Description: Risk adjustment is needed under IFRS 17 to reflect the compensation that a company requires for bearing the uncertainty about the amount and timing of the cash flows that arises from non-financial risk. Companies are also required to disclose the method and confidence level used for the calculation of the RA. However, IFRS 17 doesn’t specify a method and a confidence level, nor does it provide a list of specific risks that are considered to be non-financial risk. Companies need to define them based on their own preferences or existing practices. This article will introduce available approaches and discuss the confidence level approach with potential consideration stemming from industry preferences and illustrative examples.

Description: IFRS 17 is causing insurers to rethink their investment management and ALM strategy. The presenters examine issues arising under IFRS 17 and IFRS 9 and the resulting challenges facing insurers, including the volatility and impact on financial statements. Solutions will be proposed including a discussion on how to deal with the disconnect between economic and accounting results. A case study will present the tradeoffs insurers must consider to optimize their portfolio under IFRS 17.

Description: IFRS 17 is a significant change that requires insurers to invest time and resources. The presenters will address wider implications of the new standard, and a senior leaders' panel will cover a number of perspectives. They will address the latest developments of the standard and interpretations, emerging technology that is accelerating implementation, insights from implementing IFRS 17 in Canada and globally, reinsurance considerations and opportunities for the actuarial profession.

Description: Registration form for 2020 SOA China IFRS 17 Virtual Seminar

Description: Key performance indicators (KPIs) are essential in order to monitor and communicate a life insurance companies’ financial results, and effectively manage the business. This presentation will illustrate how the currently used KPIs may develop and evolve with the adoption and implementation of IFRS 17. Will the IFRS 17 insurance revenue be an appropriate measure for growth? Will the profitability and new business value measures be different? The panelists will discuss the implications of IFRS 17 on the existing KPIs and the possible changes that may lay ahead

Description: This session will have two sections: General consideration of IFRS17 implementation for VA writers and reinsurers A case study of IFRS17 implementation for a reinsurer The first section will go over VFA and GM approaches that are available for VA writers. Both approaches have their own challenges. We will highlight some of the challenges and how to approach/overcome them. Additionally, we will discuss how hedging/ALM can help smooth the transition. The second section will go over the details of implementation process of a VA reinsurer. The case study will explore valuation challenges unique to reinsurers assuming business that would otherwise be valued under the VFA. It will also go over some of the modeling difficulties, project management, and database requirement.

Description: The discount rate is one of the most critical topics in IFRS 17 and may have important repercussions on product profitability. The presenters will cover practical implementation considerations, including alternative approaches to illiquidity premium calculation for business supported by fixed assets with credit risks. Other implementation considerations will also be covered, including granularity of setting the discount rate, application to new business, and implications on asset and liability modeling. The presenters will then discuss how discount rates could be utilized in an Economic Scenario Generator (ESG) to assist IFRS17 calculations, particularly for risk-neutral valuation of the time value of options and guarantees.

Description: Since IFRS17 draft was issued in June 2019, IASB has discussed various important issues, such as the selection of B137 and the judgment to investment components. This session will be focused on the discussion and sharing of these aspects, to help understand the latest developments. At the same time, actuaries played an important role in the implementation of IFRS 17. The speaker will share the important work of actuaries in the implementation and application of IFRS 17 through the observation of the previous implementation process.

Description: Theme 4 – Finance & IFRS 17 Presenter and Moderator Biographies