Twenty Third Floor

Figuring out the future and the now

Category: legal risk

Actuarial and Risk, alternative investments, banking, complexity, credit risk, currency risk, economics, emerging risk, FinTech, inflation, insurance, InsurTech, legal risk, liquidity risk, managing uncertainty

Inflation, Bitcoin & Financial Risk – Does This Matter for Insurance?

17 March 2025

David Kirk

This is a bit off-topic from my usual discussions on insurance, risk, and capital modelling, but financial and economic risk matters deeply. And for insurers, we’ve seen how things can go very wrong. Hyperinflation, Currency Crises & Insurance Industry Collapse Hyperinflation destroyed Zimbabwe’s insurance sector, and decades later, it still hasn’t recovered. Currency crises in…
Read more: Inflation, Bitcoin & Financial Risk – Does This Matter for Insurance?
Actuarial and Risk, emerging risk, insurance, legal risk

Forever emerging risks.

29 May 2024

David Kirk

Forever chemicals = forever lawsuits = forever claims 🔬 PFAS linked to health risks ⚖️ Regulatory scrutiny increasing 💼 D&O and liability cover at risk 🌍 Exposure is everywhere 💰 Costs could be astronomical Liability insurers have a growing emerging risk relating to the potential wave of lawsuits related to PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances,…
Read more: Forever emerging risks.
credit risk, insurance, legal risk, life insurance, regulatory risk

Credit Life regulations and reactions (3)

21 October 2017

David Kirk

This is a short addition to parts 1 and 2. The question as to whether the benefit payable under a credit life policy can or should include arrears payments. The purpose of a credit life policy is to protect the policyholder, the lender, and the policyholder’s estate (not necessarily in that order) against death, disability…
Read more: Credit Life regulations and reactions (3)
Actuarial and Risk, insurance, legal risk, life insurance, managing uncertainty, regulatory risk

Credit Life regulations and reactions (2)

20 October 2017

David Kirk

In part 1 I discussed the implications of basing premiums on initial balance or declining balance for profitability and the threat of substitute policies. In this post I want to discuss substitute policies again, talk about cover for self-employed persons and definitions of waiting periods. What is a substitute policy Substitute policies are one of…
Read more: Credit Life regulations and reactions (2)
Actuarial and Risk, banking, competition, complexity, creating value, credit risk, distribution, economics, insurance, legal risk, life insurance, regulatory risk

Credit Life regulations and reactions (1)

12 October 2017

David Kirk

Credit Life regulations have been live for long enough now that insurers are starting to feel the impact and the shake-up of amongst industry players is starting to emerge. There have been plenty of debate around the regulations, in part because of the dramatic financial and operational impact they will have, and partly because of…
Read more: Credit Life regulations and reactions (1)
Actuarial and Risk, competition, customer value, economics, insurance, legal risk, managing uncertainty, news

Medical Schemes, discrimination and the CPA

7 August 2011

David Kirk

The Consumer Protection Act (CPA) protects consumers from abuse by enforcing fair practices, improved disclosure and added minimum warranties etc, It’s a good piece of legislation, even if at times some aspects of it may result in greater costs than benefits. TimesLive has a story about the alleged noncompliance of medical schemes with the CPA.…
Read more: Medical Schemes, discrimination and the CPA
creating value, employe share options, insight, legal risk, news, private equity

Skype Employee Share Options That Weren’t

25 June 2011

David Kirk

I deal with employee share options frequently. Mostly from a valuation perspective, but also from structuring performance and vesting conditions to retain an incentivise key staff. Now I can’t say these decisions are never controversial, but without fail the intention of the employer is to provide a fair deal to staff. That is until I…
Read more: Skype Employee Share Options That Weren’t
Actuarial and Risk, business tools, capital, legal risk, managing uncertainty, news, operational risk

Regulations creating operational risk (and how it relates to POPI)

24 August 2010

David Kirk

Ok, so that is an unfair title. But you’ll understand what I mean: Zurich Financial Services has just been fined £2.3m for a data loss event incurred in 2008 in South Africa. Zurich joins HSBC, Nationwide and Norwich Union in the club of companies fined by the FSA now. In fairness, the fine wasn’t so…
Read more: Regulations creating operational risk (and how it relates to POPI)

About David Kirk

Featured Posts

The Complexities of Comparing SCR Cover Ratios Across Insurers
by David Kirk
In the insurance industry, we often use Solvency Capital Requirement (SCR) cover ratios as a key metric for comparing insurers’ financial strength. While these ratios… Read more: The Complexities of Comparing SCR Cover Ratios Across Insurers
One answer could be pet insurance
by David Kirk
I firmly believe major demographics shifts are going to have massive social, political, economic, financial market and commercial impacts in the coming decades. The balance… Read more: One answer could be pet insurance
A piece of the failure puzzle – decreasing insurer failure rates through Skilled Person Reviews
by David Kirk
Every failure hits policyholders’ savings or cover, impact their lives and their livelihoods. They destroys shareholder value and decrease confidence in the entire financial sector.… Read more: A piece of the failure puzzle – decreasing insurer failure rates through Skilled Person Reviews
How and why insurers fail
by David Kirk
I’ve been updating my presentation from 2021 on “How and Why Insurers Fail”. I now estimate the annual failure rate (or at least getting into… Read more: How and why insurers fail
The hidden dangers of opinion shopping and trusting good news.
by David Kirk
I had a recent discussion on the value of getting a second opinion. There’s the old line that “if you want five opinions, ask three… Read more: The hidden dangers of opinion shopping and trusting good news.
40,000
by David Kirk
40,000. That’s the ballpark figure I usually work with as the minimum number of micro insurance policies required for scale. The expenses of running even… Read more: 40,000
IFRS17 may not kill off EV
by David Kirk
Will IFRS17 kill off Embedded Value (EV) reporting in Africa? Or will it finally bring Market Consistent Embedded Value (MCEV) to life? I gave a… Read more: IFRS17 may not kill off EV

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