On the discounted penalty function in the renewal risk model with general interclaim times

The defective renewal equation satisfied by the Gerber-Shiu discounted penalty function in the renewal risk model with arbitrary interclaim times is analyzed. The ladder height distribution is shown to be a mixture of residual lifetime claim severity distributions, which results in an invariance property satisfied by a large class of claim amount models. The class of exponential claim size distributions is considered, and the Laplace transform of the (discounted) defective density of the surplus immediately prior to ruin is obtained. The mixed Erlang claim size class is also examined. The simplified defective renewal equation which results when the penalty function only involves the deficit is used to obtain moments of the discounted deficit.