Honest numbers. delivered upfront. building trust.

Proactive Communication is the Foundation of Proper Consultation

Whether it’s unnecessary fees or withheld commission details, the way your wholesaler gets paid can put your client relationships at risk. If you don't know how much your wholesaler stands to make from each option they present, you can’t be confident their recommendation is truly impartial.

Proper consultation requires proactive communication and full transparency from your wholesaler. When you know what Ethos is paid and why, you stay in control of the service your client receives.

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When Every Dollar is Accounted For

No Junk Fees

Many wholesalers pad their margins with vague or unnecessary charges. At Ethos, we only apply fees when we perform a clear, value-added service, such as managing surplus lines filing or handling carrier compliance requirements.

Fewer surprise wholesaler costs mean you experience fewer client objections, stronger bonds of trust with your clients, and a more stable book of business.

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The Price of Not Knowing

How Much Are You Really Paying Your Wholesaler?

Carriers may cut the check, but every commission dollar a wholesaler keeps beyond fair compensation is a dollar that should have gone to you. It’s easy to forget that a wholesaler’s share comes from the same commission pool as yours. In practice, it’s no different from you paying the wholesaler directly for services rendered.

When a wholesaler doesn’t proactively provide you with both the net and gross commission information, you’re paying for their service without knowing the cost. And without that level of transparency, there’s no way for you to evaluate their value.

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Knowledge = Power

Why Wholesalers Don't Tell You Their Take

Many wholesalers choose withhold commission details and steer business toward whichever carrier offers them the greatest financial incentives. Even if they choose to prioritize your client over themselves, withholding commission and revenue information from you creates an inherent power imbalance, meaning that your relationship with them relies on blind trust instead of trust earned with the clear exchange of information.

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What fair looks like

Eliminating the Conflict of Interest

You deserve a relationship with your wholesaler that is built on earned trust and ample transparency. That's why we proactively provide you with both net and gross commission figures for every proposal we receive while marketing your accounts. By providing clear visibility into how commissions are calculated, we empower you to fully understand both your earnings and ours. This openness reinforces our commitment to collaboration and ensures that our recommendations are always based on what is best for your client, not what benefits us financially.

When appropriate, we are also willing to adjust our standard commission splits to be more advantageous for our retail partners. While premium thresholds play a role, we also consider other factors to ensure a fair evaluation, such as the size of your book, our shared experience with it, new business hit ratios, and renewal retention rates. This balanced approach ensures that both parties benefit from a fair, transparent arrangement designed to support your continued growth alongside Ethos.

You deserve both transparency and a mutually beneficial partnership with your wholesaler, which is why we proactively share both total and gross commission figures for carrier proposal on every policy we market on your behalf. By providing clear visibility into how commissions are calculated, you become empowered to fully understand your earnings, meanwhile you can rest assured that our recommendations are based solely on what is best for your client and not what benefits us most. This openness reinforces our commitment to collaboration and ensures that you will have the information you need to grow confidently alongside Ethos.

In addition, we are willing revise our standard commission splits to be more advantageous for our retail customers when the situation warrants it. While premium thresholds are important, we also take into account other factors to ensure a fair evaluation of the commission split. We consider not only the size of the book but also our collective experience on the book. For instance, we consider factors such as new business hit ratios and renewal retention rates to determine an appropriate adjustment to commissions. This approach ensures that both parties benefit from a mutually beneficial arrangement.

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Take the First Step Toward a Real HPL Partnership

Let’s Redefine What You Expect From a Wholesaler

When you work with Ethos, you gain more than a healthcare professional liability (HPL) wholesaler. You gain a team that earns your trust, prioritizes your clients, and cares about your long term growth.

Your confidence should never depend on assumptions. From commission splits to surplus line fees, every dollar is accounted for, every decision explained, and every recommendation made with your client’s best interest in mind.

If you are ready for a wholesaler who values honesty, expertise, and your long-term success, the next step is simple. Click below to book a meeting with a true HPL specialist, and see how partnering with Ethos helps you best serve your insureds.

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Commissions and Fees

Frequently Asked Questions

Transparency starts with clear answers. Here’s what retail agents most often ask us about our fees and commission structure.

What if my other wholesaler pays me more commission?

Help me understand the Surplus Line Filing Fee

What is the surplus line filing fee?

The surplus line filing fee is a service charge that Ethos applies only when we manage the surplus line filings on your behalf. It is not a general administrative or processing fee, and it is not applied to every policy.

How much is the surplus lines filing fee?

- $350 if you have requested that we handle the surplus lines filing.
- $0 if you intend to handle the surplus lines filing yourself,
- $0 if the policy does not require surplus lines filing.

When is the fee charged?

This fee is charged only when Ethos performs the surplus line filing for a given policy. If no filing is required, or if you manage the filing yourself, no fee is charged.

Why does Ethos charge this fee?

Surplus lines filings can be complex and time-intensive. When Ethos manages this process, we take on several responsibilities, including:

- The purchase and maintenance of surplus lines licensure in nearly every U.S. state.
- Preparing and submitting filing documents in accordance with state requirements.
- Following up on due diligence documentation.
- Resolving issues or corrections when filings are flagged or returned.
- Paying associated taxes and fees as required by the state.

This work involves operational, compliance, and financial tasks that go beyond standard policy placement. The $350 surplus lines filing fee supports the resources and attention required to oversee these filings effectively.

Is this a common fee in the industry?

Yes, although many wholesalers also charge an additional blanket administrative and/or policy fee designed solely to increase their revenue on any particular policy placement. Ethos does not take that approach. Instead, we apply a flat $350 surplus line filing fee only when we are directly managing the filing for a given policy. If we do not handle the filing, we do not charge the fee.

Can this fee be waived?

Because Ethos typically retains only half to two-thirds of the commission paid to our retail customers on any particular placement, the surplus lines filing fee often determines whether a placement is profitable or not. This is especially true for smaller placements. As a result, waiving this fee is unusual. Still, there are a number of scenarios where waiving the surplus lines filing fee might make sense. For that reason, we are open to the discussion.

How does this benefit retail agents?

Many retail insurance agents prefer to avoid the administrative burden, compliance risks, and tax payment requirements involved in surplus line filings. By asking Ethos to manage the filing, you can focus on your clients while we ensure everything is submitted, resolved, and paid correctly. This fee supports the value and relief that comes with outsourcing a high-risk, high-touch task to a trusted partner.