In any given year, a male automobile policyholder will make a claim with probability pm and a female policyholder will make a claim with probability pf, where pf pm. The fraction of the policyholders that are male is α, 0 <α< 1. A policyholder is randomly chosen. If Ai denotes the event that this policyholder will make a claim in year i, show that P(A2|A1) > P(A1)

Give an intuitive explanation of why the preceding inequality is true.

Short Answer

Expert verified

Probabilities are weighted averages of pm and pf. Starting weights are αand1-α.If a accident occur there is more probability for category with high risk of accidents.

Step by step solution

01

Given information 

Events

M = A male automobile policyholder

F = A Female automobile policyholder

Ai = A person participate in an accident in an i -th year

The percentage of male is given

P(M) = α

Hence the percentage of female is

P(F) =(1 - α)

Men and women have different Probabilities

pm = probability for the female policyholder

pm = P(role="math" localid="1646394713725" AiM)

pf= P(AiF)

For every i

02

Solution

pmαP(A1)>αpmαP(A1)=α+forIntuitively we can say that probability of an accident for a person is somewhere between the probabilities for male and female. It is an average of being pm and pf which is the probability that a person is male or female.

If an accident occurs, men are more likely to have accidents than women .there is more chance in the category with a higher risk of accidents so the probability that another accident happens is greater.

Formaly

Conditioning on M and F gives firstly

P(A1) =PA1FP(F) + PA1MP(M)

P(A1) = Pf . (1 - α)

For Plocalid="1646415690917" A2A1also condition on F and M:

Plocalid="1646415702142" A2A1= P(A2.A1)P(A1)=

localid="1646415716744" PA2A1MP(M)+PA2A1FP(F)P(A1)

Since A1 and A2 are conditionally independent given the condition F or M

P(localid="1646415741605" A2A1) = localid="1646415756577" PA2MPA1MP(M)+PA2FPA1FP(F)P(A1)

Plocalid="1646415781783" A2A1=p2mα+p2f(1-α)P(A1)+

P localid="1646415798376" A2A1 = pmpmαP(A1) +pf pf.(1-α)P(A1)

without loosing abstraction pm> pf ,

pmP(A1)>1

Because

pm>pf.(1-α)+pm.α

pmlocalid="1646402594084" (1-α)>pf(1-α)fromthatpmαP(A1)>αpmαP(A1)=α+forsome>0and

pf.(1-α)P(A1)=1-pmαP(A1)pm(1-α)P(A1)=1-α-So

localid="1646415846120" PA2A1-P(A)=pm(α+)+pf(1-α-)-pmα-pf(1-α)=pm+pf(-)=(pm-pf)

since we assumed firstly that pm>pf

so >0

hence plocalid="1646415830743" A2A1 - P(A1)>0

Or Plocalid="1646415814589" A2A1 > P(A1)

This concludes the proof.

03

conclusion

both probabilities are weighted averages of pm and pf . If an accident occurs The person mostly included in the category with higher risk of accidents.

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