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Welcome to Mind Matters week of 8 August 2022
Winter Programme Highlights - Day 3
Interwoven with local and global news on similar topics
Winter Programme presentation 1
The role of leadership in building an economy - Neo Ralefeta
Neo Ralefeta worked closely with Itumeleng Merafe (Investec) to bring you this astounding presentation providing perspective on why the world is in the position it is right now. They focus on long-dated interest rate and foreign exchange derivative structuring for the bank’s corporate and parastatal clients.
An excellent presentation which can be accessed by clicking on the above title or else you can listen to the audio here. Starts at 0:02:30 and ends at 0:51:39
Neo ends his presentation on the value of social connections and how lucky we are in SA to have strong social connections a factor which if exploited can help advance your career.
The Impact of the Russian/Ukraine war on SA business insurance
The Russia-Ukraine conflict has set in motion a domino effect that continues to have widespread consequences for several sectors, including the local insurance industry.
All insurers have war clause exclusions for acts of war including invasions, insurrections, revolutions, military coups and terrorism as this protects them from potentially catastrophic losses caused by war-related events. The unfortunate reality is that most insurance companies will be unable to remain solvent in the event of large-scale conflicts. War-related loss and damage can have devastating financial effects and pose a serious risk to the sustainability of the industry, and therefore also the economy.
Read more and find out about the War Damage Insurance and Compensation Act 85, 1976 (No. 85 of 1976). 4 min read
Winter Programme presentation 2
FASSA, CCA, FSA, MAAA and
qualified Mediator
In this thought provoking presentation, Greg Whittaker opens up your eyes to the incredibly important work actuaries can be a part of outside of the traditional spheres.
Click on the title above to access the presentation or click here to listen to the audio. Both start at 00:55:45 and end at 01:37:37
Information Regulator establishes Enforcement Committee
For the first time since it was established in 2016, the Information Regulator (IR) will be able to enforce its powers and provide an effective remedy to complainants whose right to privacy and right of access to information have been infringed, IR chairperson Advocate Pansy Tlakula said.
There are clear links between insurance and privacy. Read more about Information Regulation and its multi -disciplinary enforcement committee. 3 min read
It’s Personal: How Carriers Can Use Behavioral Analytics to Manage Cyber Risk
The cyber insurance market is in the midst of a reckoning after years of low premiums and inadequate loss control have led to increasing claims frequency and severity.
Going beyond tactics like increasing the number of questions on their insurance applications, P/C insurers covering cyber risk can learn a great deal about their insureds’ cultures and the commitment of insured organizations to cybersecurity through behavioral analytics tracking complacency and cyber hygiene, writes TEKRisSQ Co-Founder Bill Haber.
An article from Carrier Management which is usually behind a paywall. 4 min read.
FSCA wants ‘honesty and integrity’ Joint Standard to apply to the significant owners of FSPs
The FSCA is proposing that significant owners of FSPs become subject to the honesty and integrity requirements of Joint Standard 1 of 2020, saying the amendment is required urgently to prevent South Africa from being placed on the Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF) grey list.
Joint Standard 1 of 2020 (“Fitness, propriety and other matters relating to significant owners”) applies to the significant owners of financial institutions and to financial institutions, unless exempted.
Stricter control on those working in the financial services sector is it is hoped will keep SA off the FATF's grey list. 4 min read
Winter Programme presentation 3
Ruda Landman - Chairperson
Dr Nicholas Crisp – Deputy Director General of the NHI
Roseanne Harris – Health Actuary and President of the IAA
Christof Raath – Joint CEO of Insight Actuaries
Shivani Ranchod – Founder of Percept
Russell Rensburg – Rural Health Advocacy Project
The motive behind this topic was to bring diverse opinions into the same room and have an open discussion of how we could work together on this much needed facility. It is riveting and relevant. Watch the presentation by clicking on the title or listen to the audio here. Starts at 01:41:57 and ends 03:19:01. This is a one and half hour discussion a major commitment in your life, but what a great discussion!
A ‘Crisp’ rendition of SA’s NHI
Dr Nicholas Crisp gave delegates at the annual Hospital Association of South Africa, (HASA), conference at Century City, Cape Town on 1 and 2 August an amusing and often contentious off-the-cuff “NHI 101” presentation.
Crisp challenged his audience by asking how many of them had actually read the NHI Bill, (exposing a smattering of hands in the packed hall), before asking how many delegates had read past the “end of the Bill to Schedule One,” revealing even less voluntary assent among his audience.
“The bottom line is most people have no clue what the NHI is about and rely on the media and social media for their information,” Crisp asserted.
A 3 min read.
SA healthcare on collision course with staffing crisis and growing disease burden
That’s according to Professor Shivani Ranchod, a senior lecturer in actuarial science at the University of Cape Town, who says the collision of NCD and healthcare staffing crises, especially the shortage of specialists, combined with population growth, is deeply worrying.
If South Africans all contributed “just a little,” things could shift, “but polarisation stops us from problem solving”.
“If we stay in polarised camps, it’s difficult to act and move forward. We have to start solving actual problems on the ground now,” she urged.
Please read this article now that you have heard Shivani on the panel. 3 min 30 sec read
Winter Programme presentation 4
ASABA Building leadership through community involvement
In this presentation, Nabeelah Kolia tells us about how she came to be involved in ASABA and how it is strengthening leadership in the fraternity through its various initiatives. Click on the title above to access the presentation which starts at 03:18:00 and ends at 04:08:00 or listen to the audio here.
Don't forget the ASABA Career Fair which is being run from 17 - 19 August - see the invite below.
About You
This week I have chosen to bring you a newsletter from Mike from Rethink Studying as your learning intensifies. The references are to the American equivalents of the ASSA exams, the FSA exam referred to below either A311 or an F100 exam.
The importance of trial-and-error while studying
You'll be spending hundreds of hours studying for these exams over your actuarial career. You don't want to approach your last exam the same way as you approached the first.
The goal is to learn and improve your study skills along the way. There are two ways to do that:
1. Learn what works from others (e.g. from study tips in these emails, conversations with other actuarial students and coworkers, Actuarial Outpost discussions, or our book: Actuarial Exam Tactics: Learn More, Study Less)
2. Most importantly, test to see if those tips work for you
The second point is critical: trial-and-error.
Some students do a good job of this early on, but as soon as they pass an exam or two, they become complacent. They find comfort in their approach, so they stop striving for improvement.
Don't fall into the same trap.
Even if you find a study method that works for you on the prelim exams, that same method may fail you on the higher level exams. You must be able to adapt to new exam formats, and even more importantly, adapt to learning new things in your actuarial job.
The trial-and-error approach is the best way to constantly improve at studying (and most other skills). It's not only important for learning, but for keeping things interesting and maintaining motivation over hundreds of study hours.
Our Challenge to You
Select one of your upcoming study sessions to test a new study habit.
Maybe it's changing where you study, or trying new techniques to read through the material.
You could try the "study limits" method that helped me pass my first FSA exam with 176 study hours (instead of the recommended 300-500 hours).
These changes will mix up your routine and give you something to look forward to. They will help you develop your own study style.
(At the very least, you'll get a nice benefit from the placebo effect. If you believe that a new reading technique will make you more focused, then you will end up being focused, simply because you convinced yourself that the method should work.)
View studying as a skill, and use trial-and-error to hone your craft.
Study Smart, Pass Fast, Live Life
Mike & Roy
The Feynman Learning Technique
The Feynman Technique is the best way to supercharge your learning. And it works no matter the subject. Devised by Nobel Prize-winning physicist Richard Feynman, it leverages the power of teaching for better learning.
Learning doesn’t happen from skimming through a book or remembering enough to pass a test.
Information is learned when you can explain it and use it in a wide variety of situations. The Feynman Technique gets more mileage from the ideas you encounter instead of rendering anything new into isolated, useless factoids.
Read more on the FS blog at least a 7 min read.