Edison Explains: IFRS 17: Impact on life assurance companies

IFRS 17 is the new accounting standard for insurance companies. It will have a meaningful impact on disclosure, including the determination of IFRS equity and the presentation of earnings. The radical shift in the recognition of earnings over time and how earnings is reported is likely to change the way that investors analyse life insurers in particular and their performance metrics. IFRS 17 could result in the phasing out of embedded value (EV) disclosure as European insurance companies embrace the new standard. Most companies have indicated that they will align this disclosure with their existing Solvency II disclosure. For the first time in this millennium, the new standard may result in financial reporting that provides more useful disclosure, allowing more comparability across companies and territories. This should lead to easier screening by investors, thereby closing the complexity gap with other financial companies, like banks.