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Consider the secant slopeThe moment-generating function is continuous on the interior of its finite domain and has right derivative $M^{\prime }(0)=\mu$. Thus $H(r)\to \mu$ as $r\downarrow 0$. For every fixed positive claim amount $x$, the function $(e^{rx}-1)/r$ is strictly increasing in $r>0$: its derivative has numerator $e^{rx}(rx-1)+1>0$, since this numerator starts at zero and has derivative $rx{e}^{rx}$ as a function of $rx$. Taking expected values preserves the strict inequality. Therefore $H$ is continuous and strictly increasing. Equivalently, the strictly convex transform $M$ has strictly increasing secant slopes from the origin.

If $r_{\infty }<\infty$, the assumed blow-up of $M$ gives $H(r)\to \infty$. If $r_{\infty }=\infty$, choose $a>0$ with $d=\mathbb{P}(X_1\ge a)>0$. Such an $a$ exists because the claims are positive. Then $M(r)\ge d{e}^{ar}$, so again $H(r)\to \infty$. This exponential lower bound is needed at an infinite endpoint: mere divergence of $M$ would not, by itself, establish divergence of $M(r)/r$.

The target $(1+\theta )\mu$ strictly exceeds the limiting slope $\mu$. The intermediate value theorem and strict monotonicity therefore giveMultiplying by $R$ gives the defining adjustment coefficient equation. The zero root of the undivided equation is excluded. This is the secant-slope existence criterion for an adjustment coefficient.