Insurance Europe: IASB releases a new global basis for insurance contracts accounting

18 May 2017

Olav Jones, deputy director general of Insurance Europe, commented on the publication of the International Financial Reporting Standard for insurance contracts (IFRS 17) by the International Accounting Standards Board.

Olav Jones, said:

“Insurance Europe supports the development of a replacement for the current interim IFRS for insurance contracts. During the development of IFRS 17, Europe’s insurers cooperated closely with the IASB and voiced concerns where important aspects of their business model were not adequately reflected, in particular; the long-term nature of insurance and its foundation on pooling of risks. The IASB recognised some of the essential issues raised by the industry, but important concerns remained.

“IFRS 17 represents a very significant change and the implementation cost and effort for it will be substantial. However, there has been very limited testing and evaluation of the standard at the IASB level. Indeed, key aspects of the new requirements have only recently been developed and major parts of the final text have only been seen by very few insurers. Therefore, it has not been possible for the industry to make a proper assessment until now. We need to ensure that the standard is suitable for Europe’s insurers and to this end Insurance Europe will fully engage in the EU endorsement process.”

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