Monday, July 1, 2013

Insurance Trust Account Service To Independent P&C Insurance Agencies

Paulmar Group offers P&C insurance agents and brokers a unique Trust Account Service similar to the ADP payroll service. Agency provides source documents, Paulmar manages premiums and commissions from the time they are transacted until they are disbursed to their owners. Trust Account Service offers outstanding operational and economic advantages to its users. Learn more about Trust Account Service on my website.

Thursday, June 27, 2013

Fiduciary Task Management PART 1: Insurance Fiduciary Duty

Join me for a 2-hour CE Class on insurance fiduciary duty, August 7, 2013 at the IIABOC quarterly meeting. For more information and to register visit the IIABOC website: http://goo.gl/pFLRe

Thursday, June 13, 2013

Insurance Trust Account Management: Can an Agency Survive without it?

(This article appeared in Agency Equity on June 12, 2013)

There is no question a P&C insurance agency business can survive without formal management of its trust account. A real estate broker’s business would not. Real estate brokers hire escrow companies to do it safely and accurately. Fiduciary violation of an escrow account is unacceptable to a real estate broker. Not so with insurance brokers. They proved to survive insurance trust account difficulties without outside help and no formal management.

Trust Account Management
In a previous article published by Insurance Journal I argued trust account management was ultimately financial management. An average agency’s trust account is busy receiving and disbursing millions of dollars, $5 to $10 million in small and medium agencies, $50 million or more in large agencies.

An insurance policy transaction is in some ways similar to a loan transaction. The loan amount goes on the books and the lender monitors the payoff amount on a continuous basis. In the same way an insurance broker transacting a $10,000 policy monitors its progress to the end of the policy term: how much was invoiced, how much was paid, how much was remitted to the carrier, how much commission was transferred to the operating account, etc?

Actually, this is what insurance brokers would do if agencies truly practiced formal management of premium trust funds.  In fact, agency managers never ask these questions. What matters is to know if invoices were paid and whether net premiums were timely remitted to carriers. It appears the overall policy financial management has not been of concern to agency managers.

Formal Management
Insurance Code mandates insurance brokers to manage premiums policy by policy. One cannot use the premium received on one policy to remit it on a policy underwritten by a different carrier. Each policy therefore should be financially managed to show solvency.

Insurance Code defines financial solvency very vaguely.  In California, Section 1734 of the Insurance Code requires brokers to maintain in the trust account at least the amount due to the “persons entitled thereto”. The Insurance Commissioner clarified the requirement for individual policy financial management to prevent one carrier’s funds to be remitted by the broker to another carrier.

Formal trust account management may be defined as policy financial management based on information stored in accounting records. An agency may practice formal management by using spreadsheet information but this is at best, unreliable. Only accounting records are guaranteed reliable as they are based on “double entry” procedures and therefore difficult to erase or edit at will.

General Ledger Accounting
Attempts to generate usable information for formal trust account management have failed. The inadequacy of General Ledger (GL) accounting’s to create accounting records of policy transactions, the legal sale documents of insurance products, should be considered as the main reason. In merchandise accounting the invoice is a sale document; that is why an invoice generates accounting records: “assets” in the seller’s balance sheet and “income” in the P&L statement. Not so with an insurance policy sale transaction.

There are other issues with using GL accounting for premium transactions. For example, sales commission on a premium invoice is declared “income” to the agency’s operating account when in fact it is only a “liability” in the trust account. Everything related to a premium invoice should be clearly understood as a “trust” transaction with “receivables” due to the trust account. Invoice payments are deposited in the trust bank account and net premiums are remitted out of the same trust account. The practice of declaring an invoice’s sales commission as “income” to the operating account reflects the GL accounting’s inability to represent, in accounting terms, the true business nature of premium transactions.

Additionally, GL accounting treats “return premiums” as “returned merchandise” and creates awkward accounting records, such as “negative” premium receivables and “negative” income”. Insurance professionals understand a return premium refund is conditional upon “receivables”, such as: return net premium from the carrier and “return commission” from the agency’s operating account.

Trust Ledger Accounting
A formal management of insurance trust account can exist only if different accounting is used to create records of premium and return premium transactions. This new accounting has been developed as part of Paulmar’s Insurance Trust Account Technology. Premium funds have been taken out of the agency’s general ledger and placed into a separate “trust” ledger of accounts. This is why Paulmar branded the new accounting procedures as “Trust Ledger Accounting”.

Trust Ledger (TL) Accounting starts with the premium transaction itself and continues to manage it as the premium is invoiced, paid, deposited in the bank and disbursed either as net premium to carriers, sales commission to the agency operating account or premium refunds to insureds or premium finance companies.

Chris Marinescu is president of Paulmar Group LLC, a software developer and insurance trust account service provider. Insurance Trust Account Technology, Trust Ledger Accounting and Trust Account Management Outsourcing Technology are trademarks of Paulmar Group LLC.

What Is an Insurance Broker’s Biggest Pain?

(This article appeared in Agency Equity on May 29, 2013)

The title of this paper is paraphrased from a question recently posted as a topic for discussion on an Insurance Journal forum. Among the sources of pain mentioned by respondents was premium billing, cancellations for non-payment of premium, reinstatement of policies canceled for non-payment and frequent policy premium changes by carriers. It is important to note that all these issues happen to be related to the agency’s back office and insurance trust account daily activities.

With this article I would call attention to other known concerns to most agencies. What I have in mind is a number of trust account management functions currently missing from even the most advanced agency management systems. It suffices mention agency commission management, processing of return premium refunds and trust account financial solvency reporting. The latter is important not only because proof of trust account solvency is required by law but also because insolvency can have serious consequences for agency business. In California, a large number of insurance brokers, possibly one in three, are suspected to operate “out of trust” jeopardizing their business license and potentially risking legal prosecution for theft. 


No Attention to Financial Solvency

The forum discussion’s lack of attention to the broker’s fiduciary duty is not surprising; it is common throughout social media and group discussions.  Recent court cases of trust account insolvency in California should raise the level of brokers’ awareness as they likely caused real pain to some agency owners.

The apparent lack of interest in trust account solvency issues may be explained in different ways. It may be the lack of awareness of the fiduciary position brokers find themselves in when receiving and maintaining transacted premiums in their own “trust” bank accounts. Financial solvency issues are not routinely discussed by industry consultants; they are not included in Continuing Education classes (except for the two CE classes offered by Paulmar Group). Colleges offer degrees in insurance but no classes on trust account financial management. The brokers’ license renewal process requires no proof of fiduciary duty compliance. The Broker-Carrier agreement may be the only document requiring insurance brokers to maintain financially solvent trust accounts.


Causes of Insolvency

Trust account insolvency may be caused by either uncontrolled premium payment delinquency or lack of commission accounting and financial management (cases of intentionally caused insolvency are beyond the scope of this paper).  Payment delinquencies are not caused only by clients’ inattention to writing payment checks but also by the agency’s inability to promptly follow up. 

Endorsement billing is frequently behind because agency’s CSRs’ main job is to reliably support producers and provide quality customer service. The lack of commission accounting and management tools capable of tracking earned commission, policy by policy and payment by payment, is certainly a source of insolvency and pain. Since no current agency management system provides such utilities, some agencies use spreadsheets to determine the agency earned commission. By transferring commission based on needs, agencies may transfer either more or less than they earn. In the first case they violate insurance broker’s fiduciary duty. In the second case they may unintentionally understate taxable income and risk Tax Code violations.


Incorrect Accounting?

With no clear understanding of insurance fiduciary duty, insurance brokers feel comfortable with the use of general ledger accounting for both business operating and premium funds. As fiduciary duty is better understood, insurance brokers will come to realize general ledger accounting is inadequate for premium and return premium transactions. Since agency management systems are not likely to change their premium accounting and CPAs’ practice seems limited to general ledger accounting, insurance brokers will remain unaware of their exposure to daily violations of fiduciary duty. I am sure insurance brokers would like to do everything required to meet their fiduciary obligations but lacking accounting and financial tools they can only rely for advice from industry consultants and CPAs.

An agency’s chances of violating fiduciary duty are ubiquitous. Unquestionably insurance brokers deserve better premium accounting and a reliable financial solvency reporting system. New technology has been developed to help them in this area of agency business. For information on insurance trust account financial solvency management send email to chris@paulmargroup.com.



Chris Marinescu is president of Paulmar Group LLC, a software developer and insurance trust account service provider. Insurance Trust Account Technology, Trust Ledger Accounting and Trust Account Management Outsourcing Technology are trademarks of Paulmar Group LLC.

Monday, May 6, 2013

Agency Commission Income: Can It Be Managed?

(This article appeared in Agency Equity on May 15, 2013)

P&C independent insurance agencies derive their income primarily from the sales and service of insurance products. Unlike the income of typical sale and service operations, the agency commission income is filtered through a highly regulated trust account that makes it quite difficult to manage. While agency proceeds from sales must be deposited into a “trust” bank account where they become “fiduciary” funds, regulatory mandates prohibit agencies from transferring sales commissions to the operating account without proper documentation and audit trails.

Reliable Commission Management
Agency sales commission has a long metamorphic line that must reach its end before it can become “income”. “Transacted” policy commission (commission on a “legal” sale document) becomes available only after it is “earned”; this requires transacted premiums to be invoiced, received and deposited in the bank “trust” account. One must be aware that agency commission “income” is not realized in the “trust” account. To become “income” and be reported on the agency’s Income & Expense (P&L) Statement, the sales commission must be first “transferred” to the agency’s operating account.

Since an agency’s very existence depends on the sales commission management, reliable information on its metamorphic stages will help owners/ managers to control operating expenses and plan ahead agency financial operations. Quick answers to questions such the ones listed below will empower owners/managers to manage the agency business with confidence:

  • What is the agency “transacted” commission during any given period of time?
  • How much of the transacted commission was invoiced, how much is uninvoiced?
  • How much of the invoice commission was “earned”, how much is outstanding?
  • How much of the “earned” commission was transferred to the operating account, how much is outstanding?
  • How much of the “earned” commission is maintained in a “commission reserve” account (maintained in the trust account)?
  • How much of the “commission reserve” was used for return commission reimbursements, what is its current balance?
  • What is the agency “true” commission income? Did the agency transfer to the operating account more than it earned or less”; in other words, did the agency overstate or understate its taxable income?
  • What is the “commission loss” due to cancellation endorsements, how much was reimbursed to the trust account?
  • How much commission did the agency lose due to uncollectible NSF checks?

Current Practice
None of these questions have answers in current practice. Commission management has remained an open question for many years. Current agency management systems offer no solution to their users. Most agencies transfer commission funds out of the trust bank account based on ”needs” rather than  on what they “earn”. Some agencies transfer more than they “earn” and, in so doing, they violate insurance broker’s fiduciary duty. Others transfer less, just to be conservative, and in so doing they will underestimate taxable income. An IRS audit may potentially find them in violation of the Tax Code.

The reason why commission income management has had no solution to the present day is the use of incorrect accounting procedures. General ledger accounting use for premium and return premium transactions is intrinsically inadequate.

New Accounting Procedures
A new accounting system has been developed to manage agency commission income from the time a policy is transacted until the policy commission is “earned” and “transferred” to either the agency operating account or a commission reserve account maintained in the trust account. This new accounting system is a collection of new accounting procedures designed to mirror the nature of premium and commission transactions.
Agency commission accounting logic is complex; it employs ledger accounts whose balance is dependent on other ledger accounts, such as:  premium receivable, invoice payments and bank deposits, cash on hand and cash in bank account. Commission loss accounts are dependent on the return premium accounts. A fundamental feature of the new accounting system is the placement of premium funds in a different ledger of accounts, separate from the agency’s business operating funds.

The new premium and commission accounting works at the policy level and provides critical information on the policy premium float. How much of the policy premium float is owned by the carrier (net premium) and how much by the agency (earned commission) are questions that enable the much needed premium float analysis and the determination of the trust funds beneficiaries (owners). The new accounting procedures are known as Trust Ledger Accounting.

Commission Income Account
The only commission account agencies maintain in the general ledger is the invoice-based one. For any practical consideration this account is unreliable. Agency commission must be first “earned” and then “transferred” to either the operating account or commission reserve before it can be reported as “income”. Due to its basic use in merchandise accounting, general ledger accounting used by agencies has no controls over the invoice-based commission being “earned” and “transferred” to become “income”. General ledger accounting is unable to generate a trust account separate balance sheet and isolate the “earned” commission from the “transferred” one.

Major Source of Financial Insolvency
The uncontrolled transfer of commission funds out of the trust account is the second most important source of trust account financial insolvency. The lack of control over agency receivables is viewed as being first. One in three insurance agencies in California, and possibly more, operates “out of trust” risking a loss of business license and potentially legal prosecution for theft. Department of Insurance does not consistently enforce Insurance Code’s fiduciary mandates but no one can be sure this practice will continue in the future. Best business practices demand insurance agencies to reliably monitor and control their trust account operation and avoid the financial insolvency of premium trust funds.

Article by:
Chris Marinescu, CEO at Paulmar Group, LLC,

Wednesday, May 1, 2013

Paulmar Group LLC Announces Trust Ledger AccountingTM

New Accounting Procedures for P&C Insurance Premium & Return Premium Trust Funds

Lake Forest, CA - March 12, 2013 - Today Paulmar Group LLC announces the release of Trust Ledger AccountingTM, a system of new proprietary accounting procedures for the Property & Casualty (P&C) insurance brokerage industry.

While General Ledger (GL) accounting remains the financial management foundation of agencies’ business operating funds, Trust Ledger Accounting is uniquely developed to sustain the financial management of P&C premium and return premium trust funds. In use for the past four years, Trust Ledger Accounting is the ultimate accounting solution to P&C independent insurance agencies’ and general managing agencies’ current inability to manage fiduciary responsibilities.

With no alternative to GL accounting, P&C insurance agencies have been unable to monitor, control and report trust account financial solvency. Critically needed financial reports, such as listed below, are currently unavailable to agencies’ owners and managers.   
                 
  • Separate Balance Sheet of insurance trust funds; necessary to verify if premium fiduciary assets are in balance with premium fiduciary liabilities;
  • Statement of Premium Receipts and Disbursements; necessary to determine the trust account premium float and verify the accuracy of trust bank account cash balance;
  • Statement of Trust Funds Beneficiaries; necessary to determine the owners of trust account cash balance;
  • Reporting of premium financial solvency of each policy, each carrier, and trust account as a whole

"We spent more than ten years developing this product to meet an unfulfilled need in the P&C insurance brokerage industry. The industry now has new accounting procedures uniquely tailored to manage the insurance trust account financial solvency. While General Ledger accounting is a long standing and efficient accounting system, when it comes to managing premium and return premium funds, it just does not work. There is nothing else like Trust Ledger Accounting on the market” -Chris Marinescu, President at Paulmar Group LLC.     

Trust Ledger Accounting is “insurance policy premium accounting”; it is also referred to as “P&C insurance brokers’ premium accounting”. It is different because the insurance trust account process is different. Fully compliant with Insurance Code fiduciary mandates, Trust Ledger Accounting has been fully automated for ease of operation and report generation. The software application is commercially distributed as NOBLTM.

Trust Ledger Accounting is expected to become attorneys’ accounting system of choice for trust account financial solvency management.

Paulmar Group LLC was founded in 2008 to distribute NOBL to users. Paulmar Software Inc. developed the Trust Ledger Accounting concept and accounting procedures. Paulmar Software was founded in 2000.
  • Visit www.paulmargroup.com and www.paulmarsoftware.com
  • Send email to info@paulmargroup.com
  • Call 800/830-9093
  • For immediate response send email to chris@paulmargroup.com

Trust Ledger Accounting and NOBL are trademarks of Paulmar Group in the United States.

Sunday, April 28, 2013


Insurance Trust Account Technology

Many may be unaware that General Ledger (GL) accounting does not work for insurance premium and return premium transactions. As evidence of this inadequacy, one may cite current agency management systems’ inability to generate a Balance Sheet of premium trust funds. Without a Balance Sheet, insurance trust account financial solvency cannot be reported and therefore controlled as required by law. 
Another element of evidence is GL accounting’s failure to create accounting records of insurance policy premium transaction, the true legally binding sale document of an insurance policy.
Replacing GL Accounting
Trust Ledger (TL) Accounting was developed to replace GL accounting in the P&C insurance brokerage industry. Unlike GL accounting, TL accounting can generate trust account Balance Sheets as well as Premium Float Statements (similar to Profit & Loss Statements). The latter are critical in determining trust account cash balance beneficiaries.  
Two Major Developments
Trust Ledger Accounting made possible two major developments: (1) automation of the trust account daily operations and accounting transactions and (2) financial solvency management. Trust account operation is in many ways different than a general business operation; it can also be much more complex. It includes:
1.       Premium Receivables                                        
2.       Agency Commission
3.       Company Remittance
4.       Return Premiums
5.       Personal Funds
6.       Producer Commission
7.       Direct Bill (DB) Commission
Financial Solvency Management includes a reporting system that enables users to monitor and control premium funds financial solvency on a daily basis.
In-House or Outsourcing
Financial Solvency Management may be carried out in-house or outsourced. The first option enables users to outsource software applications such as:
·         NOBL.R for use by P&C insurance retailers
·         NOBL.Corp for use by corporations with multi-producer agencies or clusters
·         NOBL.G for use by P&C general managing agencies (currently under development)
·         NOBL.C for use by insurance carriers (currently under development)
The second option is available to those users interested in outsourcing the trust account management (in the same way they outsource the payroll). Users provide source documents; an outsourcing partner will manage premium and return premium funds from the time they are transacted until they are disbursed to legal owners.
Agencies will receive their commission income while net premiums are remitted to carriers and return premiums refunded to insureds.
Management Outsourcing Technology was developed to render the cost of outsourcing economically feasible and a service deployment with no disruption to the agency’s ongoing business.

Insurance Trust Account Technology, Trust Ledger Accounting and Trust Account Management Outsourcing Technology are trademarks of Paulmar Group LLC.