The Faculty

Anne Kleffner, PhD

Dr. Anne Kleffner is a Professor of Risk Management and Insurance at the Haskayne School of Business. She joined the University of Calgary in 1992. Anne received her BSBA from Creighton University, and a PhD in Applied Economics and Managerial Science from The University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School.

Anne teaches primarily in the undergraduate program in the areas of property and liability insurance and risk management. She also teaches in the Directors’ Education Program for the Institute of Corporate Directors and in the Executive MBA program. Anne’s particular areas of research interest include enterprise risk management, insurance solvency, and automobile liability compensation systems. She has published research in The Journal of Risk and Insurance, Risk Management and Insurance Review, The Journal of Insurance Regulation and The Ivey Business Journal.

Anne is an Associate Editor of The Journal of Insurance Issues and is a member of the Risk Theory Society. She is a Past President of the Board for Calgary Meals on Wheels. In her spare time Anne enjoys hiking, running, and traveling.

Martin Halek, B.A., M.S., PhD

Martin Halek is an associate professor in risk management and insurance in the Haskayne School of Business at the University of Calgary. Prior, he held academic positions at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, the University of Georgia and the University of North Carolina – Charlotte. He was also a visiting professor at Audencia Nantes School of Management in France. Dr. Halek earned a Ph.D. (Insurance and Risk Management) from The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, an M.S. (Actuarial Science) from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and a B.A. (Mathematics) from Whitman College. Prior to his academic career, he worked as an actuarial consultant in Seattle, Washington.

Dr. Halek’s areas of research include insurance economics, insurer ratings and financial markets, insurer loss reserving practices, adverse selection and hazard risk assessment. He has published in top academic journals including the Journal of Risk and Insurance, The Geneva Risk and Insurance Review, Forest Policy and Economics and Land Economics. Dr. Halek regularly presents his research at academic conferences and universities, and he is an active member of several professional organizations including the American Risk and Insurance Association (ARIA), the European Group of Risk and Insurance Economists (EGRIE) and the Western Risk and Insurance Association (WRIA). Dr. Halek has received research grants from various organizations including SSHRC, USAID, NFID and Society of Actuaries. He has also received research and teaching awards including the Les B. Strickler Innovation in Instruction Award by ARIA.

Anastasia Ivantsova, PhD

Anastasia Ivantsova is an Assistant Professor of Risk Management and Insurance at the Haskayne School of Business. She received her PhD in Actuarial Science, Risk Management and Insurance from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and her BSc/MSc in Mathematical Methods in Economics from the Ufa State University of Aviation Technology. Before relocating to North America, Anastasia worked on a variety of projects with the Russian Academy of Sciences and was a recipient of a European Commission grant allowing her to spend a year at the Vienna University of Technology, where she conducted research on retirement provision. Prior to her academic career, Anastasia worked as a software engineer designing quality control systems for aircraft components.

Anastasia’s research interests include the economics of insurance markets and insurer strategies. One of her current projects empirically tests an argument, frequently made by Warren Buffett and other industry leaders and regulators, that some insurance companies lack underwriting discipline. She also examines the role of insurance float – “other people’s money,” or premiums that insurers get to invest before they are needed to pay out losses. Another area of great interest to her is cognitive and behavioural biases affecting decision-making under uncertainty. Anastasia regularly attends and presents at major conferences in risk management and insurance, economics and finance. Her research has been published in leading field journals, including Insurance: Mathematics and Economics and Psychological Science, and featured on Forbes.com. In her spare time,

Anastasia loves to travel and learn new things, from watercolour to scuba diving.