In the ratemaking for general insurance, calculation of the pure premium has traditionally been based on modeling frequency and severity separately. It has also been a standard practice to assume, for simplicity, the independence of loss frequency and loss severity. However, in recent years, there is a sporadic interest in the actuarial literature and practice to explore models that depart from this independence assumption. Besides, because of the short-term nature of many lines of general insurance, the availability of data enables us to explore the benefits of using random effects for predicting insurance claims observed longitudinally, or over a period of time. This thesis advances work related to the modeling of compound risks via random effects. First, we examine procedures for testing random effects using Bayesian sensitivity analysis via Bregman divergence. It enables insurance companies to judge whether to use random effects for their ratemaking model or not based on observed data. Second, we extend previous work on the credibility premium of compound sum by incorporating possible dependence as a unified formula. In this work, an informative dependence measure between the frequency and severity components is introduced which can capture both the direction and strength of possible dependence. Third, credibility premium with GB2 copulas are explored so that one can have a succint closed form of the credibility premium with GB2 marginals and explicit approximation of credibility premium with non-GB2 marginals. Finally, we extend microlevel collective risk model into multi-year case using the shared random effect. Such framework includes many previous dependence models as special cases and a specific example is provided with elliptical copulas. We develop the theoretical framework associated with each work, calibrate each model with empirical data and evaluate model performance with out-of-sample validation measures and procedures.

In ratemaking, calculation of a pure premium has traditionally been based on modeling frequency and severity in an aggregated claims model. For simplicity, it has been a standard practice to assume the independence of loss frequency and loss severity. In recent years, there is sporadic interest in the actuarial literature exploring models that departs from this independence. In this article, we extend the work of Garrido et al. (2016) which uses generalized linear models (GLMs) that account for dependence between frequency and severity and simultaneously incorporate rating factors to capture policyholder heterogeneity. In addition, we quantify and explain the contribution of the variability of claims among policyholders through the use of random effects using generalized linear mixed models (GLMMs). We calibrated our model using a portfolio of auto insurance contracts from a Singapore insurer where we observed claim counts and amounts from policyholders for a period of six years. We compared our results with the dependent GLM considered by Garrido et al. (2016), Tweedie models, and the case of independence. The dependent GLMM shows statistical evidence of positive dependence between frequency and severity. Using validation procedures, we find that the results demonstrate a more superior model when random effects are considered within a GLMM framework.

Random effects models are of particular importance in modeling heterogeneity. A commonly used random effects model for multivariate survival analysis is the frailty model. In this thesis, a special frailty model with an Archimedean dependence structure is used to model dependent risks. This modeling approach allows the construction of multivariate distributions through a copula with univariate marginal distributions as parameters. Copulas are constructed by modeling distribution functions and survival functions, respectively. Measures of the dependence are applied for the copula model selections. Tail-based risk measures for the functions of two dependent variables are investigated for particular interest. The statistical application of the copula modeling approach to an insurance data set is discussed where losses and loss adjustment expenses data are used. Insurance applications based on the fitted model are illustrated.

In ruin theory, the surplus process of an insurance company is usually modeled by the classical compound Poisson risk model or its general version, the Sparre-Andersen risk model. Under these models, the claim amounts and the inter-claim times are assumed to be independently distributed, which is not always appropriate in practice. In recent years, risk models relaxing the independence assumption have drawn increasing attention. However, previous research mostly considers the so call dependent Sparre-Andersen risk model under which the pairs of random variables consisting of the inter-claim time and the next claim amount remain independent of each other. In this thesis, we aim to examine the opposite case. Namely, the distribution of the time until the next claim depends on the size of the previous claim amount. Explicit solutions for the Gerber-Shiu function are provided for arbitrary claim sizes and various ruin-related quantities are obtained as special cases. Numerical examples are also presented. The dependent insurance risk process is further generalized to a perturbed version to incorporate small fluctuations of the underlying surplus process. Explicit solutions for the Gerber-Shiu funtion are deduced along with applications and examples. Lastly, we introduce a perturbed dependence structure into the dual risk model and study the ruin time problem. Exact solutions for the Laplace transform and the first moment of the time to ruin with an arbitrary gain-size distribution are obtained. Applications with numerical examples are provided to illustrate the impact of the dependence structure and the perturbation.

The increasing complexity of insurance and reinsurance products has seen a growing interest amongst actuaries in the modelling of dependent risks. For efficient risk management, actuaries need to be able to answer fundamental questions such as: Is the correlation structure dangerous? And, if yes, to what extent? Therefore tools to quantify, compare, and model the strength of dependence between different risks are vital. Combining coverage of stochastic order and risk measure theories with the basics of risk management and stochastic dependence, this book provides an essential guide to managing modern financial risk. * Describes how to model risks in incomplete markets, emphasising insurance risks. * Explains how to measure and compare the danger of risks, model their interactions, and measure the strength of their association. * Examines the type of dependence induced by GLM-based credibility models, the bounds on functions of dependent risks, and probabilistic distances between actuarial models. * Detailed presentation of risk measures, stochastic orderings, copula models, dependence concepts and dependence orderings. * Includes numerous exercises allowing a cementing of the concepts by all levels of readers. * Solutions to tasks as well as further examples and exercises can be found on a supporting website. An invaluable reference for both academics and practitioners alike, Actuarial Theory for Dependent Risks will appeal to all those eager to master the up-to-date modelling tools for dependent risks. The inclusion of exercises and practical examples makes the book suitable for advanced courses on risk management in incomplete markets. Traders looking for practical advice on insurance markets will also find much of interest.

In actuarial science, collective risk models, in which the aggregate claim amount of a portfolio is defined in terms of random sums, play a crucial role. In these models, it is common to assume that the number of claims and their amounts are independent, even if this might not always be the case. We consider collective risk models with different dependence structures. Due to the importance of such distributions in an actuarial setting, we first investigate a collective risk model with dependence involving the family of multivariate mixed Erlang distributions. Other models based on mixtures involving bivariate and multivariate copulas in a more general setting are then presented. These different structures allow to link the number of claims to each claim amount, and to quantify the aggregate claim loss. Then, we use Archimedean and hierarchical Archimedean copulas in collective risk models, to model the dependence between the claim number random variable and the claim amount random variables involved in the random sum. Such dependence structures allow us to derive a computational methodology for the assessment of the aggregate claim amount. While being very flexible, this methodology is easy to implement, and can easily fit more complicated hierarchical structures.

The concept of frailty offers a convenient way to introduce unobserved heterogeneity and associations into models for survival data. In its simplest form, frailty is an unobserved random proportionality factor that modifies the hazard function of an individual or a group of related individuals. Frailty Models in Survival Analysis presents a comprehensive overview of the fundamental approaches in the area of frailty models. The book extensively explores how univariate frailty models can represent unobserved heterogeneity. It also emphasizes correlated frailty models as extensions of univariate and shared frailty models. The author analyzes similarities and differences between frailty and copula models; discusses problems related to frailty models, such as tests for homogeneity; and describes parametric and semiparametric models using both frequentist and Bayesian approaches. He also shows how to apply the models to real data using the statistical packages of R, SAS, and Stata. The appendix provides the technical mathematical results used throughout. Written in nontechnical terms accessible to nonspecialists, this book explains the basic ideas in frailty modeling and statistical techniques, with a focus on real-world data application and interpretation of the results. By applying several models to the same data, it allows for the comparison of their advantages and limitations under varying model assumptions. The book also employs simulations to analyze the finite sample size performance of the models.