South African Actuarial Journal

Applications of advanced analytics in healthcare

C. Siriram — 2023-12-18

Analytics is increasingly becoming a key tool to support informed management decisions in organisations. An organisation’s capability to make use of data analytics can enhance efficiencies and increase competitive differentiation and advantage. In the context of healthcare, analytics can support improved health outcomes and hence stakeholder value that enhances affordability and access to care. A deep understanding of analytics applications and techniques lends itself to identification of opportunities where analytics techniques are best applied. This paper introduces analytics maturity models as a tool to inform proportionally appropriate analytics applications. In this paper, a broader perspective is provided through consideration of the position on the analytics maturity curve of current techniques utilised in the healthcare system. The relationship between analytics maturity and analytics techniques in the healthcare space is then explored to demonstrate that there are opportunities for applying more sophisticated techniques to more advanced applications and hence enhance the efficiency of healthcare outcomes and health risk management.

The contribution of insurers to systemic risk: A practical framework for regulators

R.D. Rusconi — 2023-12-18

While insurers are not typically the most significant contributors to systemic risk, their actions and behaviour may materially contribute to such risk. This study considers the models that may be used to detect systemic risk originating in the insurance market and proposes a framework for identifying and classifying the sources of systemic risk attributable to insurers. It applies this framework to the insurance market in South Africa, in the process providing practical recommendations for consideration by all regulators.

Technical experts as managers and servant leaders

Twane Wessels — 2023-12-18

The main aim of this research was to explore how a servant leadership style can assist technical experts as managers to become more effective leaders. Secondary objectives included exploring the leadership challenges that technical expert managers experience, the factors that make it harder or easier for a technical expert to be a servant leader and investigating to what extent servant leadership can be relevant to their context. Qualitative research through semi-structured interviews was conducted. We found that technical expert managers mostly experience interpersonal and time capacity challenges. Emerging technical experts prefer a technical expert as a manager for guidance and mentorship, making it easier for technical expert managers to assume a servant leadership style. Having an intrinsic legacy motive beyond just making a technical contribution promotes a servant leadership style. Organisational culture and an organisation’s stage in its growth cycle can make it harder or easier to adopt a servant leadership style. Our findings further confirm that servant leadership includes a purpose of empowerment, encouraging technical expert managers to delegate more. Time constraints and several interpersonal leadership challenges may be mitigated because servant leaders tend to operate from a stronger relationship domain which helps to enhance a technical expert manager’s capacity to delegate. However, given work deliverables of technical expert managers, we conclude that an appropriate balance between transformational and servant leadership might be an even more advantageous leadership approach.

Towards the development of a three-state Markov Chain model of working life expectancy in South Africa

G.A. Whittaker — 2023-12-18

Courts are able to exercise broad discretion when they assess the quantum of damages due to loss of earning capacity and have considerable discretion in making an award. South African courts have adopted the approach that an actuarial computation is a valuable basis for establishing the quantum of damages. Actuarial calculations, by their nature, account for certain contingency factors such as inflation, income tax, mortality and the retirement age. It is commonplace to deduct a general contingency where the actuarial calculation makes no explicit allowance. General contingencies cover many considerations that vary from case to case. The only real difference between mortality and other contingencies is that more evidence is available in statistical form to show mortality rates. Despite various data limitations that do not currently allow for a full implementation of the model, this paper seeks to develop a three state Markov Chain model of working life expectancy in South Africa by gender and broad education level. Working life expectancy is inextricably linked to general contingency deductions and the results of this paper challenge some common law conventions and the level of general contingency deductions that have been adopted by South African courts.