ASC 944 does not address policyholder accounting for insurance contracts other than for reinsurance contracts. ASC 944-20-20 defines reinsurance as "A transaction in which a reinsurer (assuming entity), for a consideration (premium), assumes all or part of a risk undertaken originally by another insurer (ceding entity). For indemnity reinsurance, the legal rights of the insured are not affected by the reinsurance transaction and the insurance entity issuing the insurance contract remains liable to the insured for payment of policy benefits. Assumption or novation reinsurance contracts that are legal replacements of one insurer by another extinguish the ceding entity’s liability to the policyholder." Insurers may enter into various types of contracts described as reinsurance; however, determining the appropriate accounting may be complex. Regardless of its form, any transaction that indemnifies an insurer against loss or liability relating to insurance risk must apply reinsurance accounting. For further information, see IG 8 and IG 9.

Specific insurance industry considerations related to business combinations can be found in BCG 10.