Valuation of Insurance Contract Liabilities | |||
Key Audit Matter | The Company recorded insurance contract liabilities of $541 billion at December 31, 2025 on its consolidated statement of financial position, of which $398 billion as disclosed in Note 6 ‘Insurance and Reinsurance Contract Assets and Liabilities’ has been measured under the variable fee approach (VFA) and the general measurement model (GMM). At initial recognition, the Company measures a group of insurance contracts as the total of: (a) fulfilment cash flows, which comprise of estimates of future cash flows, adjusted to reflect the time value of money and financial risks, and a risk adjustment for non-financial risk; and (b) a contractual service margin (CSM), which represents the estimate of unearned profit the Company will recognize as it provides service under the insurance contracts or the loss component when the contracts are onerous. When projecting future cash flows for these insurance contract liabilities, the Company primarily uses deterministic projections using best estimate assumptions. Key assumptions are subjective and complex and include mortality, morbidity, investment returns, policy termination rates, premium persistency, directly attributable expenses, taxes, and policyholder dividends. Disclosures on this matter are found in Note 1 ‘Nature of Operations and Material Accounting Policy Information’ and Note 6 ‘Insurance and Reinsurance Contract Assets and Liabilities’ of the consolidated financial statements. Auditing the valuation of these insurance contract liabilities was complex and required the application of significant auditor judgment due to the complexity of the cash flow models, the selection and use of assumptions, and the interrelationship of these variables in measuring insurance contract liabilities. The audit effort involved professionals with specialized skills and knowledge to assist in evaluating the audit evidence obtained. | ||
How Our Audit Addressed the Key Audit Matter | We obtained an understanding, evaluated the design, and tested the operating effectiveness of management’s controls over the valuation of insurance contract liabilities. The controls we tested related to, among other areas, actuarial methodology, integrity of data used, controls over relevant information technology, and the assumption setting and implementation processes used by management. To test the valuation of insurance contract liabilities, our audit procedures included, among other procedures, involving our actuarial specialists to assess the methodology and assumptions with respect to compliance with IFRS. We performed audit procedures over key assumptions, including testing the implementation of those assumptions into the models. These procedures included testing underlying support and documentation, including reviewing a sample of experience studies supporting specific assumptions, challenging the nature, timing, and completeness of changes recorded, and assessing whether individual changes were errors or refinements of estimates. We also tested the methodology and calculation of the insurance contract liabilities through both review of the calculation logic within the models, and through calculating an independent recalculation of the fulfillment cashflows for a sample of insurance contracts and comparing the results to those determined by the Company and to industry and other external sources for benchmarking. Additionally, we have performed an independent calculation of the CSM for a sample of groups of insurance contracts and compared the amounts to the Company’s results. We also assessed the adequacy of the disclosures related to the valuation of insurance contract liabilities. | ||
Valuation of Invested Assets with Significant Non-Observable Market Inputs | |||
Key Audit Matter | The Company recorded invested assets of $95.3 billion, as disclosed in Note 3 ‘Invested Assets and Investment Income’ at December 31, 2025 within its consolidated statement of financial position which are both (a) measured at fair value and (b) classified as Level 3 within the Company’s hierarchy of fair value measurements. The Level 3 invested assets include private placements, commercial mortgages, real estate, timber and agriculture, and private equities valued using internal models. There is increased measurement uncertainty in determining the fair value of these invested assets due to volatility in the current economic environment. Fair values are based on internal models or third-party appraisals that incorporate assumptions with a high-level of subjectivity including discount rates, credit ratings and related spreads, expected future cash flows, and transaction prices of comparable assets. Disclosures on this matter are found in Note 1 ‘Nature of Operations and Material Accounting Policy Information’ and Note 3 ‘Invested Assets and Investment Income’ of the consolidated financial statements. Auditing the valuation of these invested assets was complex and required the application of significant auditor judgment in assessing the valuation methodologies and non-observable inputs used. The valuation is sensitive to the significant non- observable market inputs described above, which are inherently forward-looking and could be affected by future economic and market conditions. The audit effort involved professionals with specialized skills and knowledge to assist in evaluating the audit evidence obtained. | ||
How Our Audit Addressed the Key Audit Matter | We obtained an understanding, evaluated the design, and tested the operating effectiveness of management’s controls over the valuation processes. The controls we tested related to, among other areas, completeness and accuracy of data used and management’s determination and approval of assumptions and methodologies used in model-based valuations. The controls we tested also included controls over relevant information technology. To test the valuation, our audit procedures included, among other procedures, involving our valuation specialists to assess the methodologies and significant inputs and assumptions used by management. These procedures included assessing the valuation methodologies used with respect to the Company’s policies, valuation guidelines, and industry practice and comparing a sample of valuation assumptions used against benchmarks including comparable transactions where applicable. We also performed independent investment valuations on a sample basis to evaluate management’s recorded values. In addition, we assessed the adequacy of the disclosures related to the valuation of invested assets. |
IFRS 9 Hedge Accounting | |||
Key Audit Matter | The Company has designated hedge accounting relationships with the objective to reduce potential accounting mismatches between changes in the fair value of derivatives in income and financial risk of insurance contract liabilities and financial assets in other comprehensive income. Specifically, the Company has established relationships to hedge the fair value changes of certain of the Company’s insurance contract liabilities and debt instruments attributable to interest rate risk. The Company has also established relationships to hedge the risk of fair value changes of certain foreign currency denominated insurance contract liabilities and debt instruments attributable to foreign currency and interest rate risk. Related to the application of these hedges, the Company recognized changes in value of hedged assets of $338 million, and changes in value of hedged liabilities of $1,180 million, for the year ended December 31, 2025. Disclosures on this matter are found in Note 1 ‘Nature of Operations and Material Accounting Policy Information’ and Note 4 ‘Derivative and Hedging Instruments’ of the consolidated financial statements. Auditing the application of hedge accounting was complex and required the application of significant auditor judgement related to the assessment of the ongoing economic relationship between the risk component of the hedged item and hedging instrument, the assessment that the hedge ratio between the hedging instrument and the hedged item was consistent with the risk objectives, and the determination of the resulting accumulated fair value adjustments. The audit effort involved professionals with specialized skills and knowledge to assist in evaluating the audit evidence obtained. | ||
How Our Audit Addressed the Key Audit Matter | We obtained an understanding, evaluated the design, and tested the operating effectiveness of management’s controls over the application and execution of those strategies, including the implementation of new strategies where applicable, and the measurements of the accumulated fair value adjustments. The controls we tested included, among others, controls over the review of the completeness, accuracy, and eligibility of the hedged items and hedging instruments included in the hedging relationships, determination of the hedge ratio between the hedging instrument and the hedged item with reference to the risk objectives, and the determination of the resulting accumulated fair value adjustments. The controls we tested also included controls over relevant information technology. To assess the Company’s application of these hedge accounting strategies under IFRS 9, our audit procedures included, among other procedures, involving our hedge accounting and derivative specialists to support our independent testing of the application of the hedge ratio by the Company and the valuation of a sample of the accumulated fair value adjustments. Other procedures performed include testing over the completeness and accuracy of the hedged items and hedging instruments designated in these relationships and the determination of the resulting accumulated fair value adjustments. In addition, we assessed the adequacy of the disclosures related to hedge accounting. | ||
