The Valuation of an Insurance Company for an Acquisition Involving a Section 338 Tax Election [Review]

I would like to express appreciation to the authors for providing an informative discussion of insurance company acquisitions and related tax considerations. The authors point out that Insurance Companies have certain “identifiable intangible assets” that do not appear on their balance sheets, but which are real and have value. These assets should be considered by both seller and purchaser in an insurance company acquisition and via the “Section 338 Tax Election” their amortization may provide tax benefits to the acquiring company after acquisition.