Have you seen the J.G. Wentworth commercial, “It’s My Money and I Need it Now?” It reminds me of all the discussions that I have had with agents about commissions. It’s your money, don’t you want it?
You can only receive a commission if your policies are entered into the management system. Every month you should be receiving an Outstanding Commission Report, this report will show you any policies NOT entered into the system, it shows 6 months’ worth of policies. The report also displays the agency name next to each policy, so there’s is NO GUESSING required. It’s your money, don’t you want to get paid? Get those policies entered by emailing outstanding@asnoa.com with the name, and policy number. Don’t have delayed commissions because you forgot to enter the policy. If you forgot how to enter policies, utilize all the resources from the Education Department. Quick and easiest, go to ASNOA Training YouTube, click the playlist, Epic Policies. There should be no reason why a policy hasn’t been entered over 30 days. Seriously, I’ve heard all the excuses, and the bottom line is it’s your responsibility as an agency owner to enter the policies.
It’s your money, but do you know how much? Understanding insurance carrier commissions are vital to your business. One of the first things I do when talking with insurance carrier reps is ask, what are you paying for commission, for what lines, any bonuses, and are there any free marketing material available? I’m surprised when talking with agents that tell me they have no idea what the carrier is paying for commission. It blows my mind. How can you issue business with a carrier if you don’t know their commission schedule? I personally would rather issue a piece of business that offers the same premium and coverages but with a higher commission. If you think I’m crazy, then ask yourself “Am I in business to make money?” The answer should hopefully be an outstanding “YES!”
Let’s talk about how you can find the carrier commission schedules. Talk with your carrier reps. They are the go-to for questions regarding anything you need for their company. It’s important to get to know them by name and email. Utilize them as a resource. Trust me, they want to know you too because they want you to issue business with them – that’s how they make their money.
Someone once told me that they rely on the commission percentages that are entered into the management system. At that point, it’s too late. You need to know the carrier commission schedule during the quoting process before you make the decision to place business.
Take special note that it does take anywhere from 45-90 days to receive a commission from carriers. It’s not an overnight process.
Thinking about all the time that is spent working with clients, getting all the necessary data to give them an accurate quote, takes patience and persistence. This process could be one hour or weeks depending on your client and the business being quoted. I’ve heard an agent mention working on a big commercial account and the client had all the necessary data, loss run, and dec pages, and another agent complaining it took him a week just to get a driver’s license number from a client to quote a personal lines auto policy. No matter how long it takes to quote and issue business, it’s always safe to say the commission will be coming. The hard work will pay off.
It’s kind of a simple process, know what you’re getting paid from the carriers, enter your policies into the management system and accounting will pay you commission and repeat.