Retention calculator · Free tool
Calculate your agency's retention.
See how many clients stayed, and how much of last year's premium and commission renewed once lost clients, dropped policies and price changes are counted. Then check whether the accounts that left were larger or smaller than average.
What that means
Fill in the client counts and the opening, lost-client and dropped-line premium to see retention.
IN THE KEELRIDGE PRODUCT
Start the retention review from the records.
This calculator shows the math once the figures have been assembled. Keelridge does the recurring work from accepted snapshots of the AMS's book of business report: it sorts every policy into lost, dropped, renewed, rewritten or new, keeps the dates and definitions attached, and shows the same book movement each month. The Keelridge Assistant supports authorized follow-up questions with links back to the figures behind each answer. Department managers and account managers see premium within their scope, not commission or payout figures.
Read the result
One bridge, three measures.
Two agencies can both say “premium retention” and mean different things. Keelridge uses the Best Practices Study’s convention: renewal business over last year’s book, with rate and exposure changes included.
Client retention
Did the opening relationships stay? Each client counts once, regardless of size. A client who still holds any policy is retained.
clients still here ÷ clients at the start
Premium retention
How much of last year’s premium renewed, at this year’s price? Take away what left with lost clients and dropped policies, then add the rate and exposure change on what renewed, and the price change on rewrites. Rising prices can take it past 100%.
renewal business ÷ opening premium
Commission retention
The same bridge in annual agency commission, using the same annualization and accepted direct-bill basis on both sides.
renewal business ÷ opening commission
Who left?
Retained, the premium retained before price changes, takes the price effect out. Set beside client retention, it shows whether the clients and policies that left were larger or smaller than average.
(opening − lost − dropped) ÷ opening
Before drawing a conclusion.
- Count rewrites as retained. A policy rewritten to the same coverage, or moved to another carrier, is not a loss and a new sale. This calculator uses your totals; it cannot match the underlying records. Why rewrites and carrier moves can distort a count.
- Compare equivalent periods and definitions. Keep the dates, annualization and commission assumptions consistent before interpreting a trend.
- Investigate the relationships behind the figure. These figures show what stayed, what left and what changed price; they do not establish why a client left. Why the headline measures can disagree.
Related questions
Asked alongside this one.
How do you calculate an insurance agency's retention rate?
Client retention divides the opening clients still with the agency at the end by the opening client count. Premium retention, which Keelridge reports as Renewal business, starts with the opening premium, subtracts what left with lost clients and dropped policies, adds the rate and exposure change on what renewed and the price change on rewrites, and divides by the opening premium. Commission retention is the same calculation in annual commission.
What is the formula for premium retention?
Renewal business ÷ opening premium. Renewal business is the opening premium less lost clients and dropped policies, plus rate and exposure changes and the price change on rewrites. It is the term the Best Practices Study uses. Because price increases count, it can pass 100%.
Why can premium retention be higher than client retention?
Two reasons. Rate and exposure increases on renewed policies raise premium retention but not the client count. And if the clients who left were smaller than average, less premium left than their share of clients. Compare premium retained before price changes with client retention to separate the two.
How is a rewrite counted?
As retained, not as lost plus new. A policy rewritten to the same coverage under a new line code within 45 days, or the same line of business moved to another carrier, stays in the book at its old premium. Only the difference between the new and old premium counts, as a rewrite.
How do you calculate commission retention?
The same way as premium retention, in annual agency commission: opening commission less what left with lost clients and dropped policies, plus rate and exposure changes and rewrites, divided by opening commission. Use the same annualization and direct-bill rate basis on both sides.
Can I try the Keelridge Assistant in the public demo?
Yes. The public demo answers a few Assistant questions on the fictional agency, so you can see it find figures and link to them. The Product page shows a recorded answer; questions about your own agency's numbers belong in a fit call. The Assistant uses authorized evidence; it does not change source records or assign work.
From a calculation to the management review
The formula is simple. Finding the inputs usually is not.
The management picture should not have to be assembled by hand for every review. After initial mapping, the owner, or someone the owner authorizes, uploads supported AMS reports, reviews the checks and confirms the update. Keelridge keeps dated book figures ready alongside financial and team performance, with views and context suited to each responsibility. People decide which changes to investigate and what follow-through is needed.