Agency bill versus direct bill

Definition

Whether the premium lands in the agency's trust account first, or the carrier bills the client.

Why It Matters

The split decides how much working capital the business needs and how much fiduciary risk comes with it. On direct bill the carrier collects and pays commission, which is simple and slow. On agency bill the premium lands in the agency's hands first, and Florida calls those funds trust funds received in a fiduciary capacity wherever they sit; a segregated account is compelled only for insurers the agency holds no appointment from. The consequence of a shortfall is heavier than the one sellers name. Losing appointments is a carrier's business decision. Florida's department has no discretion at all: it shall suspend or revoke the license for misappropriating money received under it, and diverting more than three hundred dollars is a felony, on a ladder reaching the first degree at a hundred thousand. Ask for the split by carrier, reconcile three months of it, and treat borrowing against it as a finding.