THG 2018 Annual Report

5. FAIR VALUE Fair value is defined as the price that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability, i.e., exit price, in an orderly transaction between market participants. The Company emphasizes the use of observable market data whenever available in determining fair value. Fair values presented for certain financial instruments are estimates which, in many cases, may differ significantly from the amounts that could be realized upon immediate liquidation. A hierarchy of the three broad levels of fair value are as follows, with the highest priority given to Level 1 as these are the most observable, and the lowest priority given to Level 3: Level 1 ± Unadjusted quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities. Level 2 ± Quoted prices for similar assets or liabilities in active markets, quoted prices for identical or similar assets or liabilities in markets that are not active, or other inputs that are observable or can be corroborated by observable market data, including model- derived valuations. Level 3 ± Unobservable inputs that are supported by little or no market activity. When more than one level of input is used to determine fair value, the financial instrument is classified as Level 2 or 3 according to the lowest level input that has a significant impact on the fair value measurement. The following methods and assumptions were used to estimate the fair value of each class of financial instruments and have not changed since last year. FIXED MATURITIES Level 1 securities generally include U.S. Treasury issues and other securities that are highly liquid and for which quoted market prices are available. Level 2 securities are valued using pricing for similar securities and pricing models that incorporate observable inputs including, but not limited to yield curves and issuer spreads. Level 3 securities include issues for which little observable data can be obtained, primarily due to the illiquid nature of the securities, and for which significant inputs used to determine fair value are based on WKH &RPSDQ\¶V RZQ DVVXPSWLRQV The Company utilizes a third party pricing service for the valuation of the majority of its fixed maturity securities and receives one quote per security. When quoted market prices in an active market are available, they are provided by the pricing service as the fair value and such values are classified as Level 1. Since fixed maturities other than U.S. Treasury securities generally do not trade on a daily basis, the pricing service prepares estimates of fair value for those securities using pricing techniques based on a market approach. Inputs into the fair value pricing common to all asset classes include: benchmark U.S. Treasury security yield curves; reported trades of identical or similar fixed maturity securities; broker/dealer quotes of identical or similar fixed maturity securities and structural characteristics such as maturity date, coupon, mandatory principal payment dates, frequency of interest and principal payments, and optional redemption features. Inputs into the fair value applications that are unique by asset class include, but are not limited to: x U.S. government agencies ± determination of direct versus indirect government support and whether any contingencies exist with respect to the timely payment of principal and interest. x Foreign government ± estimates of appropriate market spread versus underlying related sovereign treasury curve(s) dependent on liquidity and direct or contingent support. x Municipals ± overall credit quality, including assessments of the level and variability of: sources of payment such as income, sales or property taxes, levies or user fees; credit support such as insurance; state or local economic and political base; natural resource availability; and susceptibility to natural or man-made catastrophic events such as hurricanes, earthquakes or acts of terrorism. x Corporate fixed maturities ± overall credit quality, including assessments of the level and variability of: economic sensitivity; liquidity; corporate financial policies; management quality; regulatory environment; competitive position; ownership; restrictive covenants; and security or collateral. x Residential mortgage-backed securities ± estimates of prepayment speeds based upon: historical prepayment rate trends; underlying collateral interest rates; geographic concentration; vintage year; borrower credit quality characteristics; interest rate and yield curve forecasts; government or monetary authority support programs; tax policies; delinquency/default trends; and, in the case of non-agency collateralized mortgage obligations, severity of loss upon default and length of time to recover proceeds following default. x Commercial mortgage-backed securities ± overall credit quality, including assessments of the value and supply/demand characteristics of: collateral type such as office, retail, residential, lodging, or other; geographic concentration by region, state, metropolitan statistical area and locale; vintage year; historical collateral performance including defeasance, delinquency, default and special servicer trends; and capital structure support features. x Asset-backed securities ± overall credit quality, including assessments of the underlying collateral type such as credit card receivables, auto loan receivables and equipment lease receivables; geographic diversification; vintage year; historical 97 2018 ANNUAL REPORT | THE HANOVER INSURANCE GROUP