In this paper, we consider the problem of the severity of ruin for a compou
nd Poisson model with a constant interest rate. By using the techniques of
Sundt and Teugels [Ins.: Math. Econ. 16 (1995) 7], equations satisfied by t
he distributions of surplus immediately after ruin have been obtained. Some
special cases are also discussed. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V All rights
reserved.