History

The first insurance legislation in South Africa was the Life Assurance Act, No 13 of 1891, which was passed by the 8th Parliament of the Cape of Good Hope. The act aimed at “encouraging persons to insure” and at “protecting persons assured”, and called for an investigation into the financial conditions of a company by a qualified actuary every five years.

Companies operating locally did not employ resident actuaries. Data for actuarial valuations was sent abroad, usually to the United Kingdom, for processing by actuaries there.

William Marshall, AIA, arrived from Australia in December 1883 to found the Cape Town branch of the Colonial Mutual Life Assurance Society. This event may be seen as the birth of the actuarial profession in South Africa.

The first fully qualified actuary in South Africa of whom record could be found was James McGowan, BA, FIA. McGowan qualified as a Fellow of the Institute of Actuaries (London) in 1883 and became Government Actuary of the then Cape Colony in 1890.

Various actuaries came to South Africa, a British colony at the time, under contract for a fixed period during the 1890s and early 1900s. This established strong links with the UK profession, but also meant that the local number of actuaries remained very small.

The consolidation of South African insurance legislation under the Insurance Act, No 37 of 1923, formalised the need for actuarial services in South Africa, providing useful publicity for the profession.

The event that really saw the actuarial profession become an integrated part of South African life, however, was the qualification of Marthinus Smuts (Tienie) Louw as a Fellow of the Faculty of Actuaries (Edinburgh) in 1921. He was the first South African to become an actuary and was followed in 1927 by Thomas Abbott Murray. Both Louw and Murray spent some time abroad. The first South African to qualify as an actuary solely by local study was Jan Dommisse (FFA, 1935).

The first half of the 1930 was a period of increased actuarial activity in South Africa, due to a general business revival and a new spirit of competitiveness among some of the major overseas life offices that were operating in the country.

George McLaren, by all accounts an outstanding actuary and very popular person, retired as actuary of the South African Mutual Life Assurance Society in 1936. His farewell dinner was attended by 15 actuaries from both Cape Town and Johannesburg. The congenial atmosphere led to discussions on the desirability of a formal organisation, and the Actuaries’ Club was formally established on 14 June 1937. It was agreed that the Club should operate in two sections, one in Johannesburg and one in Cape Town.

The Actuaries’ Club served a useful purpose in bringing the actuaries in the country together. While it did some useful work in connection with draft legislation and the protection of the status and interests of actuaries, it was more suited for social purposes. Consequently, the Club was disbanded and the Actuarial Society of South Africa was established. Its inaugural meeting was held in Johannesburg on 22 December 1948. At the time, there were 42 people with actuarial qualifications in the country.

This event was celebrated at the Actuarial Society’s Jubilee Convention in 1998, which was preceded by the first meeting on African soil of the International Actuarial Association (IAA).

Time chart

1883 William Marshall, the first actuary in South Africa, arrives.

1921 Tienie Louw becomes the first South African to qualify as an actuary.

1923 Con Kops publishes A South African Life Table based on the European Male Population – the first South African life table.

1937 The Actuaries’ Club is established (25 March).

1948 The Actuarial Society of South Africa holds its inaugural meeting (22 December).

1955 Pat Wood becomes South Africa’s first woman actuary.

1958 R Howroyd, FIA, and F J Howroyd, BA L LB, publish The Assessment of Compensation for Loss and Support in the South African Law Journal. This is the first published paper by a member of ASSA.

J H Dommisse becomes the first member of the Actuarial Society to enter politics when he is elected to the Provincial Council of the Cape.

1966 SA 56-62 Mortality Tables are published.

1967 The first sessional meeting is held in Cape Town (14 June). Unit Trusts and Equity-linked Endowment Assurances, a paper by Grant and Kingsworth, is discussed.

John Van der Linde’s The Distribution of Profits arising from Equity Investments is the first paper by a member of ASSA to be discussed at sessional meetings in Cape Town (19 October) and Johannesburg (13 December).

1969 Tom Murray donates money for a prize fund. This eventually becomes the Society’s most prestigious award, the Murray Medal.

John van der Linde, as editor, publishes the first edition of the Transactions of the Actuarial Society of South Africa.

1970 The Society’s Coat of Arms is registered.

1972 The first annual Convention is held in Sea Point.

1973 The first Murray Medal is awarded to Tom Murray.

A Murray Medal is awarded to Anthony Hart.

The first purely actuarial courses are offered at the University of Cape Town.

1974 The Murray Medal is awarded to Louis Jochelson.

1978 The JSE-Actuaries Index is launched.

The Murray Medal is awarded to Peter Milburn-Pyle and John van der Linde.

1979 The Murray Medal is awarded to Dick Lloyd.

1982 The Murray Medal is awarded to Jan Pijper.

The first of what became regular meetings between the Society and the financial regulator is held.

1983 Fixed Interest Indices are introduced.

1986 Council publishes a Guide to Professional Conduct.

1987 The Aids Committee is established.

1989 The Murray Medal is awarded to Peter Bieber.

1992 The Murray Medal is awarded to Peter Doyle.

The first President’s Prize is awarded to Rob Dorrington.

1993 The President’s Prize is awarded to Greg Solomon.

1994 The President’s Prize is awarded to Jeff Goy.

1995 The President’s Prize is awarded to Jeremy Andrew.

1996 The President’s Prize is awarded to Graham Prentice.

The Society’s CPD Scheme comes into operation.

Interdepartmental discussions are held on the possible establishment of a Government Actuary’s Department.

The Society comments on the Smith Report on Retirement Provision and on the first report of the Katz Commission on taxation.

1997 The President’s Prize is awarded to Chris Swanepoel.

The position of Immediate Past President is formalised. Steve Handler is the first to hold this post.

1998 The first of annual Short Term Insurance Conventions is held.

The Society celebrates its Jubilee Convention at Spier Estate, near Cape Town, and also hosts the first IAA meeting in Africa.

The President’s Prize is awarded to John van der Linde.

The first Swiss Re Prize is awarded to Rolf van den Heever.

The Strategic Plan is published.

1999 The President’s Prize is awarded to Marius du Toit.

The Murray Medal is awarded to Theo Hartwig.

The first RGA Award for the best paper presented at the Convention is made to Shaun Matisonn, Hylton Kallner, Tal Gilbert and MarkLitow.

2000 The President’s Prize is awarded to Rob Thomson.

The Murray Medal is awarded to Reg Munro.

The RGA Best Paper Award is made to Anthony Asher.

The RGA Best First-Time Paper Award is made to Gary Hartwig.

The Diversity Committee is established.

A mentorship scheme for actuarial students from previously disadvantaged communities is launched as a pilot project at the University of Cape Town.

2001 The repatriation of surpluses in retirement funds is regulated by legislation. A delegation from the Society, led by Mike Codron as President, addresses a parliamentary committee on the legislation.

The President’s Prize is awarded to Mickey Lowther.

The Swiss Re Prize is awarded to Rob Dorrington.

The RGA Best Paper Award is made to Mickey Lowther and Jonathan Mort.

The RGA Best First-Time Paper Award is made to Leigh Johnson, David Schneider and Steven Rosenberg.

Amendments to the Constitution provide for a different composition of Council and a new disciplinary process.

Rob Thomson, as editor, publishes Volume 1 of the South African Actuarial Journal.

2002 CPD compliance certificates become compulsory for members who do statutory work.

The Diversity Committee launches “Actuaries on the Move”.

The Murray Medal is awarded to Anthony Asher.

2003 The first matriculants from “Actuaries on the Move” obtain outstanding results, with Martin Mpaphuli achieving the second highest marks for Mathematics HG and the highest marks for Physics HG in Gauteng Province.

Honorary Membership is awarded for the first time: Peter Clark, Gloria Serobe and Tamsanqa Kambule.

The Murray Medal is awarded to Rob Dorrington.

Desmond Smith receives the President’s Award.

Local-content Fellowship examinations are written for the first time.

2004  The President’s Award is made to Ranthi Mothapo.

The disciplinary process is reviewed.

2005 The Murray Medal is awarded to Steve Handler.

The President’s Prize is awarded to Colin Southey.

2006 The Actuarial Governance Board is established.

2007 Proposals for restructuring Council into operational boards are approved.

2009 The revised Constitution is approved at a special general meeting.

Mutual Recognition Agreements with the UK actuarial profession are signed.

Mutual Recognition Agreements with the Australian actuarial profession are signed.