IFRS 17

Prudent versus unbiased: IFRS 17 insurance liabilities

Published

A hidden conservative bias in the form of ‘prudent’ reserving has previously been a common feature of insurance accounting. This practice has made analysing the performance of insurance companies extremely difficult for investors.

Hidden prudence is eliminated under the new IFRS 17 and the allowance for insurance risk in measuring liabilities should be fully transparent. However, considering some recent company presentations, we wonder whether this benefit for investors will be fully realised.

Continue reading “Prudent versus unbiased: IFRS 17 insurance liabilities” →

IFRS 17 Insurance – More comparability and new insights

Published

IFRS 17 will result in significant changes to insurance company financial statements as of next year. Benefits for investors include a more relevant top line, consistent profit recognition, source of earnings analysis, updated assumptions, value of new business disclosures and an end to confusing asset-based discount rates.

We think IFRS 17 will make insurance financial statements accessible to the broader investment community rather than just insurance specialists. However, compromises and options in the new standard, such as the option to use OCI, will make analysing the new information not as straightforward as we might hope.

Continue reading “IFRS 17 Insurance – More comparability and new insights” →