Deferred Acquisition Costs
The deferred acquisition costs (dt. Deferred acquisition costs ), often abbreviated as DAC , denote a balance position in accordance with US GAAP in which the final costs are recognized for insurance contracts. Since IFRS 4 , the International Financial Reporting Standard applicable to insurance contracts , is currently in a transition phase, the standard currently offers the option of accounting for insurance contracts under certain conditions in accordance with US GAAP.
background
Insurance companies can essentially divide their costs into four categories. These are costs that arise when concluding an insurance contract, administration costs for the insurance portfolio, costs for capital management and other costs.
According to US-GAAP, the costs are shown as an expense in the year of entry. However, the costs incurred for the insurance company when concluding an insurance contract can be activated as a DAC under certain conditions. To be activated (Engl. Deferrable to be), these costs must closely related ( Primarily related related to the contract) and vary with the business ( vary with ).
Only those acquisition costs that can be capitalized and that meet the so-called test of recoverability may be recognized in the balance sheet . H. whose present value calculated according to US GAAP calculation bases can be repaid by the present value of the gross premiums minus the reserve premium.
The capitalized acquisition costs are repaid over the period of contribution payment, costs that have not yet been repaid are shown as DAC. The annual repayment installment is determined at the beginning of the contractual relationship as the quotient of the present value for capitalizable acquisition costs and the present value of the gross contributions multiplied by the annual gross contribution. To simplify matters, a procedure for entire partial portfolios can be used instead of an individual contractual calculation, so that repayment takes place over the lifetime of the partial portfolio.
Different treatment of acquisition costs according to HGB and US GAAP
In Germany, there is a ban on capitalizing acquisition costs in accordance with Section 248 (1) HGB . In general, however, the so-called zillmerisation in the area of life insurance assumes that the acquisition costs are offset against the first premiums paid. The claims of the insurance company resulting from this procedure at the beginning of an insurance relationship are shown according to German law in accordance with Section 15 (1) RechVersV as claims against the policyholder from the insurance business concluded directly. Since only the calculated Zillmer value - which is subject to regulatory restrictions - is accounted for, while US GAAP allows other parts of the acquisition costs to be recorded, the DAC usually has a higher value than the receivables that are not yet due .
literature
- Accounting according to IAS / US-GAAP - Actuarial Practice in German Life Insurance , German Actuarial Association
