In 2004 IFRS4 was introduced as an interim standard intended to limit changes to existing insurance accounting practices. Hence, IFRS4 has allowed insurers to use different accounting policies to measure similar insurance contracts they write in different countries.
In May 2017 the International Accounting Standards Board issued the IFRS17 legislation in response to inconsistencies in previous accounting methods.
From January 2021, IFRS17 will come into force and seeks to achieve greater transparency within the insurance and reinsurance industries by providing consistent information about the obligations, risks and performance in insurance contracts.
Prudent boards and executives are putting measures in place to deal with the challenges of IFRS17 well in advance of the deadline.