With IFRS 17 Insurance Contracts facing an effective date of 1 January 2021, the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) has set up a Transition Resource Group (TRG) to deal with implementation questions. It is already discussing a range of issues but its purpose is clear. It exists to ‘provide a public forum for stakeholders to follow discussion of questions raised about implementation; and help the IASB determine what, if any, action will be needed to address those questions’.

The first issue up for debate has centered around the combination of contracts. This is a difficult topic given that following the standard every insurance component should be treated as a separate contract. In the opinion of the TRG this remains the case but when insurance contracts have an impact on each other it should be explained what the value is. A key factor is the difference between the group valuation and the individual one.