Glossary · Insurance agency commissions
Insurance aggregator (cluster)
An insurance aggregator, often called a cluster or agency network, is an organization through which independent agencies get access to carriers and pool their volume, usually in exchange for a share of commission or a fee.
What it means
Aggregators let smaller or newer agencies write with carriers whose volume requirements they couldn’t meet alone. Arrangements differ a great deal: some keep a percentage of commission, some charge fees, some share overrides or contingent pay with members, and terms on who owns the book if an agency leaves vary by contract.
An aggregator is different from a comparison website that sells leads to consumers, which the word also describes in other markets.
How it shows on a commission statement
Business placed through an aggregator is usually paid on the aggregator’s statement, already net of its share, rather than by the carrier directly. Checking it is a two-step job: the carrier’s rate on the policy, then the aggregator’s share.
Example
- Premium
- $2,000.00
- Carrier commission at 15%
- $300.00
- Cluster share, 20% of commission
- −$60.00
- Paid to agency
- $240.00
Common mistakes to check
- Checking only the aggregator’s number, without the carrier’s rate behind it.
- The share applied to premium instead of commission, or the reverse.
- Not knowing whether your volume counts toward contingent pay, and whose.
- Unclear terms on book ownership if you leave the network.