Glossary
Commission statement
A commission statement is the carrier's periodic report, usually monthly, of what it owes the agency on direct bill business. It lists each policy that generated commission that period: insured name, policy number, premium, commission rate, and the amount paid. Agencies reconcile it against their management system to confirm they got paid on every policy they placed.
Why it matters
On direct bill business the statement is how the agency actually gets paid, and statements are not always right. Policies go missing, rates get applied at the wrong percentage, and midterm cancellations show up as negative lines when the carrier claws back unearned commission. An agency that never reconciles is trusting every carrier's accounting on faith.
Reconciliation also keeps the book honest. If a policy is active in the AMS but never appears on a statement, something is wrong: the policy did not issue, it was recorded under the wrong carrier, or the commission went somewhere else.
How agencies handle them
Statements arrive as portal downloads, email attachments, or as data through IVANS, and the format varies by carrier. Someone in operations or bookkeeping matches each line to a policy in the management system and flags what does not tie out.
Base commission on the statement is separate from contingent or profit-sharing bonuses. Contingents are paid under a separate agreement, usually annually, based on the book's loss ratio and growth with that carrier.
Common questions
What is return commission?
When a policy cancels midterm, the carrier takes back the unearned portion of the commission it already paid. It appears as a negative line on a later statement, which is one reason reconciliation matters.
Are contingent bonuses on the commission statement?
Usually not. Contingents are separate profit-sharing agreements paid on the performance of the whole book with that carrier, typically once a year. The monthly statement covers base commission on individual policies.
Part of the Relay insurance operations glossary. Updated 2026-07-11. See how we source content.
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