Final amendments are out now

Insurers can now move ahead and get ready for transition

Highlights

Summary of amendments
Next steps
Find out more

Ann Duchêne

Principle, Risk & Regulatory | Advisory

KPMG in Belgium

After several months of redeliberations, the International Accounting Standards Board (the Board) has published the final amendments to IFRS 17 Insurance Contracts.

Insurers now have just 18 months to get ready to present their opening balance sheet in accordance with IFRS 17. The finishing line is in sight so let’s keep up the pace.

Mary Trussell
KPMG Global Lead, Insurance accounting change

Summary of amendments to IFRS 17

You can watch our video summarising the key amendments.

The following table takes a closer look at the key amendments by topic.

Topic	Key facts and impacts
Effective date	1 January 2023 effective date for application of IFRS 17 and exemption from applying IFRS 9 Companies have just 18 months until the transition date of 1 January 2022
Scope of IFRS 17
Credit cards and similar products that provide insurance coverage	Most companies that issue these products will be able to continue with their existing accounting, unless the insurance coverage is a contractual feature, easing implementation for non-insurers
Loan contracts that meet the definition of insurance but limit the compensation for insured events to the amount otherwise required to settle the policyholder’s obligation created by the contract	Companies that issue such loans – e.g. a loan with waiver on death – have an option to apply IFRS 9 or IFRS 17, reducing the impact of IFRS 17 for non-insurers
Measuring the contractual service margin (CSM)
Accounting policy choice for interim reporting	Companies will choose to apply either a ‘period-to-period’ or ‘year-to-date’ approach, allowing greater opportunity for consistency with current practice and for subsidiaries to align reporting with their parent
Insurance contract services now include both insurance and investment services	Revenue and profit emergence will better reflect performance of the wide range of insurance products and the services they provide to customers
Accounting for assets and liabilities before the related group of contracts is recognised	Allocating insurance acquisition cash flows to future renewal groups reduces the risk of groups becoming onerous solely from acquisition expenses paid relating to future renewals The allocation is revised at each reporting period to reflect any changes in assumptions that determine the inputs to the method of allocation used, until all contracts have been added to the group. Companies now need to assess each period the recoverability of insurance acquisition cash flow assets usually on a more granular level than applied today
Transitioning to IFRS 17
Contracts acquired in their settlement period	Companies may be able to account for acquired contracts before the transition date as liabilities for incurred claims
Assets for insurance acquisition cash flows	In many cases, companies will be required to identify and recognise an asset for insurance acquisition cash flows incurred prior to transition Companies are not required to perform a recoverability assessment for periods prior to transition
Transition reliefs and minor amendments	Various amendments and impacts – see here for further detail
Accounting for direct participating contracts
Risk mitigation option expanded to non-derivative assets at FVTPL and reinsurance contracts held and extended to provide relief prospectively from the transition date	Broader application of the risk mitigation option will lead to fewer accounting mismatches If a company meets the risk mitigation option criteria before transition, it can now apply the fair value approach to the related contracts at transition
Applying the OCI option and risk mitigation option together	Companies applying both options together will be able to achieve better matching in the income statement
Eligibility criteria for VFA	Assessed on a contract level instead of group level as some companies had interpreted
Accounting for reinsurance contracts held
Accounting for recovery of losses on initial recognition	Companies will be able to offset losses on initial recognition of direct insurance contracts based on a prescribed formula if they are covered by reinsurance contracts held, reducing accounting mismatches
Presentation and disclosure requirements
Presentation in the statement of financial position	Relief for companies to present (re)insurance contract assets and liabilities at a portfolio level, instead of group level
Income tax chargeable to the policyholder	Income taxes specifically charged to policyholders may now be included in fulfilment cash flows, better reflecting local practice in certain jurisdictions

With these amendments, the Board is responding to the concerns and implementation challenges raised by insurers and other stakeholders, having monitored and supported IFRS 17 implementation since its publication in 2017.

Joachim Kölschbach
KPMG global IFRS insurance leader

Next steps

Insurers can now move ahead and apply the revised standard to get ready for transition.

Our updated publication First Impressions contains detailed analysis and insight on the amended standard. Speak to your usual KPMG contact to find out more about the Board’s deliberations.

Find out more

Also read our illustrative disclosures for insurers. This guide to annual financial statements intended to help insurers to prepare and present financial statements in accordance with IFRS Standards by illustrating one possible format for financial statements for a fictitious multinational insurer (the Group) that applies IFRS 17 Insurance Contracts and IFRS 9 Financial Instruments. It has been updated to reflect the amendments to IFRS 17 published in June 2020 and other developments. The hypothetical reporting entity has been applying IFRS Standards for some time – i.e. it is not a first-time adopter.

Final amendments are out now Final amendments are out now Final amendments are out now

Highlights

Ann Duchêne

Summary of amendments to IFRS 17

Next steps

Find out more

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