Understanding Life Insurance Company Financial Statements

Overview

Financial statements have become increasingly more complex to comprehend and interpret. This course is designed to help you build the foundation needed to understand and use financial statements.

Topics

At the end of the course, you’ll be equipped to:

• Understand the state of the life insurance industry in Canada and its implications on financial results
• Explain life insurance terminology and the various insurance products current offered in the Canadian market
• Apply the fundamentals of life insurance accounting, including timing and recognition of premiums and claims, and the life insurance profit model
• Understand the key areas of risk and related disclosures included in the financial statements, the critical assumptions that impact financial results and how the industry manages those risks
• Utilize analytical tools and identify key performance indicators that are essential to evaluating a life insurance company's performance

Sample Agenda

Welcome and Introduction

Overview of the state of the Canadian life insurance industry

Trends in sales and life products in Canada

The future: Critical issues facing the industry and implications on financial statements

Understanding Life Insurance Products

Overview of core life and annuity products currently offered in Canada

Fundamentals to Life Insurance Accounting and its Business Model

The accounting for premiums, commissions and claims and their timing of recognition in financial statements

Table exercises

Financial Statement Concepts and Risk Management

Critical estimates and assumptions that impact financial statements and fundamentals to the understanding of policy reserves

Management of those risks and assumptions

Interpreting and Using Financial Statements

IFRS reporting implications on financial statements

Insights to enable users to identify key ratios and other performance metrics from financial statements

Understanding of the users of life financial statements, regulatory environment, and key metrics from a regulatory perspective

Table exercises