Government funding for an insurance boffin has been secured by the City of London University Cass Business School.
Dr Enrico Biffsis will join the school in September as an Academic Fellow specialising in insurance economics.
He will initially work with the ABI before moving on to Lloyd's.
Biffsis , who is Italian, has been taken on as part of the Research Council's Academic Fellowship scheme, which aims to provide contract researchers with a more attractive and stable path into academia.
The fellowship provides funds of £25,000 a year for five years. The funds can also be boosted by a top-up salary.
Professor Richard Verrall, head of the faculty for actuarial sciences and statistics at Cass, said: "[Dr Biffsis] will be out there in the real world.
"We want insurers to see the benefits academics can bring to the industry - it needs to attract more high flyers."
Biffsis holds a PhD and obtained his MSc at Cass.
Cass linked up with the CII in June 2004 to form the Insurance University.
The aim of the joint venture was to create an international insurance centre of excellence as well as the provision of education and post-graduate qualifications in insurance.
Hosted by comedian and actor Tom Allen, 34 Gold, 23 Silver and 22 Bronze awards were handed out across an amazing 34 categories recognising brilliance and innovation right across the breadth of UK general insurance.
