Goodwill
Goodwill is recognized in conjunction with business acquisitions as the excess of the purchase consideration for the business acquisition over the fair value of identifiable assets acquired and liabilities assumed. The fair value of identifiable assets acquired and liabilities assumed, and thus goodwill, is subject to redetermination within a measurement period of up to one year following completion of a business acquisition. See Note 1 for further information on how the Company tests goodwill for impairment.
Goodwill is tested for impairment annually or more frequently if circumstances indicate an impairment may have occurred. The date of the Company's annual goodwill impairment test is October 1. Impairment of goodwill is tested at the reporting unit level. The reporting units are: Specialty P&C, Workers' Compensation Insurance, Segregated Portfolio Cell Reinsurance, Lloyd's Syndicates and Corporate. Of the five reporting units, only the Segregated Portfolio Cell Reinsurance reporting unit has goodwill at December 31, 2024.
Interim Impairment Assessment
As discussed in Note 1, during the third quarter of 2023 ProAssurance recorded a $44.1 million charge to fully impair the goodwill in the Workers' Compensation Insurance reporting unit.
Annual Impairment Assessments
The Company performed its annual goodwill impairment assessment on October 1, 2024 and October 1, 2023. For both annual assessments, management concluded that it was not more likely than not that the fair value of the Segregated Portfolio Cell Reinsurance reporting unit was less than its carrying value as of the testing date; therefore, no further impairment testing was required.
There were no changes in the carrying amount of goodwill or accumulated impairment losses for the year ended December 31, 2024. The table below presents the changes in the carrying amount of goodwill and accumulated impairment losses by reporting unit for the year ended December 31, 2023:
Reporting Unit
(In thousands)Specialty P&CWorkers' Compensation InsuranceSegregated Portfolio Cell ReinsuranceTotal
At December 31, 2023:
Goodwill, gross
$161,115 $44,110 $5,500 $210,725 
Accumulated impairment losses*
(161,115)(44,110)— (205,225)
Goodwill, net
$— $— $5,500 $5,500 
Goodwill, net as of January 1, 2023
$— $44,110 $5,500 $49,610 
Impairment losses
— (44,110)— (44,110)
Goodwill, net as of December 31, 2023$— $— $5,500 $5,500 
*Accumulated impairment losses include the $44.1 million impairment loss recognized in relation to the Workers' Compensation Insurance reporting unit during the third quarter of 2023 and the $161.1 million impairment loss recognized during the third quarter of 2020 in relation to the Specialty P&C reporting unit.

Historical Timeline

Fiscal YearFiled
2024Feb 24, 2025Showing above
2023Feb 27, 2024
2022Feb 27, 2023
2021Feb 22, 2022
2020Feb 26, 2021

About Goodwill & Intangibles Disclosures

Goodwill and intangible asset disclosures reveal the premium paid in acquisitions and how management assesses whether that premium retains its value. Since goodwill is no longer amortized under US GAAP, the annual impairment test is the only mechanism that adjusts carrying values downward — making the assumptions behind that test critically important for investors.

Key signals: a history of goodwill impairments suggests management consistently overpays for acquisitions. Watch the gap between reporting unit fair value and carrying amount — when fair value exceeds carrying amount by less than 10-20%, a small decline in business performance could trigger a write-down. For finite-lived intangibles, examine useful life assumptions across customer relationships, technology, and trade names; aggressive estimates inflate near-term earnings. Compare total intangibles-to-total-assets ratios against peers to assess acquisition dependency. Rising goodwill as a percentage of equity can signal balance sheet fragility.