Two numbers decide whether an insurance brokerage grows or shrinks: how many policies renew, and how much commission is actually collected from insurers. Both are easy to lose track of when the portfolio lives in spreadsheets. This article looks at how brokers in Lebanon handle renewals and commissions today, where the usual methods break, and how CeevTech Brokers does it.
The spreadsheet method
Most brokerages start with one sheet per insurer or one sheet per line (motor, medical, fire, travel). Each row is a policy with a start date, an end date, a premium and a client phone number. Renewals are found by sorting on the end date, usually once a week. Commissions are calculated at the end of the month from the insurer's statement.
It works for a small portfolio. It breaks in predictable ways:
- A policy entered in the wrong sheet is never renewed.
- The sort is done on Monday; a policy ending on Tuesday of the next week is remembered only if someone wrote it down.
- The sheet is on one computer. The broker who is at the client cannot see it.
- Commission is taken from the insurer's statement, so the brokerage never checks whether the statement is complete.
- When the exchange rate moves, old premium amounts in LBP are no longer comparable with new ones.
Renewals: what a system should do
A renewal is a date, a client and a policy. The system should know all three and do the reminding itself:
- Show, on the home screen, what is due in the next days, grouped by line.
- Send the brokerage a notification every morning with upcoming renewals.
- Send the client a reminder by SMS, so the first contact is already made before the broker calls.
- Record the outcome: renewed with the same insurer, moved to another insurer, or lost, so the renewal rate per line is visible.
CeevTech Brokers shows renewals due in the coming days on the home screen, sends a morning notification with renewals, payment reminders and tasks, and can send renewal and payment reminders to clients by SMS.
Commissions: reconcile, do not just copy
Commission tracking has two sides. The insurer side: for each insurance company, what was collected on its behalf, what was settled, and what commission is due. The client side: what each client paid, in which currency, and what is still open.
A brokerage that only copies the insurer's statement cannot catch a missing policy or a wrong commission rate. A system keeps its own account per insurer, so at month end the brokerage compares its figures with the insurer's statement and sees the difference line by line.
CeevTech Brokers keeps an account per insurance company with settlements and commissions, and keeps collections per client with receipts, open balances and statements. Reports show written premium by line of business and by insurer.
The currency problem
In Lebanon the same policy can be paid partly in USD and partly in LBP. A commission calculated on a premium recorded in LBP at today's rate will be wrong if the premium was collected at a different rate. The only safe approach is to freeze the exchange rate on each transaction, so every receipt and every settlement keeps the value it had on the day. CeevTech Brokers does exactly that.
Roles: who sees the commissions
Not everyone in the brokerage should see commission figures. Data entry staff need clients and policies; the owner needs the full picture. CeevTech Brokers has four roles: owner, manager, data entry and viewer, so each person sees what their role allows.
Moving from spreadsheets
The move is simpler than it looks. CeevTech sets up the brokerage's private workspace, adds the insurers and lines of business the brokerage works with, and helps the team bring the portfolio in. Once the policies are in, renewals and commissions start tracking themselves.
Frequently asked questions
How do I stop missing renewals?
Use a system that lists upcoming renewals on its home screen and sends a reminder every morning, instead of a weekly sort of a spreadsheet. CeevTech Brokers does this and can also remind clients by SMS.
How do I check an insurer's commission statement?
Keep your own account per insurer, with every policy, collection and settlement, and compare it with the insurer's statement at month end. A brokerage system makes this a report instead of a manual job.
Can commissions be tracked in both USD and LBP?
Yes, if the exchange rate is frozen on each transaction. CeevTech Brokers records receipts, settlements and commissions in USD or LBP and freezes the rate per transaction.
Does the software send SMS reminders in Lebanon?
CeevTech Brokers sends renewal and payment reminders by SMS to clients and a daily notification to the brokerage.
Want to see renewals and commissions for your own portfolio? See CeevTech Brokers or ask for a quote.