American International Group, Inc. v. United States

38 Fed. Cl. 274, 80 A.F.T.R.2d (RIA) 5173, 1997 U.S. Claims LEXIS 129
CourtUnited States Court of Federal Claims
DecidedJuly 3, 1997
DocketNos. 93-467T, 94-390T
StatusPublished

This text of 38 Fed. Cl. 274 (American International Group, Inc. v. United States) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Court of Federal Claims primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
American International Group, Inc. v. United States, 38 Fed. Cl. 274, 80 A.F.T.R.2d (RIA) 5173, 1997 U.S. Claims LEXIS 129 (uscfc 1997).

Opinion

OPINION

BRUGGINK, Judge.

This is an action for refund of overpayment of taxes. It is brought by two holding companies that own corporations engaged primarily in the insurance and financial services business. The alleged overpayment resulted from the reduction by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) of losses claimed by the plaintiffs. Trial was held in Washington, D.C. on April 9, 1997. For the reasons set out below, the court concludes that plaintiffs’ calculations of losses were correct.

BACKGROUND

The type of insurance involved in the transactions pertaining to this ease was mortgage guaranty insurance. This insurance protects lenders against default by borrowers. It facilitates mortgage lending by reducing the lender’s risk. With mortgage guaranty insurance, lenders are willing to agree to smaller down payments by borrowers. The question before the court is whether mortgage guaranty insurance companies can claim losses under § 832 of the Internal Revenue Code (IRC or “the Code”) (codified, as amended, at 26 U.S.C. § 832 (1982)) for defaults by borrowers when title to collateral has not yet been acquired by the insured lenders.

A corporation that transacts mortgage guaranty insurance business is subject to the insurance laws and regulations of the state of its domicile as well as all other states in which it does business. In each state where an insurance company is authorized to transact insurance business, the company is required to file statements every year (Annual Statements) concerning its financial condition and the results of its operations on forms prescribed by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC). The NAIC is made up of the principal insurance regulatory officials of the fifty states and the District of Columbia. The Annual Statements allow the NAIC to know the financial health of the insurance companies it regulates. Losses paid and those anticipated are very important factors in determining whether insurance companies are collecting sufficient revenue to cover their losses.

For all years relevant to this action, insurers were required by the NAIC, for purposes of completing the Annual Statement, to compute and maintain case basis and other loss reserves. A case basis reserve uses facts in each case which trigger coverage, as well as the company’s experience with similar eases, in order to estimate a fair and reasonable amount the company can expect to pay out as losses. The loss reserves required by the NAIC were to accurately reflect loss frequency and loss severity and were to include components for claims reported and for claims incurred but not reported, including estimated losses on:

• Insured loans which resulted in the conveyance of property which remained unsold:
• Insured loans in the process of foreclosure; and
• Insured loans in default.

These reserves are used by insurers in later years to make payments on losses arising from defaulted loans. Although the losses represented by these reserves were un[276]*276paid at the end of the year, insurers treated them as part of losses incurred for the year.

All three categories represent loans in default. The first category includes cases in which a payment has been made, but the insurer is not sure of the amount of the loss because proceeds from the sale of the property have not been taken into account. Defendant does not challenge claims of losses estimated from the first category. The dispute at bar concerns the last two categories of loss reserves because both deal with estimates of losses on loans for which title has not been acquired.

The insurance companies which are parties to this action are American International Group, Inc. (AIG)1 and United Guaranty Corporation (UGC).2 AIG acquired UGC in 1981. UGC owned United Guaranty Residential Insurance Company (“United Guaranty”) 3 and United Guaranty Residential Insurance Company of North Carolina (“United Residential”).4 At all times relevant to this action, United Guaranty and United Residential were insurance companies taxable under IRC § 831, and each company was required to compute its taxable income under IRC § 832.

The plaintiff insurance companies generally issued policies on an annual basis, with annual premium payments. To a lesser extent, the insurers sold single premium policies that covered the lenders for a period of several years. The insurers earned the premiums under each policy as the period for which coverage was purchased lapsed (i.e., an annual premium was earned over the course of one year). A premium was not earned as of the time it was paid.

During the times relevant to this action, United Guaranty issued master policies to lending institutions for the coverage of first mortgages, and United Residential issued master policies to lending institutions for the coverage of .second mortgages. Mortgage lenders were required to fill out standard application forms, which they submitted to United Guaranty or United Residential along with the borrower’s loan application, credit reports, property appraisals, and other documents. For each application that qualified for insurance, the affected insurer issued a commitment. When the borrower closed the loan and the lender paid the required premium, the insurer issued the certificate of insurance evidencing coverage pursuant to the terms of the master policy.

The United Guaranty master policy stated that the insurer agreed to pay the insured “any loss sustained by reason of the default in payments by a Borrower as hereinafter set forth, subject to” certain conditions. (Emphasis added). The United Residential master policy stated the company’s liability to insureds slightly differently but provided the same type of coverage. It stated that the insurer agreed to pay the insured, “benefits as herein set forth upon the default by a borrower in the payment of a loan insured hereunder subject to the terms and conditions of the Certificate issued with respect to such loan and to the terms of this Master Policy as follow.” (Emphasis added). The lenders were thus being insured against losses from a borrower’s default in payments.

[277]*277To keep track of loans in default, the insurance policies required the lender to provide the insurer with notice no later than ten days after a borrower was in default on a certain number of payments. For United Guaranty policies, four months of default in payments triggered the notice requirement. For United Residential policies, two months of default in payments prompted notice. After notice was given, the lender was obligated to file monthly reports with the insurer apprising it of the status of the account and any subsequent action taken by the lender, such as foreclosure proceedings. Based on these reports, both insurers assigned loans to one of the following four default categories:

Category (1) Delinquency. Loans for which United Guaranty or United Residential had received a notice from the lender and which did not fit into one of the other categories of loans in default.
Category (2) Pending foreclosure. Loans for which the lender was prepared to start foreclosure proceedings.
Category (3) In foreclosure.

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38 Fed. Cl. 274, 80 A.F.T.R.2d (RIA) 5173, 1997 U.S. Claims LEXIS 129, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/american-international-group-inc-v-united-states-uscfc-1997.