The Department of Statistics and Actuarial Science presents its Annual Hogg and Craig Lecture Series featuring Dr. Hansjoerg Albrecher, Professor of Actuarial Mathematics, University of Lausanne. Dr. Albrecher will give two lectures on April 30-May 1, 2026.

Schedule:

April 30, 2026

10:00 am - Refreshments and Student Awards, 302 SH

3:30 pm - Hogg and Craig Lecture #1 by Hansjoerg Albrecher, LR2 VAN:

"Are Natural Catastrophe Losses Insurable? An Actuarial Perspective"

Abstract: In this talk some challenges for the insurance of losses due to natural catastrophes will be discussed, including the increasing frequency and severity of such events. The notion of insurability is discussed from an actuarial perspective. We also look into various ways in which AI techniques can help to overcome some computational obstacles, and give illustrations in a concrete case study for hail risk.

May 1, 2026

3:30 pm - Hogg and Craig Lecture #2 by Hansjoerg Albrecher, LR2 VAN:

"Refining Insurance Risk Models with Matrix Distributions"

Abstract: In this talk, we present some recent developments in matrix distributions and their connection to absorption times of inhomogeneous Markov processes. We highlight how and why these constructions provide natural and powerful tools for improving the modelling of risks in both non-life and life insurance. Applications are illustrated through mortality modelling in single- and multi-population settings, as well as modelling of joint lifetimes of couples. Finally, we show that extensions beyond the Markovian framework lead naturally to formulations involving fractional calculus and matrix Mittag-Leffler distributions, which turn out to be a flexible and parsimonious class for the modelling of large but rare insurance loss events.