long-duration contracts

Industry3

1. 944-10Overall944 Financial Services—Insurance

   ASC 944-10 is the Overall subtopic of the Financial Services—Insurance Topic; it serves as the roadmap and scope gate for all insurance-specific accounting guidance. It lists the Topic's Subtopics (acquisition costs, claim costs and liabilities for future policy benefits, policyholder dividends, premium deficiency, separate accounts, and the statement/disclosure subtopics) and identifies the four contract-type Subsections used throughout: short-duration, long-duration, reinsurance, and financial guarantee insurance contracts. The guidance is incremental industry-specific guidance—entities in scope must still apply all other applicable GAAP.

2. 944-50Policyholder Dividends944 Financial Services—Insurance

   ASC 944-50 governs how insurance entities account for and report policyholder dividends on participating insurance contracts. For participating contracts other than the long-duration participating life contracts described in 944-20-15-3, dividends are accrued (measured at an estimate of the amount to be paid, or recognized over the premium-paying period using anticipated/illustrated dividend scales), and any policyholders' share of net income that cannot be distributed to stockholders is charged to operations and credited to a participating policyholders' funds liability. For long-duration participating life contracts meeting 944-20-15-3, annual policyholder dividends are expensed based on amounts incurred for policies in force and reported separately in the statement of earnings.

3. 944-60Premium Deficiency and Loss Recognition944 Financial Services—Insurance

   ASC 944-60 tells insurance entities when and how to recognize a premium deficiency (loss recognition) on insurance contracts, with separate guidance for short-duration and long-duration contracts. For short-duration contracts, a deficiency exists when expected claim costs and claim adjustment expenses, expected policyholder dividends, unamortized acquisition costs, and maintenance costs exceed related unearned premiums; it is recognized first by writing off unamortized acquisition costs and then by accruing a liability for any excess (944-60-25-4 through 25-6). For long-duration contracts, if actual experience shows existing contract liabilities plus the present value of future gross premiums will not cover future benefits and settlement costs and recover unamortized present value of future profits, the deficiency is charged to income by reducing the present value of future profits or increasing the liability for future policy benefits (944-60-25-7 through 25-8).