About this tool

Insurance commission is paid on written premium rather than quota attainment, and first-year rates differ sharply from renewals. This calculator takes premium as the basis and lets you apply your agency split.

The formula

First-year commission = written premium × first-year rate × your agency split. Renewal commission = in-force premium × renewal rate, paid for as long as the policy stays on the books.

Worked example

An agent writing $120,000 of annual premium at a 12% first-year rate earns $14,400. If the book renews at 4%, that same premium pays $4,800 a year afterwards without new sales activity.

Benchmarks

Typical insurance commission rates
Metric	Typical range	Notes
Life insurance, first year	40–100% of premium	Front-loaded, with little or no renewal
Life insurance, renewal	2–5%	Years 2–10 on many products
P&C personal lines	8–15%	Paid on both new and renewal
P&C commercial lines	10–20%	Higher for specialty risks
Health, group	3–6% of premium	Often per-member-per-month instead

How it works

Enter written premium. The annual premium on the policies you wrote.
Set the first-year rate. Your commission percentage for new business.
Apply your agency split. Reduce your share when the agency retains part of the commission.
Read the result. The breakdown shows commissionable premium and total commission.

Insurance Commission Calculator