Inside Beecher Carlson - Fee Policy
Beecher Carlson
Summary of Beecher Carlson’s Compensation Policy
Beecher Carlson is compensated with commissions paid from insurance carriers, fees paid from clients and contingency or profit sharing income paid by insurance companies.When Beecher Carlson acts as a broker, which is typically our role when handling larger risk management accounts, we generally accept compensation paid to us from the client as a fee for our services. This fee is generally negotiated in advance of providing the services and is agreed to, generally in writing, with the client. For clients from which we receive a fee, unless otherwise disclosed, we do not accept compensation from insurance carriers in the form of additional commissions, profit sharing or contingency income.
When we act as an agent for an insurance company, which is typically our role when handling smaller accounts, we usually receive commissions. Commissions are generally calculated as a percentage of the premium paid to the insurer for the specific policy. The commission is paid to us by the insurer to design, implement and service the client’s insurance and risk management program. Our commission is included in the premium paid by the client to the insurance carrier. We may also receive additional compensation from insurance companies based on factors such as profitability, volume, retention, or other factors determined by our arrangement with the insurance companies or other intermediary. This income is Contingency Income or Profit Sharing Income as discussed below. When requested, we will disclose additional compensation when known specifically or as a reasonable approximation when we are not confident we can specify additional compensation for a particular placement. Because of the nature of many contingency agreements, the amount (or reasonable approximation) of such compensation is not determinable until the year following placement.
Contingency or Profit Sharing Income
In our agency business, we sometimes receive income through contingency or profit sharing arrangements with some of the insurance carriers. These payments are not guaranteed to be paid by the insurance carrier, and are often referred to as Contingency Commissions, Contingent Income or Profit Sharing Income. The revenues are contingent to Beecher Carlson because to receive the payment, minimum criteria involving the amount of premium placed with the carrier, the growth as measured year over year and the overall underwriting profitability must be achieved.Each insurance company has a different set of criteria associated with the requirements needed to receive contingency income. The amount of earned contingency income depends on the overall size and/or profitability of all of a group of accounts, as opposed to the placement or profitability of any particular insurance policy. All of the factors impacting the potential for contingency income are available to the Beecher Carlson clients by requesting the information from any of our Client Representatives.