https://www.insurerbrain.com/w/index.php?action=history&feed=atom&title=Definition%3ADirect_written_premium 2026-06-13T21:28:07Z Revision history for this page on the wiki MediaWiki 1.43.8 https://www.insurerbrain.com/w/index.php?title=Definition:Direct_written_premium&diff=8905&oldid=prev 2026-03-11T04:44:47Z

<p>Bot: Creating new article from JSON</p> <p><b>New page</b></p><div>💰 &#039;&#039;&#039;Direct written premium&#039;&#039;&#039; represents the total [[Definition:Premium | premium]] recorded by an [[Definition:Insurance carrier | insurance carrier]] on policies it has issued directly to [[Definition:Policyholder | policyholders]], before any deductions for [[Definition:Reinsurance | reinsurance]] ceded or adjustments for [[Definition:Unearned premium | unearned premium]]. It captures the gross top-line revenue an insurer generates from its own book of business — including policies produced through [[Definition:Insurance agent | agents]], [[Definition:Insurance broker | brokers]], and [[Definition:Managing general agent (MGA) | MGAs]] acting on the carrier&#039;s behalf — but excludes any premium the insurer receives as a [[Definition:Reinsurer | reinsurer]] assuming business from other companies.<br /> <br /> 📊 Calculating direct written premium is straightforward in principle: every time the carrier binds a new policy or renews an existing one during a reporting period, the full policy premium is added to the tally. Mid-term endorsements that increase or decrease coverage adjust the figure accordingly. The metric sits at the top of a cascade of premium measures that insurers track — from direct written premium, one subtracts [[Definition:Ceded premium | ceded reinsurance premium]] to arrive at [[Definition:Net written premium | net written premium]], and from there applies the [[Definition:Earning pattern | earning pattern]] to determine [[Definition:Net earned premium | net earned premium]]. Regulators require carriers to report direct written premium by line of business and by state in filings such as the [[Definition:Annual statement | Annual Statement]] submitted to the [[Definition:National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) | NAIC]].<br /> <br /> 🏦 Industry analysts, [[Definition:Rating agency | rating agencies]], and investors treat direct written premium as a primary gauge of an insurer&#039;s scale and market position. Growth or contraction in this number signals whether a carrier is gaining share, repricing its portfolio, or deliberately shedding unprofitable segments. It also serves as the denominator in key performance ratios — the [[Definition:Loss ratio (L/R) | loss ratio]] and [[Definition:Combined ratio | combined ratio]] are ultimately derived from premium figures that begin with the direct written line. Because the metric is reported before reinsurance, it reveals the full scope of an insurer&#039;s gross [[Definition:Risk | risk]] origination, making it indispensable for understanding the company&#039;s underwriting appetite and its reliance on reinsurance to manage [[Definition:Net retention | net retention]].<br /> <br /> &#039;&#039;&#039;Related concepts:&#039;&#039;&#039;<br /> {{Div col|colwidth=20em}}<br /> * [[Definition:Net written premium]]<br /> * [[Definition:Gross written premium (GWP)]]<br /> * [[Definition:Ceded premium]]<br /> * [[Definition:Earned premium]]<br /> * [[Definition:Unearned premium]]<br /> * [[Definition:Combined ratio]]<br /> {{Div col end}}</div>

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