---
title: "Commission on Mid-Term Endorsements: How to Check It — Lapidar"
url: https://getlapidar.com/guides/commission-on-mid-term-endorsements/
description: "How to check commission on a mid-term endorsement: additional vs return premium, pro-rata math, which rate applies, how it shows on statements, common errors."
last_modified: "2026-10-12"
source: getlapidar.com (HTML converted to Markdown at the edge)
---

Guide · 7 min read

# Commission on mid-term endorsements: how to check it

**Short answer.** A mid-term endorsement changes the premium for the rest of the term, and the commission moves with it: additional premium should bring extra commission, return premium a negative line. To check one, find the premium change the carrier actually charged (usually pro-rated for the days left in the term), apply the rate your agreement says applies to that endorsement, and compare the result with the line on the statement. Most errors are a missing line, a wrong rate, or the right line on a later statement than you looked at.

[Open an account — founding pilot](https://app.getlapidar.com/signup) [See a sample report](https://getlapidar.com/sample-report/)

Endorsement lines are small, so they are easy to skip.

By Lapidar, the team building it · October 12, 2026

## TL;DR

- The commission is on the _premium change the carrier charged_, not on the change to the annual premium.
- That change is usually pro-rated for the days left in the term; carriers and lines can differ.
- The rate is usually the rate of the term the endorsement belongs to, but your schedule and agreement decide.
- Look for the line by policy number and transaction date, across more than one statement.
- Common errors: endorsement never paid, paid at the new-business or a new schedule’s rate, or return premium taken back at a different rate than the original commission was paid at.

This guide is for checking the commission on a single mid-term change: a vehicle added, a location removed, a limit raised. It covers property and casualty business. If you are looking at a whole commission figure that moved and don’t yet know why, start with [why did my commission change?](https://getlapidar.com/guides/why-did-my-commission-change/); this guide picks up once you know an endorsement is involved. Premium audits work differently and have their own guide, [commission on premium audits](https://getlapidar.com/guides/commission-on-premium-audits/). Lapidar is a tool that checks commission statements line by line; it is in its founding pilot. Practice varies between carriers and states, and your agency agreement governs.

## What does a mid-term endorsement change?

The NAIC glossary defines an endorsement as “an amendment or rider to a policy adjusting the coverages and taking precedence over the general contract” ([NAIC](https://content.naic.org/glossary-insurance-terms)). When that adjustment changes the premium, the carrier charges **additional premium** or refunds [return premium](https://getlapidar.com/glossary/return-premium/) for the rest of the term, and commission follows the premium:

- **Additional premium**: a positive commission line on the premium change.
- **Return premium**: a negative line, commission taken back on the refunded premium.
- **No premium change**: usually no commission line at all.

The [endorsement](https://getlapidar.com/glossary/endorsement/) glossary entry has a short definition and examples.

## How is the premium on an endorsement worked out?

An endorsement effective mid-term usually only charges for the part of the term that is left. The common method is pro rata:

**premium change charged = change in annual premium × days remaining in the term ÷ days in the term**

So the first thing to check is not the commission but the premium on the line. If the carrier charged a pro-rated amount, commission on the full annual change is not what you are owed. Some carriers and some lines use other methods, minimum premiums or flat charges, so if the premium on the line doesn’t fit the pro-rata figure, look at the endorsement itself before you look at the commission. A cancellation is not an endorsement: the refund is worked out pro rata or short-rate, and commission comes back with it; see [pro-rata cancellation](https://getlapidar.com/glossary/pro-rata-cancellation/).

## Which commission rate applies to an endorsement?

Under many agreements, an endorsement is paid at the rate of the policy term it belongs to: an endorsement on a renewal term at the renewal rate, an endorsement on a new-business term at the new-business rate. Two situations need a closer look:

- **The schedule changed mid-term.** If a new [commission schedule](https://getlapidar.com/glossary/commission-schedule/) keys on the transaction date, an endorsement processed after the change can be paid at the new rate even though the term started under the old one. If it keys on the policy effective date, the old rate should apply. [When a carrier changes your commission rate](https://getlapidar.com/guides/carrier-commission-rate-change/) covers this transition.
- **Backdated endorsements.** An endorsement processed in March with an effective date in January may sit on a later statement, and which date drives the rate depends on your schedule. See [effective date vs transaction date](https://getlapidar.com/glossary/effective-date-vs-transaction-date/).

If the schedule says nothing about endorsements, ask the carrier which rate it applies and keep the answer.

## How do endorsements appear on a commission statement?

Usually as their own line on the same policy number, with a transaction code that differs by carrier (often something like END or CHG), a transaction or effective date, the premium change and the commission on it. A few things make them easy to miss:

- the line arrives one or more statements after the change was requested, especially if it was backdated;
- a statement nets the endorsement into a single figure for the policy, so there is no separate line to find;
- on direct-billed installment policies, some carriers pay the extra commission as each remaining installment is collected.

[How to read a carrier commission statement](https://getlapidar.com/guides/how-to-read-a-carrier-commission-statement/) walks through the columns.

## What does checking one look like?

Two endorsements on one policy · EX-52610Example data

**Add vehicle: +$600.00 annual, 219 of 365 days left = $360.00 at 12%**
$43.20

**Remove driver: −$240.00 annual, 73 of 365 days left = −$48.00 at 12%**
−$5.76

**Expected commission from the two endorsements**
$37.44

**Paid on the statement (vehicle line only, at 15%)**
$54.00

Invented figures, invented 12% renewal rate. The statement shows one line: $360.00 at 15%, the new-business rate on this invented schedule, and no line for the driver removal yet.

Two separate questions come out of this example. The vehicle line was paid at the wrong rate ($54.00 against $43.20); that is a discrepancy to raise. The driver removal has no line yet; that is not an error until a statement or two has passed, but it should be on a list to check, because when it arrives it will be negative.

## What are the common errors?

- **Endorsement never paid.** Processed in your system, no line on any statement.
- **Wrong rate.** Paid at the new-business rate on a renewal term, or at a new schedule’s rate when the schedule keys on effective date.
- **Commission on the full annual change** instead of the pro-rated premium actually charged, or a premium on the line that doesn’t match the pro-rated figure.
- **Return premium taken back at a higher rate** than the original commission was paid at, unless your agreement says return premium is charged back at the current rate (see [commission chargebacks explained](https://getlapidar.com/guides/commission-chargebacks-explained/)).
- **Duplicate lines** when an endorsement is reversed and reissued, with only one of the pair on the statement.
- **Commission on a zero-premium endorsement**, which usually needs a question.

Several of these on one carrier fit in one [commission discrepancy letter](https://getlapidar.com/guides/commission-discrepancy-letter/).

## Does agency bill or direct bill change this?

The commission arithmetic is the same. What changes is where it shows. On direct bill, the endorsement commission arrives on the carrier’s commission statement once the carrier has billed it (with many carriers, only once the insured has paid). On agency bill, you invoice the insured for the additional premium and keep the commission when you remit, so the check is whether the endorsement was invoiced at all and whether the carrier’s account current shows the same premium. See [direct bill vs agency bill commissions](https://getlapidar.com/guides/direct-bill-vs-agency-bill-commissions/).

## Where Lapidar fits

Lapidar is built to check each statement line, endorsements included, against the premium and rate you expect for that policy, and to flag lines that don’t fit or haven’t arrived. Deciding what to raise and talking to the carrier stay with you; Lapidar won’t contact your carriers. It is in its founding pilot, it has no customers yet, and we’ll say so until that changes.

## Frequently asked questions

### Do I get commission on an endorsement?

Usually, if the endorsement changes the premium. Additional premium normally earns commission and return premium normally takes some back. Your agency agreement and commission schedule decide the rate and any exceptions, so check them rather than assuming.

### Why is the endorsement commission smaller than I expected?

Most often because the premium was pro-rated for the days left in the term, so the commission is on a fraction of the annual change. Check the effective date of the endorsement and the premium the carrier actually charged before treating it as an underpayment.

### What rate applies to an endorsement after a rate change?

It depends on what your schedule keys on. Many schedules apply the rate of the policy term the endorsement belongs to, but some use the transaction date. Check the wording, and ask the carrier if the schedule is silent.

## Sources

1. NAIC, [Glossary of Insurance Terms](https://content.naic.org/glossary-insurance-terms), entry “Endorsement”. Retrieved October 12, 2026.

Lapidar is [commission reconciliation software for independent insurance agencies](https://getlapidar.com/), in its founding pilot. Related: [insurance commission calculator](https://getlapidar.com/tools/commission-calculator/) · [commission on premium audits](https://getlapidar.com/guides/commission-on-premium-audits/).

In this guide

1. [What an endorsement changes](https://getlapidar.com/guides/commission-on-mid-term-endorsements/#what-changes)
2. [The pro-rata arithmetic](https://getlapidar.com/guides/commission-on-mid-term-endorsements/#pro-rata)
3. [Which rate applies](https://getlapidar.com/guides/commission-on-mid-term-endorsements/#which-rate)
4. [How it shows on a statement](https://getlapidar.com/guides/commission-on-mid-term-endorsements/#on-statement)
5. [A worked example](https://getlapidar.com/guides/commission-on-mid-term-endorsements/#worked)
6. [Common errors](https://getlapidar.com/guides/commission-on-mid-term-endorsements/#errors)
7. [Agency bill vs direct bill](https://getlapidar.com/guides/commission-on-mid-term-endorsements/#agency-bill)
8. [Where Lapidar fits](https://getlapidar.com/guides/commission-on-mid-term-endorsements/#where-lapidar-fits)
9. [Frequently asked questions](https://getlapidar.com/guides/commission-on-mid-term-endorsements/#faq)
10. [Sources](https://getlapidar.com/guides/commission-on-mid-term-endorsements/#sources)

See how an endorsement line shows up next to the premium and rate you expected.

[See a sample report](https://getlapidar.com/sample-report/)

## Checking statements takes hours every month.

Every carrier formats its statements differently, and the lines rarely match your records on the first pass. Lapidar checks each statement line by line against your book and flags missing, underpaid and paid-twice commissions. See how an endorsement line shows up next to the premium and rate you expected. [See a sample report](https://getlapidar.com/sample-report/), or read [how the founding pilot works](https://getlapidar.com/pilot/).

[Open an account — founding pilot](https://app.getlapidar.com/signup)

[See a sample report](https://getlapidar.com/sample-report/)