---
title: "How to Negotiate a Higher Contract Level With Your IMO"
meta_description: "Your contract level decides what you keep on every policy. Moe Ray breaks down how agents and agency owners earn a higher IMO level, and what to get in writing."
slug: negotiate-higher-contract-level-imo
datePublished: 2026-11-05
---

# How to Negotiate a Higher Contract Level With Your IMO

Every policy you write runs through one number: your contract level. A few points on that number, multiplied across a year of production and a whole team, is real money. Yet most agents never ask for more. They wait for the IMO to "review it later," and later never comes.

Q4 is when a lot of IMOs and carriers plan next year. If you've been producing, this is your window.

## First, know what you're actually on

Before you ask for more, get your commission grid in writing, carrier by carrier. Some IMOs advertise one big headline level that only applies to one or two products. You need the full picture.

Then check one thing: are you at least at street level? Street level is the standard rate a carrier pays a writing agent. Your upline earns its override from the carrier on top of that, not out of your pocket. If you're below street and told it's "because you're new," that's not training. That's a skim.

## Build your case with numbers, not feelings

"I want more" doesn't move anyone. This does:

- **Trailing 12 months of production**, broken down by carrier.
- **Persistency.** Policies that stick are worth more to everyone above you.
- **Product mix.** Placing across carriers and products shows you're not a one-trick producer.
- **Team growth**, if you're an agency owner. Recruited, licensed, producing agents are leverage.
- **A competing offer.** Share it as information, not as a threat.

## 4 things to negotiate besides the headline number

### 1. How promotions happen

Ask whether level bumps are automatic at set production thresholds, or "discretionary." Automatic and written down is good. "We'll take a look in a year" is not a plan.

### 2. Whether the level applies across all carriers

A higher level on one carrier and street everywhere else isn't a promotion. Get it product by product.

### 3. What comes with the higher level

Higher levels are sometimes paired with higher lead costs, monthly fees, or production minimums you have to keep hitting. Net it out over a year of your real numbers before you celebrate.

### 4. What happens if you dip

Find out if a slow quarter can knock you back down, and how much notice you get. Pair this with your vesting and chargeback terms, because a demotion clause tied to your renewals can cost you income you already earned.

## Questions to ask in writing

- **What is my level today on every carrier I write?**
- **What exact production gets me to the next level, and is it automatic?**
- **Are there fees, lead costs, or minimums tied to the higher level?**
- **Can I be moved back down, and what notice do I get?**

If they won't put it in writing, it isn't a promise.

## Why I care about this

I've been on both sides of this table. I'm grateful for the agents who built their careers alongside me, and I learned that people stay when the deal is fair and clear, not when the grid is a secret. A good IMO should want you to grow into a higher level. That's how they grow too.

Know your number. Then go earn the next one.

**Getting ready to ask for a contract bump, or comparing IMO offers?** [Talk to TheImoNegotiator](/?apply=1) before your next conversation with your upline.

*This post is general information, not legal or financial advice. Commission levels vary by carrier, product, and IMO. Have an attorney review any contract before you sign it.*