Economics of U.S. health insurance to be focus of 2026 Simon Lecture
Ian Duncan, adjunct professor of actuarial statistics at the University of California Santa Barbara and president-elect of the Society of Actuaries, or SOA will be the keynote speaker at the 2026 Ronald H. and Mary E. Simon Lecture. The event, set for Friday, Nov. 6, at the Graduate East Lansing hotel, is hosted by the Michigan State University Actuarial Science Program.
Duncan’s talk is titled “Health Insurance in the Age of Big Data and AI.” As part of his presentation, Duncan will focus on the economics of health insurance in the United States, addressing why healthcare costs continue to escalate at a faster rate than the rate of inflation despite innovation, technological advances and artificial intelligence. He will also discuss what actuaries can contribute to reducing this problem.
“Having Ian speak to our community on his work in health insurance and AI, as he assumes leadership at the SOA, is a milestone for our program” said Albert Cohen, director of the actuarial science program at MSU. “The support that our community and industry partners, our alumni, and our students and faculty have provided for this annual event has transformed the Simon Lecture into a premier event for those interested in actuarial science in Michigan.”
An actuary for more than 50 years, Duncan holds a master's degree in economics from
Balliol College, in Oxford, England, and a Ph.D. in statistics from Heriot-Watt University
in Edinburgh, Scotland. He has founded several companies, including Santa Barbara
Actuaries Inc. (merged with Arbital Health), and currently serves on the boards of
Arbital Health, Clover Insurance and other healthcare start-ups and incubators.
In 2025, Duncan was elected to be the 78th president of the Society of Actuaries for 2026-27. He has served on many committees of the SOA. He is the author of numerous
peer-reviewed papers on healthcare outcomes and predictive modeling. He’s also written
several books, including a second edition of “Healthcare Risk Adjustment and Predictive Modeling” (Actex Publications, 2018).
The 2026 Simon Lecture will also feature a presentation from Noah Gscheidmeier, an MSU undergraduate student pursuing bachelor’s degrees in actuarial science and statistics. Gscheidmeier, from Hickory, N.C., is also the president of MSU’s Actuarial Science Club and has held internships at Alex Lee, Inc., SafePoint Insurance and National Life Group.
The 2026 Simon Lecture is sponsored by Auto Owners Insurance. The event will be held in the Shadows Ballroom at the Graduate East Lansing with the program scheduled to begin at 5:15 p.m. There is no cost to attend the event; however, registration is required.
REGISTER TO ATTEND THE 2026 SIMON LECTURE
About the Simon Lecture
The Ronald H. and Mary E. Simon Lecture is an annual event to enrich Michigan State University’s Actuarial Science Program by bringing in industry leaders and academic experts to discuss topics related to actuarial science, risk management and finance. The event, which began in 2012, is supported by the Simon family, prominent supporters of the MSU Actuarial Science Program.
If you are interested in donating and sponsoring future editions of the Simon Lecture, please contact Jessie Pung, senior director of development for the MSU College of Natural Science, at pungjes1@msu.edu. For general questions, please contact Alyssa Garber at cappiel6@msu.edu.
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