The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) has published its draft proposals to improve accounting for insurance contracts. The draft proposes a single International Financial Reporting Standard (IFRS) that all insurers, in all jurisdictions, could apply to all contract types on a consistent basis.

The proposals are the result of a comprehensive review of insurance accounting begun in 2004 and a public consultation begun in 2007. The IASB said the proposed standard better reflects the economics of insurance contracts, and would result in more relevant, understandable and comparable information being available to insurers.
The draft ‘Insurance Contracts’ is open for public comment until 30 November 2010 and can be accessed via the ‘Comment on a Proposal’ section of the IASB website, www.ifrs.org.