Insight – Insight

01 Jul

Enter the Coronials

By Insight. "When we die, our bodies become the grass, and the antelope eat the grass. And so we are all connected in the great Circle of Life." – Mufasa In the time since the pandemic started, while most of us were distracted by the end stages of the great Circle of Life – mortality, morbidity, hospitalisation, fatality rates, excess deaths, etc., etc., ad infinitum – a whole new generation sprung to life. “Coronials” has become a popular label for the babies conceived or born during the COVID-19 pandemic. A generation whose fathers weren’t allowed in the delivery room, who are growing [...]

01 Jul

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Your actuarial training is not enough

By Insight. How IT education can help actuaries stay relevant and support digital transformation “If you want your actuarial digital transformation projects to succeed,” says Faheem Suban, CTO of Insight Actuaries and Consultants, “your actuaries need to become more comfortable with technology.” And Suban should know. As an actuary turned digital solutions architect, he has witnessed first-hand that the road to digital transformation failure is paved with good intentions and littered with buzz words. “Future-proof, synergies, digitisation, automation…these are all great concepts,” he says, “but why are most insurers still so far away from that holy grail that is the ‘one-click valuation’?” Darwinism [...]

29 Jun

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Sleep, Wearables and the Future of Underwriting

By Insight. Data, data everywhere but how do we avoid sleepless nights wondering what to do with it all? Insurers worldwide are grappling with the increasing volume of data available in many markets. This includes new data fields and the degree to which data can be used to enhance traditional insurance products and risk management. Automated underwriting and using data to accurately track individual risks and improve mortality and morbidity over time are at the forefront of many of these emerging changes. Recent developments in sleep science have highlighted that sleep may be one of the most important metrics available to insurers. [...]

22 Jun

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UK Solvency II reforms: A balancing act

By Insight. This is the first in a series of articles in which we will analyse the proposed reforms to the UK Solvency II regulations. This article summarises the proposed reforms, their expected benefits, and the impact on various stakeholders. Our next piece will be a more in-depth review of the impact of the reforms on annuity writers. Our next piece will be a more in-depth review of the impact of the reforms on annuity writers. In September 2021, the European Commission adopted a proposal for a comprehensive review of the EU Solvency II Directive. The UK government and the Prudential Regulation Authority [...]

22 Jun

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If, then, else: How to choose an IFRS 17 transition approach

By Insight. Problem Statement The arrival of IFRS 17 is imminent, with insurers required to produce full IFRS 17 financials (including prior year comparative figures) from the 2023 year-end. The IFRS 17 standard describes three possible approaches for calculating the transition balance sheet values for a group of contracts. Many insurers are yet to figure out which of these approaches they need to use for the various groups of contracts within their in-force book. Group of Insurance Contacts Entities must identify portfolios of insurance contracts, which comprise contracts subject to similar risks and managed together. Portfolios of insurance contracts issued must be divided into [...]

15 Oct

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Mortality Trends in South Africa

By Nick van Burick, Nicole Kriek, Zane Heyl, Alwyn Hanekom, Jannus Redelinghuys. Introduction Core to the successful operation and management of the life insurance industry is the protection of clients and their dependents in the event of the untimely death and/or disability of loved ones. In South Africa, the industry has proven that it can protect clients whilst remaining financially and actuarially sound by meeting its obligation despite record high levels of death and illness due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This blog considers the mortality trends from the mortality claims statistics released by the Association for Savings and Investment South Africa (ASISA), as [...]

31 Aug

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Covid-19 Reinfections

By Craig Getz. How often have you heard someone state that they have previously been infected with Covid-19 and that they no longer need to concern themselves with the virus? Many people believe that their previous infection is a guarantee of long-lasting immunity. This article explores whether this belief is well-founded based on observable data. Simply put, are previously infected people immune to reinfection or serious reinfections? Insight consults to a broad spectrum of medical schemes, who collect extensive data on the number of diagnosed Covid-19 infections and the hospital admissions and deaths resulting from these infections. By virtue of this [...]

25 Aug

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Building data security resilience

By Faheem Suban. We had the pleasure of hosting our third Foresight event of 2021 with “Reimagine, Rethink and Rebuild” as the theme. Topics included considering changes in wellness and activity levels since Covid, the possible impacts of Long Covid and we also explored a refocus on data security in order to build data resilience. When building resilience in data security, one must bear in mind that complacency is the enemy. Complacency has been described as “the kiss of death”, and this description remains apt for reflecting on data security practices given rapid changes in technology which require data security practices to [...]

12 Jul

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Rethinking Alternative Reimbursement Models

By Poonam Doolabh. We had the pleasure of hosting our second Foresight dialogues event of 2021 with “Reimagine, Rethink and Rebuild” as the theme. Topics included considering the benefits of glucose control monitoring, considering the recovery of elective care, and rethinking alternative reimbursement models (“ARMs”). See details on our Foresight events here Rethinking Alternative Reimbursement Models South Africa’s predominantly fee-for-service environment requires the rebuilding of solutions to align incentives. While many of us are aware of the role ARMs can play in correcting this, little action is implemented in this domain. By aligning financial incentives, providers and funders can prioritise high-quality, cost-effective care to improve patient outcomes [...]

29 Jun

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Can Nutrition Be More Scientific?

By Gary Kantor. Mini-HTA #1 This is the first in a series of short articles about newer health technologies and their application. We call these “mini-HTAs” (HTA: Health Technology Assessment). We take a snapshot of new technologies, give a glimpse of the underlying science, and suggest how to evaluate the safety, effectiveness, cost, and impact. The science around nutrition has long been problematic. Published results go in all directions, some highly improbable (e.g. eat a handful of nuts each day and live 39% longer), with every nutrient (coffee, fat, alcohol, grain, gluten, fibre, you name it) associated in at least one study [...]