(6) Reinsurance

We use reinsurance extensively, which has a significant effect on our results of operations. Reinsurance arrangements do not relieve us of our primary obligation to the policyholder.

Benefits and claims ceded to reinsurers during the three months ended March 31, 2026 and 2025 were $348.5 million and $352.9 million, respectively.

Reinsurance recoverables include ceded policy benefit reserve balances, ceded claim liabilities, and ceded claims paid that have not been reimbursed. The Company allocated reinsurance recoverables estimated at the cohort level to individual reinsurers for disclosure purposes. Reinsurance recoverables estimated by reinsurer and the financial strength ratings of those reinsurers were as follows:

We estimate and recognize lifetime expected credit losses for reinsurance recoverables. In estimating the allowance for credit losses for reinsurance recoverables, we factor in the underlying collateral for reinsurance agreements where available. Specifically, for reinsurers with underlying trust assets, we compare the reinsurance recoverables balance to the underlying trust assets that mitigate the potential exposure to credit losses. We also analyze the financial condition of the reinsurers, as determined by third-party rating agencies, to determine the probability of default for the reinsurers. We then utilize a third-party credit default study to calculate an expected credit loss given default rate or recovery rate. The probability of default and loss given default rates are then applied to the reinsurers’ recoverable balance, while also factoring in any third-party letters of credit that support the reinsurance agreement, in order to calculate our allowance for credit losses.