我國壽險業負債適足性測試下保險負債估計之研究

Study on Insurance Liabilities Estimation under Liability Adequacy Test in Taiwan Life Insurance Industry

蔡宗桓(Tsung-Huan Tsai)

指導教授 ： 劉啟群

國立臺灣大學/管理學院/會計學研究所/碩士(2014年)

https://doi.org/10.6342/NTU.2014.00303

摘要

依據我國財務會計準則第四十號公報「保險合約之會計處理準則」之規定，保險業者應於每一會計期間結束日針對保險負債執行「負債適足性測試」。該測試主要目的係為檢驗淨帳面之保險負債是否低於保險合約未來現金流量之現時估計數額，若淨帳面金額不足，則保險業者應補提保險負債並將所有不足數額一次認列為當期費損。
我國第四十號公報目前僅對保險合約之揭露與分類進行規範，然對於保險合約之會計程序及評價方法並未詳加規定。因此，我國精算學會針對保險合約之會計程序及評價方法訂定了許多相關之處理準則，「負債適足性測試」中有關保險負債之估計方法也規範其中。然而精算協會之成員主要來自保險業及其他金融業，故筆者擔憂精算協會所訂定之處理準則可能有利保險業者與其精算人員低估保險負債之估計值。本研究以未來盈餘替代壽險業者整體公司價值之不偏估計，以實證研究聚焦探討其淨帳面負債與估計負債之差異對於未來盈餘之影響。研究結果顯示，壽險業者及其精算人員依據精算協會之處理準則所衡量之估計保險負債，確實有整體低估之情形。
作者又進而探討，精算協會所定之處理準則是否得以讓具備某種特性之壽險業者，較其他壽險業者得更加低估保險負債。作者文中探討四種可能因素 (母公司或本身有無上市櫃、公司規模、成立年代與資本適足率)，但實證結果顯示，該等特性並未讓特定之壽險業者得以更加低估其保險負債。

關鍵字

負債適足性測試 ； 精算協會 ； 不偏估計 ； 資本適足率

並列摘要

Financial Accounting Standards (SFAS) No.40 Accounting Standards for insurance Contracts requires all insurers perform liability adequacy test, which requires they assess at the end of each reporting period whether its recognized insurance liabilities are adequate. If the estimated amount of its insurance liabilities exceeds its carrying amount, an insurer should recognize incremental liabilities and losses.
SFAS 40 merely provides general standards about disclosures and classification of insurance contracts but not accounting procedures and valuations methods, so The Actuarial Institute of the Republic of China (AIRC) are obligated to create the technical guidelines or methods of liability adequacy test. In the research, I concern that AIRC’s members are usually organizations or people from insurance or other financial industries and may create the technical guidelines or methods that are favorable to insurers through allowing insurers and their actuaries to underestimate insurance liabilities under liability adequacy test. I focus my study on life insurers through empirical research, which test the effect of the difference between the carrying amount of insurance liabilities and the estimated amount of insurance liabilities on future earnings as insurers’ unbias estimation as whole. The result shows that life insurers and their actuaries are really underestimate values of insurance liabilities under the technical guidelines or standards set by AIRC.
I also study whether technical guidelines or methods set by AIRC allow an insurer with certain characteristics to make additional adjustments to its liability adequacy test that creates a more favorable but biased estimated value of insurance liabilities than those with no such characteristics. I test four possible characteristics: an insurer or its parental entity listed on the TSE (Taiwan Stock Exchange), insurer size, foundation years and bank of international settlement ratios. However, I find that AIRC does not establish guidelines or methods enabling an insurer with these characteristics to make additional adjustments to its liability adequacy test.

並列關鍵字

Liability adequacy test ； The Actuarial Institute of the Republic of China ； Unbias estimation ； Bank of international settlement ratios

參考文獻

財團法人中華民國會計研究發展基金會，「財務會計準則公報第四十號-保險合約之會計處理準則」，民國 97 年。

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International Accounting Standards Board (IASB). 2010. Insurance Contracts. International Financial Reporting Standards 4. London, U.K.: IASB.

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