Ceding Commission: Definition & Example (2024)

Updated: February 6, 2023

There are a variety of commissions related to the Agreements dealt with in the insurance and reinsurance industry.

The “Ceding Commission” is one such example. It is a payment made by the Reinsurer to the Ceding Company to help to cover either some or all of its purchase, administrative, underwriting, and other costs. A proportion of the reinsurance premium is typically used to represent the ceding commission.

Read on as we take a closer look at the ceding commission, and lay out the formula you’ll need to calculate it.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

  • A ceding commission is a fee that a reinsurance coverage company pays to a ceding company.
  • This is for underwriting, business acquisition expenses, and administrative costs.
  • Reinsurers collect premium payments from policyholders. They then give a portion to a ceding company, along with a ceding commission.

What Is a Ceding Commission

A ceding commission is a fee that is paid by a reinsurance firm to a ceding company to help with overhead expenses, legal expenses, underwriting, and business acquisition costs. The ceding business uses the commission to offset loss reserve premium money.

By delegating portions of their insurance policies to other, typically smaller organizations, licensed insurers can spread the risk in excess of insuring policies. To lower the types of risks on their books and free up capital for new contracts, large firms will engage in a form of reinsurance agreement.

Ceding Commission: Definition & Example (1)

Ceding Commission Formula

Insurance firms use the combined ratio to make choices and determine profitability. This number is the sum of all losses and costs to insure a policy divided by the money collected in premiums. This ratio assists a business in determining the profitability of a given reinsurance agreement. General overhead, brokerage fees, ceding commissions, and other expenditures are included in the expenses.

The formula used for calculating ceding commission can be shown as follows:

Ceding Commission: Definition & Example (2)

Calculation of a Ceding Commission

Ceding commissions, which are a component of the reinsurance agreement, are typically expressed as percentages. The contract will also specify the dates that the agreement will be able to renew or change. By collecting commission, the ceding insurer is able to partially offset the expense of underwriting the policy. Additionally, the ceding commission aids in making up for lost premium money that the ceding business would have kept in reserve in case it was necessary to pay a claim.

Reinsurance agreements could also use a sliding scale tied to the actual loss events to determine the ceding commission. Usually, there is a maximum and minimum commission rate included in this arrangement. As the loss ratio rises, the sliding commission fee will also rise.

Ceding Commission: Definition & Example (3)

Example of a Ceding Commission

An example of a ceding commission is if a ceding insurer retains 70% of the risk and reinsurance premium while ceding 30% away.

The insurer can also use a quota share arrangement. With this approach, the reinsurer consents to take on a predetermined portion of any potential claims loss before the ceding firm is held accountable.

Summary

A ceding commission is a fee that a reinsurance firm pays to a ceding company to help with overhead expenses, legal expenses, underwriting, and business acquisition costs. A portion of the reinsurance premium is used to represent the ceding commission.The ceding company uses the commission to offset loss reserve premium money.

Ceding Commission: Definition & Example (4)

FAQs on Ceding Commissions

What Is a Ceding Allowance?

A ceding allowance is an amount paid by the reinsurance company to the ceding company to help with reinsurance cover costs.

What Are Override Fees?

Override fees are a commission paid on the sales that somebody else has made.

What Is a Provisional Commission?

A provisional commission is the mid-point of the Mix and Max rates of a commission.

Ceding Commission: Definition & Example (2024)

FAQs

Ceding Commission: Definition & Example? ›

A ceding commission is a fee that is paid by a reinsurance firm to a ceding company to help with overhead expenses, legal expenses, underwriting, and business acquisition costs. The ceding business uses the commission to offset loss reserve premium money.

What are ceding commissions? ›

A ceding commission is a fee a reinsurance company pays to a ceding company for administrative, underwriting, and business acquisition expenses. Reinsurers collect premium payments from policyholders and give a portion to a ceding company, along with a ceding commission.

What is an example of ceding? ›

Cede is often a formal term used in discussing territory and rights, but is also used less formally. So, for example, Spain ceded Puerto Rico to the U.S. in 1898, following the Spanish-American War, and the U.S. ceded control of the Panama Canal to Panama in 1999.

What is a ceding company in simple terms? ›

Key Takeaways

A ceding company is an insurance company that passes a portion or all of the risk associated with an insurance policy to another insurer. Ceding is helpful to insurance companies since the ceding company that passes the risk can hedge against undesired exposure to losses.

What is the ceded commission income? ›

Ceding commission is the remuneration paid to the ceding insurer/reinsurer by the assuming reinsurer (either entity could be a captive), compensating the cedent for various expenses that it incurs, such as underwriting and business acquisition expenses.

What does ceding money mean? ›

When an asset is ceded (ownership is transferred) to a third party, it means that ownership of the asset has been transferred to that person or company according to the terms of a legal document. This is often done as a way of raising collateral for a loan.

What is the difference between fronting fee and ceding commission? ›

Fronting arrangements involve one insurance company (the fronting insurer) issuing a policy on behalf of another insurer (the ceding insurer). Ceding commission is the commission paid by the fronting insurer to the ceding insurer for the risks transferred.

What is the legal definition of ceding? ›

1 : to yield or grant usually by treaty. 2 : assign transfer. 3 : to transfer (all or part of one's liability as an insurer under an insurance policy) by reinsurance to another insurer.

What is the difference between ceding and reinsurance? ›

Reinsurance is a risk management tool used by insurers to spread risk and manage capital. The insurer transfers some or all of an insurance risk to another insurer. The insurer transferring the risk is called the “ceding insurer”. The insurer accepting the risk is called the “assuming insurer” or “reinsurer”.

What is the meaning of ceding? ›

, ced·ed, ced·ing. to yield or formally surrender to another: to cede territory. Synonyms: convey, transfer, grant, abandon, relinquish.

Does ceded mean sold? ›

sell. give up for a price or reward. sign away, sign over. formally assign ownership of.

What is the meaning of the word ceding? ›

One who has complete knowledge of the Vedas; a master of Hindu philosophy.

What is the purpose of a cede agreement? ›

The purpose of such agreements is to document the roles and responsibilities of each institution and their study teams in the conduct and oversight of the study. Reliance arrangements need to be documented on a per study basis, even in cases where institutions have signed on to SMART IRB.

What is a negative ceding commission? ›

The difference of the value of the reserves transferred, less the value of the assets transferred, is known as the “ceding commission,” which can be positive (value of reserves transferred exceeds value of assets transferred) or negative (value of assets transferred exceeds value of reserves transferred).

What is commission ceded accepted? ›

The accepting company pays a commission to the ceding company on the reinsurance ceded. This is called a ceding commission, and covers administrative costs, underwriting, and other related expenses. The ceding company can recover part of any claim from the accepting company.

What is the upfront ceding commission? ›

The "up-front ceding commission" (200 percent of 1979 gross premiums) paid by R to S represents an acquisition cost of a block of business, embodied in the indemnity reinsurance agreement, with a readily determinable useful life extending beyond the close of the taxable year; thus, it must be amortized over the term of ...

What does ceding mean in reinsurance? ›

Reinsurance ceded refers to that portion of a risk that an original insurer (also known as a "primary" insurer) transfers to a reinsurer in return for a stated premium.

What is the ceding fee in insurance? ›

A ceding commission is a fee that a reinsurance coverage company pays to a ceding company. This is for underwriting, business acquisition expenses, and administrative costs. Reinsurers collect premium payments from policyholders. They then give a portion to a ceding company, along with a ceding commission.

What does cedent mean in insurance? ›

What Is a Cedent? A cedent is a party in an insurance contract who passes the financial obligation for certain potential losses to the insurer. In return for bearing a particular risk of loss, the cedent pays an insurance premium.

What is the meaning of commission on reinsurance? ›

A reinsurance commission is the percentage of premium paid to the reinsurance intermediary; a ceding company expense.

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