How do you reconcile insurance carrier commission statements?
Last reviewed 2026-07-01
Reconciling carrier commission statements means matching every policy you bound to the commission the carrier actually paid, then flagging anything missing, underpaid, or charged back in error. You compare two sources: your book of business from your AMS, and each carrier's commission statement, line by line.
- The two sources are your AMS book of business and each carrier's commission statement.
- Look for three leaks: commissions never paid, rates paid below contract, and wrong chargebacks.
- Renewal and contingency commissions are the most commonly missed.
- There is no reliable public benchmark for the leakage rate; only reconciling against your book reveals your number.
Why commission slips through
Every policy earns a commission, but across a dozen carriers, each with its own rates, schedules, and statement format, some of it is always wrong and some never shows up at all. At a small agency, no one's full-time job is auditing every line, so the errors accumulate quietly.
The two-way match, step by step
Pull the policies you bound in the period from your AMS. Match each to a line on the carrier's commission statement. Compare the rate paid to your contracted schedule. Flag anything missing or short, and document each gap against the policy and the statement so the claim stands on its own.
Where agencies lose the most
Renewal and contingency commissions that were never credited, rates paid at the wrong tier, chargebacks applied to policies that are still in force, and policies bound late in the period that never made the statement. These are the categories that recur.
Doing it without a spreadsheet
A done-for-you review reconciles your last three months against your book and hands back a documented number, with a claim ready for each carrier. You keep the findings whether or not you continue.
Common questions
What data do I need to reconcile commissions?
Your last few months of carrier commission statements and a book-of-business export from your AMS (Applied Epic, AMS360, EZLynx, HawkSoft, and the like). Read-only exports are enough.
Doesn't my AMS already reconcile commissions?
AMS platforms offer reconciliation features, but they rely on clean setup and someone actively working them. In practice, underpaid rates and missed renewals still slip through, which is what a fresh audit surfaces.
How far back can I claim underpaid commission?
It depends on your carrier contracts, but commissions you contractually earned are generally recoverable. Documenting each one against your book and the carrier's own statement makes the claim stand on its own.
See your own number, free
A free three-month review reconciles your real data and shows you exactly what is recoverable. You keep the findings.
Get your free 3-month review