DAMAGES COMMITTEE
The Damages Committee assists actuaries and facilitates communication, discussion and liaison within the profession on relevant topics related to damage assessment.
Members of ASSA are involved in various parts of the damages and litigation fields in South Africa. The roles of members in these fields usually relates to assisting the Court with quantum calculation, reporting and testifying (as an expert witness) on matters that are deemed to require the expertise of members. The following are the main types of claims where actuarial expertise might be required:
- Loss of income.
- Loss of support.
- Future medical costs.
- Maintenance.
- Accrual of estates.
The damages and compensation committee was formed to support actuaries working in this area and to promote the profession within this area of work.
The objectives of the Damages Committee are to:
- Promote discussion and research into topics of interest to actuaries working in the field,
- Promote awareness of the profession’s involvement in this area,
- Provide opportunities for continuing professional development and dissemination of relevant legal updates,
- Develop professional guidance relating to work in the field, and
- Create networking opportunities for actuaries working in this field.
The current committee consists of a number of professionals working in this area.
The committee members are as follows:
| Committee Members | Position |
| Gregory Whittaker (GW) | Chair |
| Sudesh Panday (SP) | Secretary |
| Amith Haribhai (AH) | |
| Julie Valentini (JV) | |
| Christian Strydom (CS) | |
| Edward Alant (EA) | |
| Frans Koning (FK) | |
| Gert Van Der Linde (GvdL) | |
| Grant Pretorius (GP) | |
| Hitesh Solanki (HS) | |
| Maon Jacobson (MJ) | |
| Marinel Botes (MB) | |
| Namir Waisberg (NW) | |
| Ndumiso Mavimbela (NM) | |
| Niel Fourie (NF) | |
| Nilem Kambaran (NK) | |
| Pieter Gericke (PG) | |
| Kathleen Kekana (KK) | |
| Rinus du Plessis (RdP) | |
| Willem Boshoff (WB) | |
| Wim Loots (WL) |
The research sub-committee has compiled a number of discussion documents. These should not be interpreted to be the opinion of the research sub-committee or the compensation and damages committee as a whole. Rather they reflect the considered opinion of an actuary working in the area and in certain cases a summary of the assumptions and methods used in practice. The following table reflects the papers that are available on request.
| Discussion papers | Name | |
|---|---|---|
| Treatment of pension benefits | Charl du Plessis | charl@munrocc.com |
| Medical negligence discount rates | Charl du Plessis | charl@munrocc.com |
| Remarriage contingencies | Megan Butler | meganbjbutler@gmail.com |
| Mortality tables and AIDS mortality | Frans Koning | koningf@ufs.ac.za |
| The 2.5% discount rate | Megan Butler | meganbjbutler@gmail.com |
A recommended reading list can be found here
You can contact Gregory Whittaker: gregory@algorithm-ca.com