Where Your Premium Goes
Slide to any premium amount and see exactly who gets paid and for what. This is the breakdown your broker won't show you.
Covers the actual risk the carrier takes on. This is the part of your premium that's doing something.
Goes to your broker for collecting your info, filling out a form, and submitting it to the carrier.
Underwriting staff, compliance, legal, technology, and regulatory capital requirements.
Paperwork, filing, regulatory compliance, state premium taxes, and accounting.
On your $10,000 premium: $4,500 covers actual risk. $3,000 goes to your broker. The remaining $2,500 covers carrier operations and administration.Your broker's $3,000 commission covers: collecting your application info, filling it out on the carrier's form, submitting it, and relaying the quote back to you.
How we calculated this
The 45/30/15/10 breakdown is based on general industry data from carrier compensation disclosures, SFAA market reports, and AM Best surety industry analysis. The actual split varies by carrier, bond type, and broker arrangement.
The broker commission (30%) is the industry average for commercial surety. Some brokers take 15-20%. Others take 35-40% when you factor in contingent commissions, subagent splits, and processing fees. 25-30% is the most common range.
The risk portion (45%) is what the carrier sets aside for potential claims and profit. Commercial surety loss ratios are historically low — 10-25% — which means most of this "risk" portion becomes carrier profit. The industry is remarkably profitable.
Sources: Surety & Fidelity Association of America (SFAA) market reports, AM Best surety industry analysis, publicly available carrier compensation disclosure documents.
Want the full story? Read "The Broker Problem" for a deep dive into the commission structure.