertainty and volatility in the U.S.
economy and financial markets in recent years have weakened the financial condition of numerous insurers, including
insurers currently in receiverships, increasing the risk of triggering guaranty fund assessments.
The Company projects its cost of future guaranty fund assessments based on estimates of insurance company insolvencies
provided by the National Organization of Life and Health Insurance Guaranty Associations (‘‘NOLHGA’’) and the amount of
its premiums written relative to the industry-wide premium in each state. The Company accrues the estimated cost of
future guaranty fund assessments when it is considered probable that an assessment will be imposed, the event obligating
the Company to pay the assessment has occurred and the amount of the assessment can be reasonably estimated.
Executive Life Insurance Company of New York (‘‘ELNY’’) was placed into rehabilitation by a New York state court in 1991.
On April 16, 2012, the court issued an order converting the rehabilitation into a liquidation proceeding under a plan
submitted by the New York insurance regulator with support from NOLHGA and the industry. Closing under the liquidation
plan took place in August 2013.
During the second quarter of 2012, the Company established a liability for estimated guaranty fund assessments and a
related premium tax asset, primarily associated with ELNY. At December 31, 2013 and 2012, the estimated liability was
$14 million and $26 million, respectively, and the related premium tax asset was $11 million and $19 million,
respectively. The Company has recently paid assessments related to ELNY from some of the state guaranty fund
associations, however the expected period over which all of the assessments will be made and the related tax credits
recovered is not known.
Contingencies
The Company and its subsidiaries are involved in the normal course of business in legal, regulatory and arbitration
proceedings, including class actions, concerning matters arising in connection with the conduct of its activities as a
diversified financial services firm. These include proceedings specific to the Company as well as proceedings generally
applicable to business practices in the industries in which it operates. The Company can also be subject to litigation arising
168