I'm pleased to share that insureAI has attained QAS accreditation, effective 8 January 2026. To my knowledge, we're the first South Africa-based firm to achieve this designation. This is a milestone I'm proud of, and one I wanted to reflect on for readers who may be considering the scheme for their own organisations.
For context, insureAI is an actuarial technology and consulting firm I founded to bring advanced AI methods into mainstream actuarial practice across traditional areas such as pricing, reserving and capital optimisation. We work at the intersection of traditional actuarial rigour and modern machine and deep learning, which makes questions of quality, and professional standards particularly important.
From a personal perspective, I've long valued the IFoA's APS X2 standard on Work Review as a practical framework for doing actuarial work well. The emphasis on work review, including independent peer review, resonates with how I believe actuarial work should be conducted - with appropriate scrutiny and documentation together with the rigour that comes from a formalised review process.
Moreover, with the specific system of a mandated second-line review of actuarial work prescribed by South African law and regulation (the actuarial control function), APS X2 is a natural way to ensure compliance with the regulatory environment within which the South Africa part of our business operates.
QAS felt like a natural extension of that thinking, but at the organisational level. The question QAS asks isn't just "do your actuaries act professionally?" but "does your organisation make it easy to do the right thing, consistently?" That distinction matters since actuaries don't work in isolation: the quality of our output depends on the environment around us. Components of what I believe is an optimal environment for good actuarial work are clear work supervision arrangements, review processes, the freedom to raise concerns, and access to development opportunities.
As a newer firm, we had an opportunity to embed these structures early, before growth makes change harder and, for us, QAS accreditation provided a useful framework.
The accreditation process was rigorous but constructive. We began by mapping our existing practices against the QAS outcomes, which quickly highlighted where we had strengths and where we needed to formalise.
Much of the work involved documenting and strengthening internal controls: policies covering conduct and working processes; independence safeguards and ethical walls; conflicts of interest identification and escalation; data protection; and study support for actuarial staff. While some of these existed informally, the discipline of writing them down and stress-testing them was valuable.
We also invested in mechanisms that bring quality to life in day-to-day work, such as technical review forums and weekly team sessions designed to encourage open dialogue and feedback. Documentation matters, but culture matters more. The goal was to make quality "how we work", not just "what we've written down".
The external assessment was thorough. The assessors interviewed team members and probed our practices with questions that made us think carefully: "Is this consistently applied?" and "If someone new joined tomorrow, would they know what good looks like here?" Those conversations, conducted by highly professional independent parties, were insightful for the insureAI team.
Gaining QAS accreditation provides three main benefits to firms:
External credibility
When you're applying novel methods composed of machine and deep learning, applied within the context of actuarial problems, clients and regulators reasonably ask how quality is controlled. The QAS mark is a signal of an organisation’s commitment to the highest standards. That matters.
Benchmarking
The process forces you to compare your practices against best practice and identify gaps. As part of the QAS community, we now have access to forums where accredited firms share experiences and insights, providing a valuable way to benchmark against peer firms.
Culture and retention
High-quality work depends on the environment. QAS accreditation signals to our team that we're serious about their professional development and about maintaining a workplace where they can do their best work. In a competitive market for actuarial talent, that matters too.
Here are a few observations for firms considering QAS.
Involve the wider team early. Quality is a system, not a department, and the people doing the work need to understand and own the processes. The sooner a good system of review is instituted, the better.
Be honest about where you are. The goal is improvement, not impression. The assessment is rigorous; trying to present a polished version of reality doesn't help anyone.
Keep policies practical. Documentation that sits in a folder helps no one. The test is whether someone can follow it under pressure. One useful tip is to create a practical summary of all policies and procedures that apply within the firm for actuaries to consult and find pointers to the detail.
Treat the assessment as free consulting. The external perspective is genuinely helpful. The questions that made us pause were often the most valuable.
This accreditation is recognition for our actuarial team and their commitment to high standards. It's also a platform for continued engagement with the IFoA - through QAS network activities, events, and initiatives that advance actuarial practice.
As the first South African firm to achieve QAS accreditation, I hope our experience is useful for others considering the scheme. The process strengthened us. Quality isn't a single milestone - it's a habit, and QAS is helping us make that habit stronger.
