Glossary · Insurance agency commissions
Ivans Download (and Ivans Exchange)
Ivans Download is a service from Ivans that sends policy, claims and direct bill commission data from carriers and MGAs into an agency’s management system electronically, so staff don’t retype it. Ivans Exchange is the free companion tool agencies use to see and request those download connections.
What it means
When agents say a carrier “is on download,” this is usually the route they mean. Ivans’ product page says the service is there to “automate the exchange of claims and policy information between you and your carrier and MGA partners,” and lists, beside commercial and personal lines policies, the “Direct Bill Commission Statement (DBCS)” for automating “the commission process.”
How it works: each carrier decides what it sends and for which lines. The data passes through Ivans to your agency management system, which files it against clients and policies. To see what you have, there is Ivans Exchange, which Ivans calls “a complimentary online tool that lets you track current and new download connections”; through it you can “indicate to carriers your interest in new lines of download or quality issues.”
Ivans Download is a route, not a file format. Our guide to what an AL3 file is covers the format side.
How it shows on a commission statement
A download connection decides whether a carrier’s statement reaches your system as data or as a document someone has to open. It does not check the amounts: a short-paid line arrives by download just as neatly as a correct one, and a carrier that sends nothing looks the same as a quiet month.
What Lapidar reads. Lapidar does not read AL3 files or connect to Ivans or to your management system’s download. It reads the statement files carriers let you save: CSV, XLSX and PDF.
Example
- Carrier A
- Policy and commission download
- Carrier B
- Policy download only; statement as PDF
- Carrier C
- No download; statement as CSV from portal
- Statements needing a manual check
- 2 of 3
Commonly confused
- Ivans Download vs Ivans Exchange. Download moves the data; Exchange is where you see and request connections.
- Ivans Download vs AL3. AL3 is an ACORD data format; Ivans Download is a delivery service. See what an AL3 file is.
- Policy download vs commission download. Separate feeds; a carrier can send one without the other.
Common mistakes to check
- Assuming every carrier and every line is on download because some are.
- Treating a month with no downloaded statement as a month with no commission.
- Assuming a downloaded statement has been checked against your book.
Questions
What is Ivans Download?
A service that carries policy, claims and direct bill commission data from carriers and MGAs into an agency management system, so the agency doesn’t retype it.
What is Ivans Exchange?
A free online tool from Ivans that lets agencies track their current download connections and tell carriers which new lines they want to download or where data quality is poor.
Does Ivans Download include commission statements?
It can. Ivans lists the Direct Bill Commission Statement (DBCS) among what it carries, but each carrier decides whether it sends one.
Is Ivans Download the same as an AL3 file?
No. AL3 is an ACORD data format. Ivans Download is the service that delivers carrier data; its product page does not name the format.
Sources
- Ivans, Ivans Download product page. Retrieved October 13, 2026.
- Ivans, Ivans Exchange product page. Retrieved October 13, 2026.
Lapidar is commission reconciliation software for independent insurance agencies, in its founding pilot. Related: direct bill commission download.