Insurance Month End Close Checklist

Q: When should month-end close activities begin?

Month-end activities should begin on the first day of the month through continuous reconciliation rather than waiting until the final business day.

Q: What causes month-end delays?

Outstanding reconciliations, unapplied cash, missing carrier statements, manual journal entries, spreadsheet dependency, and unresolved exceptions are the most common causes.

Q: What is the most important month-end activity?

Completing reconciliation before financial reporting is the most critical step.

Q: Should controllers approve month-end before the CFO?

Yes. The controller should confirm reconciliation, balances, and documentation before the CFO reviews financial results.

Q: How can organizations shorten month-end close?

Continuous reconciliation, standardized workflows, automation, and proactive exception management consistently reduce close time.

Q: How does PremiumAccounting.ai help?

PremiumAccounting.ai serves as the insurance accounting subledger between your policy administration system and your General Ledger, automating premium reconciliation, trust accounting, carrier settlements, commissions, workflow approvals, and executive dashboards to significantly reduce month-end effort.

This playbook provides a standardized month-end close process for insurance agencies, MGAs, wholesalers, program administrators, and carriers.

The objective is simple: Complete reconciliation before producing financial statements. Month-end should validate accounting-not create it.

Recommended Frequency: Monthly

Estimated Completion Time: 1–5 business days depending on transaction volume

Month-End Close Dashboard

Activity	Status
Premium Accounting Complete
Cash Application Complete
Trust Reconciled
Carrier Statements Reconciled
Carrier Settlements Reviewed
Commission Accounting Complete
Financial Statements Reviewed
Executive Reporting Complete

Phase 1 - Premium Accounting

Verify:

All policies posted
Endorsements processed
Cancellations processed
Return premium processed
Audit premium processed
Premium adjustments reviewed
Outstanding policy exceptions investigated

Phase 2 - Cash Application

Confirm:

Customer payments posted
EFT activity reviewed
Lockbox activity reviewed
Unapplied cash minimized
Partial payments reviewed
Payment exceptions resolved

Phase 3 - Trust Accounting

Complete:

Trust reconciliation
Trust variance review
Outstanding trust adjustments
Trust balance validation
Trust to General Ledger reconciliation

Phase 4 - Carrier Accounting

Verify:

Carrier statements received
Carrier statements imported
Settlement differences investigated
Outstanding carrier balances reviewed
Carrier settlement approvals complete
Carrier payment schedule reviewed

Phase 5 - Commission Accounting

Review:

Producer commissions
Broker commissions
MGA commissions
Commission adjustments
Commission exceptions
Manual overrides approved

Phase 6 - Reconciliation

Complete:

Premium reconciliation
Trust reconciliation
Bank reconciliation
Carrier reconciliation
Company payable reconciliation
General Ledger reconciliation

Phase 7 - Financial Review

Review:

Balance Sheet
Income Statement
Premium production
Trust report
Carrier payable report
Cash position
KPI dashboard

Phase 8 - Controller Review

Confirm:

Outstanding exceptions documented
Manual journal entries approved
Financial variances explained
Reconciliation complete
Reports ready for CFO review

Phase 9 - CFO Review

Review:

Executive dashboard
Financial statements
Significant variances
Cash position
Carrier exposure
Operational KPIs

Phase 10 - Month-End Signoff

Task	Complete
Controller Approval
CFO Approval
Month Closed
Reports Distributed

Month-End Red Flags

Investigate before closing if:

Trust variance exists
Carrier statements missing
Reconciliation incomplete
Manual journal entries increasing
Unapplied cash unusually high
Settlement differences unresolved
Financial reports require manual spreadsheets

Month-end should never close with unexplained balances.

Controller KPI Review

KPI	Target	Actual
Days to Close	<5
Premium Reconciliation	100%
Trust Variance	0
Carrier Settlement Accuracy	100%
Unapplied Cash
Manual Journal Entries
Outstanding Exceptions	0

Continuous Improvement

After every close ask:

What delayed close?
Which reconciliation required the most effort?
Which spreadsheet was still required?
Which manual process should disappear before next month?
What can be automated before the next close?

Month-end should become easier every month.

Related Playbooks

Schedule a PremiumAccounting.ai month-end assessment to automate reconciliation, carrier settlements, trust accounting, and reporting while keeping QuickBooks, Sage Intacct, Xero, or Workday as your General Ledger.

Talk to an Insurance Accounting Consultant See Pricing

Frequently Asked Questions

Month-end activities should begin on the first day of the month through continuous reconciliation rather than waiting until the final business day.

Outstanding reconciliations, unapplied cash, missing carrier statements, manual journal entries, spreadsheet dependency, and unresolved exceptions are the most common causes.

Completing reconciliation before financial reporting is the most critical step.

Yes. The controller should confirm reconciliation, balances, and documentation before the CFO reviews financial results.

Continuous reconciliation, standardized workflows, automation, and proactive exception management consistently reduce close time.

PremiumAccounting.ai serves as the insurance accounting subledger between your policy administration system and your General Ledger, automating premium reconciliation, trust accounting, carrier settlements, commissions, workflow approvals, and executive dashboards to significantly reduce month-end effort.