David Kirk

FIA, FASSA, FeASK, FNAS, CFA, CAIA, PRM

Managing Director, Milliman Africa

Cape Town, ZA

David Kirk is the managing director for Milliman in Africa. He specialises in risk and capital management, regulatory change and insurance strategy.

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Experience

David has extensive experience in life insurance and broad exposure to property and casualty insurance and financial instrument valuations.

His technical expertise includes:

Insurance financial reporting (IFRS, EV, MCEV, Solvency II, and SAM)
Capital and risk management, including SAM/Solvency II
Due diligence and M&A advice
Appointed Actuary and Head of Actuarial Function services
Specialist board consultant
Micro insurance and parametric insurance
Financial and actuarial model development and validation
New market entry, market expansion and licence applications, including micro insurance licence applications
Enterprise risk management framework development and readiness assessment

Prior to joining Milliman, David was practice leader of KPMG’s actuarial business in South Africa. The role included responsibility for practice development and management, from setting standards of practice to bringing in new clients to overseeing longer-term brand building.

His previous positions include partner at PwC in South Africa and actuarial analyst and consultant at Tillinghast-Towers Perrin.

Publications and Presentations

How to talk about target capital levels
Euler / Gradient approachs to capital allocation
How and why insurers fail
Systemic Risk for insurers - hot air or smouldering volcano?
Hyper Selection - Can we? Should we?
Actuaries and microinsurance
Dividend Policy within Capital Management
What is fair and who gets to decide?
International Capital Adeuacy Standards and Solvency II
IMAP preparation and submission

Professional Designations

Fellow, Institute of Actuaries
Fellow, Actuarial Society of South Africa (ASSA)
Fellow, Actuarial Society of Kenya (FeASK)
Fellow, Actuarial Society of Nigeria (FNAS)
Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA)
Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA)
Professional Risk Manager (PRM)

Education

BBusSci, Actuarial Science and Finance, University of Cape Town

Affiliations

Actuarial Society of South Africa: member of Life Assurance Committee, Market Conduct subcommitee, and chair of SAM Phase 2 subcommitee.
International Actuarial Association Life Section Board Member
Professional Risk Managers’ International Association: Subject matter expert for the Insurance Risk Advisory Working Group.

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Publications

Read their latest work

Article

Life insurance capital regimes in Africa

10 February 2026 - by David Kirk, Susan Melmed, Chris van der Merwe, Ishkar Singh

As Africa moves toward risk-based supervision and capital frameworks for life insurance companies, we examine various capital regimes in the region.

Article

Climate-related risk management and sustainability disclosures in Africa

10 February 2026 - by David Kirk, Susan Melmed, Chris van der Merwe, Adél Drew

We examine eight countries at various stages of implementation of IFRS frameworks.

Article

South Africa: Insurance industry update - October 2025

17 October 2025 - by David Kirk, Susan Melmed, Chris van der Merwe, Richard Taylor, Cameron Hollaway, Nalen Michael

In our latest update for the South African insurance industry, we cover key trends and developments for October 2025.

Article

Converting a typical South African funeral model to Milliman Mind

18 September 2025 - by Cameron Hollaway, Andrew Henning, David Kirk

We show how converting an existing South African funeral valuation model to Milliman Mind improved performance and delivered enterprise-grade audit trails.

Article

Evaluating the HAF: A practical toolkit for insurance boards

20 August 2025 - by David Kirk

We examine how insurers' boards can structure effective performance assessments of the head of actuarial function, a role that’s central to sound operations.

Article

What's in a tail?

20 August 2025 - by David Kirk

While conditional tail expectation adds complexity to risk management, it also ensures greater sensitivity to tail risk and drives insurers to make better decisions.

Article

South Africa: Insurance industry update - August 2025

12 August 2025 - by David Kirk, Adél Drew, Richard Taylor, Chris van der Merwe, Andrew Henning, Cameron Hollaway

Milliman’s latest market update covers evolutions in climate oversight, generative artificial intelligence, insurance pricing, and more.

Article

Three critical shifts transforming insurance M&A in Africa

31 July 2025 - by David Kirk

In Africa, we highlight what shifts in private equity trends, regulatory reform, and consolidation mean for insurance mergers and acquisitions and due diligence.

Article

When contract boundaries shift: Risk, capital, and consequences

30 July 2025 - by David Kirk

We examine the implications of shorter contract boundaries as a result of IFRS 17, and offer some key considerations for South African insurers.

Article

Assumption setting in an uncertain world: Beyond frameworks and false precision

02 July 2025 - by David Kirk

In the wake of rare events, volatility, and evolving accounting regimes such as IFRS 17, we explore what really matters in assumption setting.

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Experience

David has extensive experience in life insurance and broad exposure to property and casualty insurance and financial instrument valuations.

His technical expertise includes:

Insurance financial reporting (IFRS, EV, MCEV, Solvency II, and SAM)
Capital and risk management, including SAM/Solvency II
Due diligence and M&A advice
Appointed Actuary and Head of Actuarial Function services
Specialist board consultant
Micro insurance and parametric insurance
Financial and actuarial model development and validation
New market entry, market expansion and licence applications, including micro insurance licence applications
Enterprise risk management framework development and readiness assessment

His previous positions include partner at PwC in South Africa and actuarial analyst and consultant at Tillinghast-Towers Perrin.

Read their latest work

Article

Life insurance capital regimes in Africa

10 February 2026 - by David Kirk, Susan Melmed, Chris van der Merwe, Ishkar Singh

As Africa moves toward risk-based supervision and capital frameworks for life insurance companies, we examine various capital regimes in the region.

Article

Climate-related risk management and sustainability disclosures in Africa

10 February 2026 - by David Kirk, Susan Melmed, Chris van der Merwe, Adél Drew

We examine eight countries at various stages of implementation of IFRS frameworks.

Article

South Africa: Insurance industry update - October 2025

17 October 2025 - by David Kirk, Susan Melmed, Chris van der Merwe, Richard Taylor, Cameron Hollaway, Nalen Michael

In our latest update for the South African insurance industry, we cover key trends and developments for October 2025.

Article

Converting a typical South African funeral model to Milliman Mind

18 September 2025 - by Cameron Hollaway, Andrew Henning, David Kirk

We show how converting an existing South African funeral valuation model to Milliman Mind improved performance and delivered enterprise-grade audit trails.

Article

Evaluating the HAF: A practical toolkit for insurance boards

20 August 2025 - by David Kirk

We examine how insurers' boards can structure effective performance assessments of the head of actuarial function, a role that’s central to sound operations.

Article

What's in a tail?

20 August 2025 - by David Kirk

While conditional tail expectation adds complexity to risk management, it also ensures greater sensitivity to tail risk and drives insurers to make better decisions.

Article

South Africa: Insurance industry update - August 2025

12 August 2025 - by David Kirk, Adél Drew, Richard Taylor, Chris van der Merwe, Andrew Henning, Cameron Hollaway

Milliman’s latest market update covers evolutions in climate oversight, generative artificial intelligence, insurance pricing, and more.

Article

Three critical shifts transforming insurance M&A in Africa

31 July 2025 - by David Kirk

In Africa, we highlight what shifts in private equity trends, regulatory reform, and consolidation mean for insurance mergers and acquisitions and due diligence.

Article

When contract boundaries shift: Risk, capital, and consequences

30 July 2025 - by David Kirk

We examine the implications of shorter contract boundaries as a result of IFRS 17, and offer some key considerations for South African insurers.

Article

Assumption setting in an uncertain world: Beyond frameworks and false precision

02 July 2025 - by David Kirk

In the wake of rare events, volatility, and evolving accounting regimes such as IFRS 17, we explore what really matters in assumption setting.

David Kirk

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Experience

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Read their latest work

Life insurance capital regimes in Africa

Climate-related risk management and sustainability disclosures in Africa

South Africa: Insurance industry update - October 2025

Converting a typical South African funeral model to Milliman Mind

Evaluating the HAF: A practical toolkit for insurance boards

What's in a tail?

South Africa: Insurance industry update - August 2025

Three critical shifts transforming insurance M&A in Africa

When contract boundaries shift: Risk, capital, and consequences

Assumption setting in an uncertain world: Beyond frameworks and false precision

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CHOOSE A LOCATION AND LANGUAGE

David Kirk

Experience

Read their latest work

Life insurance capital regimes in Africa

Climate-related risk management and sustainability disclosures in Africa

South Africa: Insurance industry update - October 2025

Converting a typical South African funeral model to Milliman Mind

Evaluating the HAF: A practical toolkit for insurance boards

What's in a tail?

South Africa: Insurance industry update - August 2025

Three critical shifts transforming insurance M&A in Africa

When contract boundaries shift: Risk, capital, and consequences

Assumption setting in an uncertain world: Beyond frameworks and false precision

CHOOSE A LOCATION AND LANGUAGE