Deferred Acquisition Costs

In insurance, Deferred Acquisition Costs (DAC) is an asset on the balance sheet representing the deferral of the cost of acquiring new insurance contracts, thereby amortising the costs over their duration. Insurance companies face large upfront costs incurred in issuing new business, such as commissions to sales agents, underwriting, bonus interest and other acquisition expenses. In insurance, Deferred Acquisition Costs (DAC) is an asset on the balance sheet representing the deferral of the cost of acquiring new insurance contracts, thereby amortising the costs over their duration. Insurance companies face large upfront costs incurred in issuing new business, such as commissions to sales agents, underwriting, bonus interest and other acquisition expenses. DAC under U.S. GAAP, MSSB (Modified Statutory Solvency Basis) and IAS 39 are all very similar, except thatIAS 39 only allows direct, incremental costs to be deferred rather than all acquisition costs. Insurance companies incur large expenses when acquiring new business, but to ensure that they comply with GAAP's matching principle they need to spread out these costs over the period in which revenues are earned. The DAC is treated as an asset on the Balance Sheet and amortized over the life of the insurance contract.