III IC-26 Syllabus: The 15 Chapters of Life Insurance Finance
Fifteen chapters, one 2-hour paper. Here is every chapter III lists, and what each one asks you to know.
The IC-26 Life Insurance Finance syllabus is the Insurance Institute of India's Revised Edition 2023 study course, and it has 15 chapters. It starts with basic accounting and the products a life insurer sells, works through how premiums, claims, expenses and investments are accounted for, builds up to the final accounts, and ends with analysis, tax and anti-money laundering.
IC-26 is one of the two finance compulsories at Associateship level (the other is IC-46 General Insurance Accounts Preparation and Regulation of Investment). Where IC-02 teaches how a life policy is sold and serviced, IC-26 follows the money: how a premium paid in Lucknow becomes income, a reserve and an investment in an insurer's books.
You save ₹250
- Full 100-question mocks
- Chapter-wise practice
- Section-wise sets
One payment, no subscription · Valid for 1 month
The 15 Chapters, as III Lists Them
Chapter titles from III's Professional Examination Syllabus, Revised Edition 2023. The summaries are ours. III does not group or weight the chapters.
1
Title
Elementary Principles of Accounts
What it covers
Accounting concepts and conventions (business entity, prudence, realisation), the accounting equation, double entry and the rules of debit and credit.
2
Title
Life Assurance Business: Important Types of Life Assurance Policies
What it covers
The products a life insurer sells: term, whole life, endowment, money back, ULIPs, annuities, child plans and group policies.
3
Title
Accounting Procedures: Premium Accounting
What it covers
When first-year, renewal and single premiums count as income, how linked premium and reinsurance ceded are booked, and the IRDAI rules on financial statements.
4
Title
Accounting Procedures: Disbursements
What it covers
Paying out: death, maturity, survival and surrender claims, claims recoverable from reinsurers, and acquisition costs such as commission.
5
Title
Accounting Procedure: Expenses of Management
What it covers
IRDAI's expenses-of-management regulations: the Board-approved business plan, how expenses are allocated, and the return insurers file.
6
Title
Investments
What it covers
IRDAI's investment rules for life insurers: categories of investment, exposure limits, instruments such as repo, ETFs, REITs and InvITs, and how investments are valued.
7
Title
Final Accounts: Revenue Account and Balance Sheet
What it covers
The Revenue Account (policyholders), the Profit and Loss Account (shareholders) and the Balance Sheet, with their schedules and the actuarial liability and bonus disclosures.
8
Title
Budget and Budgetary Control
What it covers
Master and flexible budgets, variance analysis, how an insurer's budget is built, and Board monitoring of the business plan.
9
Title
Innovative Concepts in Financial Reporting
What it covers
Embedded value, value of in-force business and value of new business, and the move towards Ind AS 117.
10
Title
Accounting Standards (Applicable to Life Insurance Companies)
What it covers
Which ICAI Accounting Standards apply to life insurers (for example AS 3 on cash flows and AS 15 on employee benefits), and how insurers apply them.
11
Title
Financial Analysis
What it covers
The ratios analysts and rating agencies use for insurers: solvency, expense, claims, persistency, return on equity and NPAs.
12
Title
Management Environment in India
What it covers
The regulators around an insurer (RBI, SEBI, IRDAI, PFRDA, IBBI) and how India's insurance industry was nationalised and later reopened.
13
Title
Application of Financial Management Concepts in Insurance Industry
What it covers
Financial management applied to insurers: cost of capital, the risk discount rate, credit ratings, and reading accounts for solvency and profitability.
14
Title
Taxation (Current Scenario)
What it covers
How a life insurer's profits are taxed, GST on premium, and the policyholder rules: deductions under section 80C, exemption under section 10(10D) and TDS on payouts.
15
Title
Anti-Money Laundering Guidelines and Prevention of Money Laundering (PML) Act
What it covers
The Prevention of Money Laundering Act and IRDAI's AML/CFT guidelines: KYC, customer due diligence, risk categories and suspicious transaction reports.
| Chapter | Title | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Elementary Principles of Accounts | Accounting concepts and conventions (business entity, prudence, realisation), the accounting equation, double entry and the rules of debit and credit. |
| 2 | Life Assurance Business: Important Types of Life Assurance Policies | The products a life insurer sells: term, whole life, endowment, money back, ULIPs, annuities, child plans and group policies. |
| 3 | Accounting Procedures: Premium Accounting | When first-year, renewal and single premiums count as income, how linked premium and reinsurance ceded are booked, and the IRDAI rules on financial statements. |
| 4 | Accounting Procedures: Disbursements | Paying out: death, maturity, survival and surrender claims, claims recoverable from reinsurers, and acquisition costs such as commission. |
| 5 | Accounting Procedure: Expenses of Management | IRDAI's expenses-of-management regulations: the Board-approved business plan, how expenses are allocated, and the return insurers file. |
| 6 | Investments | IRDAI's investment rules for life insurers: categories of investment, exposure limits, instruments such as repo, ETFs, REITs and InvITs, and how investments are valued. |
| 7 | Final Accounts: Revenue Account and Balance Sheet | The Revenue Account (policyholders), the Profit and Loss Account (shareholders) and the Balance Sheet, with their schedules and the actuarial liability and bonus disclosures. |
| 8 | Budget and Budgetary Control | Master and flexible budgets, variance analysis, how an insurer's budget is built, and Board monitoring of the business plan. |
| 9 | Innovative Concepts in Financial Reporting | Embedded value, value of in-force business and value of new business, and the move towards Ind AS 117. |
| 10 | Accounting Standards (Applicable to Life Insurance Companies) | Which ICAI Accounting Standards apply to life insurers (for example AS 3 on cash flows and AS 15 on employee benefits), and how insurers apply them. |
| 11 | Financial Analysis | The ratios analysts and rating agencies use for insurers: solvency, expense, claims, persistency, return on equity and NPAs. |
| 12 | Management Environment in India | The regulators around an insurer (RBI, SEBI, IRDAI, PFRDA, IBBI) and how India's insurance industry was nationalised and later reopened. |
| 13 | Application of Financial Management Concepts in Insurance Industry | Financial management applied to insurers: cost of capital, the risk discount rate, credit ratings, and reading accounts for solvency and profitability. |
| 14 | Taxation (Current Scenario) | How a life insurer's profits are taxed, GST on premium, and the policyholder rules: deductions under section 80C, exemption under section 10(10D) and TDS on payouts. |
| 15 | Anti-Money Laundering Guidelines and Prevention of Money Laundering (PML) Act | The Prevention of Money Laundering Act and IRDAI's AML/CFT guidelines: KYC, customer due diligence, risk categories and suspicious transaction reports. |
The Syllabus in Five Parts
How PrepClever groups the chapters for study and practice. The chapter numbers are III's; the grouping is ours, and III publishes no weightage for any part.
- Chapters 1-3: accounting basics, products and premium
- The foundation. Learn the accounting concepts and double entry first, then the policy types, then exactly when each kind of premium is recognised as income.
- Chapters 4-6: claims, expenses and investments
- Money going out and money put to work. This is where IRDAI's rules on expenses of management and on investments sit, so expect regulation-heavy questions.
- Chapters 7-10: final accounts, budgets and standards
- The longest stretch. How the Revenue Account, Profit and Loss Account and Balance Sheet fit together, budgeting and variances, embedded value and Ind AS 117, and the Accounting Standards that apply.
- Chapters 11-13: analysis and financial management
- Reading an insurer's numbers: ratios, solvency, cost of capital and ratings, plus the regulators and market history around the industry.
- Chapters 14-15: tax and anti-money laundering
- Two shorter, rule-based chapters. Tax covers the insurer and the policyholder; AML covers KYC, due diligence and reporting suspicious transactions.
Quick practice on accounts and ratios. No signup.
Fifteen Chapters, No Weightage
III publishes no chapter-wise or part-wise weightage for IC-26. Any list that says a chapter carries a fixed number of marks is someone's guess. Every chapter can be tested, including the shorter tax and AML ones.
Indicative, Not Exhaustive
III's Examination Handbook calls its syllabus "indicative and not exhaustive" and says questions "will not necessarily be asked from the study courses only". The 2023 edition also predates IRDAI's 2024 regulations, including the expenses-of-management rules in force from 1 April 2024, so where a rule has since changed, the current rule is the safer answer to know.
FAQs
How many chapters are in the IC-26 syllabus?expand_more
Fifteen, in III's Revised Edition 2023: from Elementary Principles of Accounts to Anti-Money Laundering Guidelines and the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.
Which edition of the IC-26 book is current?expand_more
The Revised Edition 2023, which III's syllabus and price list both name. The study course is available in English and Hindi.
Which chapters of IC-26 are most important?expand_more
III publishes no chapter weightage. Final accounts sit at the centre: premium, claims, expenses and investments all end up in the Revenue Account and Balance Sheet, so those chapters reinforce each other.
Do I need an accounting background for IC-26?expand_more
No. Chapter 1 starts from accounting concepts and double entry. Candidates without a commerce background should spend extra time there before the premium and final accounts chapters.
Access exam-specific mock tests directly from your Android device.Next steps
- Exam Patternarrow_forward
- Study Materialarrow_forward
- Preparationarrow_forward
- Formula Sheetarrow_forward
Full-length IC-26 practice, timed to 2 hours and scored.