ASU 2010-15 — Financial Services—Insurance (Topic 944)

This Update clarifies that an insurance entity should not consider any separate account interests held for the benefit of policy holders in an investment to be the insurer's interests and should not combine those interests with its general account interest in the same investment when assessing the investment for consolidation, unless the separate account interests are held for the benefit of a related party policy holder as defined in the Variable Interest Entities Subsections of Subtopic 810-10 and those Subsections require the consideration of related parties. This Update also amends Subtopic 944-80 to clarify that for the purpose of evaluating whether the retention of specialized accounting for investments in consolidation is appropriate, a separate account arrangement should be considered a subsidiary. The amendments do not require an insurer to consolidate an investment in which a separate account holds a controlling financial interest if the investment is not or would not be consolidated in the standalone financial statements of the separate account. The amendments also provide guidance on how an insurer should consolidate an investment fund in situations in which the insurer concludes that consolidation is required.

Issued: April 21, 2010