The Remuneration of Industrial Assurance Agents

Extract

1. The level of real earnings in the insurance industry, as in most others, has increased considerably since the end of the war. The problems raised by this fact are of vital interest to the actuary, since the adequacy of his premium scales and the maintenance of bonus rates depend on expenses being contained within reasonable limits. The total amount of agency remuneration may be determined in the long run by forces outside the actuary's control, but he can have considerable influence on its structure. The purpose of this note is to set out the principal methods of remuneration at present in use and to suggest some modifications of the incentive element which might be of advantage to the offices and the policyholders without harming the interests of the agent.