What is quantum?

In legal terms, quantum is the monetary value of a claim. For RAF claims, this typically includes loss of income (past and future), general damages (pain and suffering), and medical expenses. This guide focuses on the loss of income component, which is usually the largest part of the claim and the one that requires actuarial calculation.

The RAF income cap

The Road Accident Fund Act limits the income that can be claimed. Currently, the cap is set at R351,516 per year (approximately R29,293 per month). If the claimant earned more than this before the accident, the uninjured income is capped at this threshold for purposes of the claim.

This means a claimant earning R60,000 per month will have their uninjured income treated as R29,293 per month for the RAF calculation. The loss is then measured as the difference between R29,293 and whatever they can now earn. High earners are significantly affected by this cap.

What drives the quantum?

Five factors have the biggest impact on the size of a loss of income claim:

Age at accident — younger claimants have more future earning years, producing a larger future loss.
Income differential — the bigger the gap between uninjured and injured earnings, the larger the claim.
Retirement age — a later assumed retirement age means more years of lost income. Most calculations assume 65.
Contingency deductions — higher contingencies reduce the claim. The uninjured contingency reflects risks the claimant faced even without the accident; the injured contingency reflects their current employability.
Mortality — based on the Koch life tables. Higher mortality risk means a smaller future loss.

How to sense-check a quantum

You don't need to be an actuary to sanity-check the numbers. Here's a quick mental model:

                    Rough future loss ≈ Monthly net loss × 12 × Years to retirement × 0.5
                

The 0.5 is a rough rule-of-thumb to account for discounting, mortality, and contingencies combined. It's not precise, but if the actuarial report gives you a number that's wildly different from this ballpark, ask questions.

For example, a 35-year-old losing R10,000 net per month with 30 years to retirement: R10,000 × 12 × 30 × 0.5 = R1,800,000. If the report says R4,000,000 or R400,000, something may need explaining.

Common mistakes to avoid

Using gross income instead of net — loss of income is calculated on after-tax earnings. Using gross figures will overstate the claim.
Forgetting the RAF cap — if it's a RAF claim and the claimant earns above the threshold, the cap must be applied.
Ignoring contingencies — a calculation with 0% contingencies is unrealistic. Courts expect reasonable deductions.
Not accounting for earnings growth — salaries grow over time. A calculation that ignores this will understate the loss. See our full calculation guide for how the net discount rate handles this.

Next steps

If you're handling a RAF claim and need a quick estimate of the loss of income quantum, use the WikiQuantum calculator. It applies the RAF cap automatically when you select the RAF option, uses Koch Table 2 mortality, and accounts for earnings growth and discounting.