On optimality of the barrier strategy for the classical risk model with interest

In this paper, we consider the optimal dividend problem for a classical risk model with a constant force of interest. For such a risk model, a sufficient condition under which a barrier strategy is the optimal strategy is presented for general claim distributions. When claim sizes are exponentially distributed, it is shown that the optimal dividend policy is a barrier strategy and the maximal dividend-value function is a concave function. Finally, some known results relating to the distribution of aggregate dividends before ruin are extended.