Goodbye White Book — New US GAAP Book Released by the SOA

The Financial Reporter, August 2025

By Douglas Van Dam

Photograph of man standing in front of three people sitting at desks with laptops while he is pointing at a bar graph on a large screen.

Great news for all actuaries, accountants, and other professionals who prepare and review insurance company financial statements: US GAAP for Insurers 3rd Edition has been released!

The book is an updated and substantially rewritten version of US GAAP for Life Insurers 2nd Edition, affectionately known as the White Book, which had served as the go-to source for practical GAAP guidance for life insurance since its publication in 2006. Like its predecessor, US GAAP for Insurers 3rd Edition is divided into individual chapters covering all major life, annuity and health insurance products and even includes a new chapter for property and casualty insurance. It is up to date on all GAAP changes since the second edition, most notably the changes to accounting for life insurance and annuities introduced in FASB Accounting Standards Update 2018-12, Targeted Improvements to the Accounting for Long-Duration Contracts. The book also includes vastly updated and expanded chapters on specialized topics, including expenses, reinsurance, internal replacements, fair value measurement, investment accounting, business combinations, and income taxes. With 22 chapters and over 700 pages of content, the book covers just about every aspect of US GAAP reporting for insurance that a practitioner is likely to encounter.

US GAAP for Insurers 3rd Edition is the product of a collaboration of 17 writers and two editors, actuaries and accountants, recognized experts in the technical interpretation and practical application of US GAAP guidance. It reflects the contributions of additional subject matter experts and an array of peer reviewers who helped validate and refine the book’s content.

US GAAP for Insurers 3rd Edition may be ordered from the SOA website and is available for purchase in one of three options: (1) e-book alone; (2) e-book plus softcover bundle; and (3) e-book plus hardcover bundle. The softcover and hardcover versions have a distinctive, new green-blue cover. The book contains numerous mathematical examples, all of which are available as electronic spreadsheets free to download in a zip file from the same location. But no matter the format, US GAAP for Insurers 3rd Edition is a must-have resource for anyone involved in insurance company financial reporting.

This article is provided for informational and educational purposes only. Neither the Society of Actuaries nor the respective authors’ employers make any endorsement, representation or guarantee with regard to any content, and disclaim any liability in connection with the use or misuse of any information provided herein. This article should not be construed as professional or financial advice. Statements of fact and opinions expressed herein are those of the individual authors and are not necessarily those of the Society of Actuaries or the respective authors’ employers.

Douglas Van Dam, FSA, MAAA, is the founder of Van Dam Consulting Group and a senior life consultant at Actuarial Risk Management. He can be reached at vandam.actuary@gmail.com.