Glossary · Insurance agency commissions
Line of business (LOB)
A line of business (LOB) is a category of insurance, such as personal auto, homeowners, workers’ compensation or general liability, that carriers and agencies use to group policies, set commission rates and report results.
What it means
Lines split first into personal and commercial, then narrow down: personal auto, homeowners and umbrella on one side; business owners policies, commercial auto, workers’ compensation and general liability on the other. Agencies also use the word for a slice of the book. The introduction to the Big “I” Book Roll Handbook says a book of business could encompass “a single line of business, such as auto or homeowners, or all lines of business with a specific carrier.”
Carrier commission schedules set rates by line, often split again into new and renewal business. So the line printed on a statement decides which rate applies.
How it shows on a commission statement
Statements show the line as a code or an abbreviation, and carriers and agency management systems code lines differently. One system files a business owners policy as BOP, another as commercial package; one treats a package as a single line, another splits it into property and liability parts. A mis-coded line gives you the wrong expected rate, or no match at all. A package split across lines can show up as two or more lines under one policy number, each at its own rate.
Example
| Source | Line coded as | Schedule rate | Premium | Commission |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carrier statement | BOP | 15% | 3,600.00 | 540.00 |
| Your AMS | Commercial package | 17.5% | 3,600.00 | 630.00 |
The carrier paid at its BOP rate; the AMS expected the commercial package rate. Before you raise $90.00, settle which line the policy belongs to under the schedule. If the AMS coding is wrong, it overstates what you are owed on every policy coded the same way.
Common mistakes to check
- Expected rates keyed to your AMS line codes when the carrier’s schedule uses its own.
- Checking a package policy against one rate when the carrier pays each part at its own.
- Mapping a carrier’s abbreviation to the wrong line once, then repeating the error on every statement.
- Comparing totals by line across carriers that group lines differently.
Sources
- Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America (Big “I”), Book Roll Handbook, public introduction; the full handbook is for members. Retrieved October 7, 2026.
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