How do you read a carrier commission statement?
Last reviewed 2026-07-01
A carrier commission statement lists the policies the carrier paid you on, the premium each was based on, the commission rate applied, and the amount paid. To read it for errors, match each line to a policy in your book, check the rate against your contract, and look for policies that are missing entirely.
- Key columns: policy or account, premium base, commission rate, amount paid, and transaction type.
- Direct-bill and agency-bill commissions appear differently and are easy to double-count or miss.
- Chargebacks show as negative lines; confirm they apply to cancelled policies only.
- The statement will not tell you what is missing; only your book of business will.
What each column means
You will typically see a policy or account identifier, the premium the commission was calculated on, the rate or tier applied, the amount paid, and a transaction type (new business, renewal, endorsement, or chargeback). Gross and net columns can differ when fees are withheld.
Reading it for errors
Match each line to a policy in your book, recompute rate times premium to check the math, and flag any rate that sits below your contracted schedule. Treat every negative or chargeback line as a question: does it map to a real cancellation?
What the statement hides
The statement can only show what the carrier paid. Policies you bound that never appear, and renewals that should have earned commission but did not, are invisible until you compare the statement to your AMS.
Common questions
Why do direct-bill and agency-bill commissions look different?
Direct bill means the carrier collects premium and pays you commission on a statement; agency bill means you collect premium and net your commission. Mixing them up is a common source of double-counting or missed commission.
What is a commission chargeback?
A reversal of commission when a policy cancels or is endorsed down. It is legitimate for real cancellations, but chargebacks sometimes hit policies still in force, which is recoverable.
How do I know if a commission is missing?
You cannot tell from the statement alone. Compare it to the policies you actually bound in your AMS. Anything bound with no matching commission line is a flag.
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