Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge / 2014 / iii / Paper 31 / 1

Condition on the count and use the independence of random variables of the claim sizes. For $n\ge 1$ their joint exponential transform factors, while for $n=0$ the empty sum contributes $1$. Consequently the law of total expectation givesThis random sum of independent claims transform uses both independence assumptions: the count must be independent of the entire claim-size sequence, and the sizes must be mutually independent with the same probability distribution. The probability generating function is interpreted through its defining nonnegative series. The identity holds as a finite moment-generating function wherever that series is finite; outside that domain the expectation and series can agree at $+\infty$. In particular a positive argument may take $M_X(r)$ beyond $1$, so finiteness does not follow merely from the usual unit-disk domain of a probability generating function.

The moment-generating function of a mixture distribution is the mixture of its component transforms, soFor the aggregate, positivity of every claim implies $S=0$ exactly when $N=0$. ChooseIf $q>0$, take $\tilde{N}$ to have the zero-truncated claim-count distribution, namely the conditional law of $N$ given $N>0$. ThenChoose this count independently of a fresh independent claim-size sequence and put $Z={\sum }_{i=1}^{\tilde{N}}{X}_i$. Its probability distribution is that of $S$ conditional on being positive. Thus the hurdle decomposition of a positive random sum givesand an independent Bernoulli random variable $B$ of success probability $q$ realizes $S\stackrel{d}{=}BZ$. This establishes the distributional representation, including that $Z$ is itself a positive random sum of independent claims. If $p=1$, the aggregate is identically zero; set $q=0$ and choose any positive $Z$, for example one claim. Conditioning the count on positivity is then unnecessary and would be undefined.

For the specified geometric distribution on the nonnegative integers,An exponential distribution of expected value $\mu$ has transform $M_X(r)=(1-\mu r{)}^{-1}$. Substitution yieldsHence $Z$ is exponential with rate $1/(2\mu )$ and expected value $2\mu$. This is the geometric sum of exponential variables with a rescaling of the claim mean. Identification can also use the uniqueness theorem for Laplace transforms of nonnegative random variables by taking $r\le 0$.

The resulting distribution function isIts jump of size $1/2$ at zero is important: the aggregate law is not a purely continuous exponential distribution.