PhD Position in Financial and Insurance Risk Management KU Leuven in Belgium

The Statistics and Risk group within the Department of Mathematics at KU Leuven offers a dynamic and international research environment for a PhD position in Financial and Insurance Risk Management. The group comprises four full-time professors and a vibrant community of researchers, including PhD students and postdoctoral fellows, actively engaged in national and international research projects and consultancy. The research focus is on advanced statistical analysis and probabilistic methods applied to complex insurance and financial risk scenarios.

This PhD project addresses the challenges of managing insurance portfolios in the presence of large-scale systematic risks such as climate risk, catastrophe risk, longevity risk, and financial risk. Traditional centralized insurance techniques rely on the law of large numbers and risk diversification, but these approaches become less effective when systematic risk factors drive individual risks in the same direction, making some portfolios uninsurable (e.g., flood insurance). The research will explore innovative risk management techniques, including securitization, peer-to-peer insurance, and conic finance, and develop new products for pension financing, pandemic insurance, and catastrophe bonds.

The successful candidate will benefit from a longstanding collaboration with the Insurance group in the Faculty of Business and Economics and will participate in the Arenberg Doctoral School, which offers training in research and soft skills. Responsibilities include conducting research, teaching exercise classes in mathematics and statistics, assisting with bachelor and master thesis guidance, and supporting the organization of workshops and conferences.

Applicants must hold a master's degree in Mathematics or Statistics (or equivalent), possess a strong background in probability theory, stochastic processes, and optimization, and have experience programming scientific software. Teaching exercise classes in Dutch is required; candidates lacking proficiency must undertake language training to reach the necessary level within two years. Excellent English proficiency and strong communication skills are essential.

The position is funded by a FLOF grant, providing a scholarship for one year, extendable up to four years after positive evaluation. This funding covers tuition and stipend, enabling completion of a PhD in Mathematics. KU Leuven is committed to diversity, inclusion, and equal opportunity, fostering a respectful and socially safe academic environment.

For further information, contact Prof. dr. Daniël Linders at [email protected]. Applications should be submitted online via the KU Leuven jobsite before the deadline of June 1, 2026.