Override (definition)
Compensation above base commission paid by carriers, wholesalers, or finance companies on volume an agency directs or originates.
An override is compensation above the base commission rate, paid on aggregate production rather than an individual sale. Carriers pay overrides to networks and large agencies on consolidated volume; wholesalers and premium finance companies pay overrides on business an agency directs to them; agencies pay internal overrides to sales managers on their teams’ production.
The common thread is that overrides reward directed volume, which is exactly why they deserve disclosure discipline: the recipient has an economic interest in where the business goes.
In diligence, override income gets the same durability questions as contingents: what agreement governs it, how volatile is it, and does it survive a change of control.