Commission statement abbreviations and transaction codes

How to use it

Copy the header row from a carrier’s CSV or spreadsheet, or type the codes you see in the transaction column, and paste them above. Terms the decoder recognizes are highlighted with a plain-English meaning and how they usually affect commission. Anything it doesn’t recognize is listed too, so you know what to ask the carrier about.

Codes vary by carrier. There is no single set of abbreviations every carrier prints on a commission statement. The meanings below are the common, general ones; your carrier’s statement legend, or its agency support team, is the authority for its own codes. If a code here seems to mean something else on your statement, trust the statement.

Reference: common abbreviations

Listed by the code you’re most likely to see, with common variants. “Commission” describes the usual effect; your agency agreement and commission schedule decide the actual rate.

Transaction codes

NB / NEW New business

The first term of a policy newly written through your agency, as opposed to a renewal. A change of agent of record may be coded differently.

Commission: Usually paid at the new-business rate in your agreement or commission schedule, which can differ from the renewal rate. Glossary: new business

Also: NBS, NEW BUS, NEW BUSINESS, N/B

RN / REN / RNW Renewal

A policy renewing for a further term with the same carrier.

Commission: Usually paid at the renewal rate, which may be lower than new business. If a renewal you expected isn’t on the statement, it’s worth asking about. Glossary: renewal

Also: RENEWAL, RENEW, RWL

REW / RWR Rewrite

A policy cancelled and replaced by a new policy, often with the same carrier, for example to change the form or program.

Commission: Whether a rewrite pays at the new-business or the renewal rate depends on the agreement; the old policy may also show a cancellation and chargeback. Glossary: rewrite

Also: REWRITE, RE-WRITE, REWRITTEN

END / ENDT / ENDO Endorsement (policy change)

A mid-term change to the policy: a vehicle, a location, a limit, a driver.

Commission: Additional premium usually earns commission; a premium decrease usually brings a negative line taking part of the commission back. Glossary: endorsement

Also: ENDORSEMENT, POL CHG

CXL / CAN / CANC Cancellation

The policy ended before its expiration date. It may be flat (from inception), pro rata or short rate.

Commission: Usually a negative line: the carrier takes back commission on the unearned premium it returns. How much depends on the method and your agreement. Glossary: cancellation

Also: CNL, CNCL, CANCEL, CANCELLATION, CANCELLED, CANCELED, XLN

REI / RNST Reinstatement

A cancelled policy put back in force, often after a late payment.

Commission: Commission taken back at cancellation may be paid again, wholly or partly. Check that a chargeback and its reversal both appear. Glossary: reinstatement

Also: REINST, REINSTATE, REINSTATED

AUD Premium audit

An adjustment after the carrier audits actual exposure (payroll, sales) on an auditable policy, common in workers’ compensation and general liability.

Commission: Additional audit premium may earn commission and return premium may bring a chargeback; some agreements pay audits at a different rate or not at all. Glossary: premium audit

Also: AUDIT, PREM AUDIT, AUDIT PREM

RP Return premium

Premium the carrier gives back to the insured after a cancellation, endorsement or audit.

Commission: Usually paired with commission taken back at the rate the original premium was paid on. Glossary: return premium

Also: RET PREM, RETURN PREM

AP Additional premium

Extra premium charged mid-term, from an endorsement or audit.

Commission: Usually earns commission at the rate that applies to the transaction. AP is also used for other things (accounts payable, for one), so read it in context.

Also: ADD PREM, ADDL PREM

ADJ Adjustment

A correction that doesn’t fit another code: a rate fix, a reversal of an earlier line, a manual credit or debit.

Commission: Can go either way. Ask the carrier what it corrects if the line has no policy number or explanation.

Also: ADJUST, ADJUSTMENT, ADJMT, MISC ADJ

CHG BK / CHGBK Chargeback

Commission the carrier takes back, usually after a cancellation or premium decrease.

Commission: A negative amount netted against the statement. Check it against the cancellation date and the commission originally paid. Glossary: chargeback

Also: CB, CHARGEBACK, CHARGE BACK, CHG BACK

Column headers

PRM / PREM / PREMIUM Premium

The premium the commission line is calculated on, for this transaction rather than always the full annual premium.

Commission: Commission is normally premium × rate. Check whether it is written or earned, and gross or net of fees and taxes. Glossary: premium

Also: WRITTEN PREM, WP, TRANS PREM, BASIS PREM

COMM / COMM AMT Commission amount

The commission paid, or taken back if negative, on that line.

Commission: This is the figure to check. Negatives may be printed with a minus, in parentheses, or in a separate debit column. Glossary: commission amount

Also: COMMISSION, COM, COM AMT

COMM% / COMM RATE Commission rate

The percentage of premium applied on that line.

Commission: Compare it with the rate in your agreement or schedule for that line of business and transaction type. Some statements omit it, leaving you to divide. Glossary: commission rate

Also: COMM %, COMM PCT, COM%, COM %, COMMISSION %, COMM PERCENT

EFF DT / EFF DATE Effective date

The date the policy term or the transaction takes effect.

Commission: Decides which term and which rate apply, and for a cancellation how much premium was unearned. Glossary: effective date

Also: EFF, EFFECTIVE, EFF DTE, TRANS EFF

TRANS DT / TRANS DATE Transaction (processed) date

When the carrier processed the transaction, which can be weeks after the effective date.

Commission: Usually decides which month’s statement the line lands on, so an older effective date on this month’s statement is normal. Glossary: transaction

Also: TRAN DT, TRAN DATE, TRN DT, PROC DT, PROCESS DATE, ENTRY DATE

EXP DT / EXP DATE Expiration date

The end of the policy term.

Commission: Together with the effective date it tells you which term the line belongs to.

Also: EXPIRATION, EXPIRY, EXP DTE

TRANS TYPE / TRANS CD Transaction type

The column holding codes such as NB, RN, END or CXL.

Commission: Often affects which rate in your agreement applies to the line, which is why the codes on this page matter.

Also: TRAN TYPE, TRN TYPE, TRANS CODE, TXN TYPE

LOB Line of business

The kind of insurance: personal auto, homeowners, workers’ compensation, general liability and so on.

Commission: Rates usually differ by line, so a line coded to the wrong LOB can be paid at the wrong rate. Glossary: line of business

Also: LINE OF BUS, COVERAGE, COV, PRODUCT

AGT CODE / PROD CODE Agency or producer code

The code the carrier uses for your agency, a location or a producer.

Commission: Business under the wrong code can be paid to another location or not reach you; producer codes also drive producer splits. Glossary: agency or producer code

Also: AGT, AGENT CODE, AGENT NO, AGT NO, AGENCY CODE, PRODUCER, SUB CODE, SUBPRODUCER

POL NO / POLICY # Policy number

The policy the line refers to; the key for matching the statement to your book.

Commission: No direct effect, but formats differ (prefixes, term suffixes, dashes), which is why lines fail to match.

Also: POL #, POL NUM, POLICY NO, POLICY, POL

INSURED Insured name

The policyholder, often truncated or reordered.

Commission: No direct effect; a fallback when policy numbers don’t match.

Also: INSURED NAME, CLIENT, CUSTOMER

NET Net

Depends on the statement: commission after chargebacks and adjustments, the amount due between you and the carrier, or premium net of commission on agency-bill business.

Commission: Read the column next to it. On agency bill, net premium is what you owe the carrier after keeping your commission. Glossary: net

Also: NET COMM, NET DUE, NET AMT, NET AMOUNT, NET PAID, NET PREM

GROSS Gross

Before deductions: full premium before commission is taken out, or commission before chargebacks.

Commission: Check which one the column means before comparing it with your system. Glossary: gross

Also: GROSS PREM, GROSS COMM, GROSS AMT, GROSS AMOUNT

DB Direct bill

The carrier bills and collects from the insured and pays you commission on a statement.

Commission: Commission usually follows the carrier’s collection, so an unpaid installment can delay or reverse it. Glossary: direct bill

Also: DIRECT BILL, DIR BILL

AB Agency bill

Your agency bills and collects premium, keeps its commission and remits the net to the carrier.

Commission: Commission is retained at collection rather than paid on a statement; the carrier sends an account current to settle. Glossary: agency bill

Also: AGENCY BILL, AGY BILL

PIF PIF (paid in full, or policies in force)

Two common meanings: paid in full (the insured paid the whole premium up front, a billing term) or policies in force (a count, on production reports).

Commission: Which meaning applies changes how you read the column. Check the statement legend or ask the carrier. Glossary: pif

Also: PAID IN FULL, IN FORCE

INST / INSTL Installment

One payment of a premium billed in installments.

Commission: On direct bill, some carriers pay commission as each installment is collected rather than on the whole term. Glossary: installment

Also: INSTALLMENT, INSTALL, INSTALMENT, INST NO, PMT NO

FEE Fee

A policy, service or installment fee charged alongside premium.

Commission: Fees usually don’t earn commission. Check they are kept out of the premium the commission is calculated on. Glossary: fee

Also: FEES, POLICY FEE, POL FEE, SVC FEE

YTD Year to date

A running total since the start of the year.

Commission: Not this statement’s amount; don’t add it to the period figures.

Also: YEAR TO DATE, YTD COMM, YTD PREM

What about AL3 transaction codes?

Carrier downloads in ACORD’s AL3 format use their own coded fields, defined in ACORD’s documentation, which we couldn’t find published openly. We don’t reproduce AL3 codes here because we can’t point you to a public source for them. Our guide to AL3 files explains what a download is and what it can’t tell you.

After decoding

Knowing what a line is helps you find which rate in your agreement or schedule should apply; it doesn’t tell you whether the carrier paid it. That takes matching each line to the policy in your book, which is what reading a carrier commission statement leads up to. For individual lines you can check by hand, the commission calculator and the chargeback calculator do the arithmetic.

General information about common usage, not a carrier’s official code list, and not accounting or legal advice.

Questions

What does NB mean on a commission statement?

Usually new business: the first term of a policy written through your agency. It is often paid at a different rate than renewals (RN or REN).

What do END and CXL mean?

END is usually an endorsement, a mid-term change to the policy. CXL or CAN is usually a cancellation, which typically shows as a negative line taking back commission on the returned premium.

Why is there a negative amount next to a cancellation?

When a policy cancels mid-term the carrier returns unearned premium and normally takes back the commission it paid on that premium, a chargeback. The amount depends on the cancellation method and your agreement.

Are these codes the same for every carrier?

No. Abbreviations vary by carrier and sometimes between a carrier’s own statements. The meanings here are common usage; the carrier’s statement legend or agency support team is the authority for its codes.

Does the decoder upload what I paste?

No. Matching runs in your browser. Nothing is sent, saved or tracked. Paste column headers and codes rather than client information.

Can it check whether my commission is right?

No. It explains labels only and does not read amounts or compare a statement with your book.