Contract levels, releases and overrides explained without the recruiting spin

The recruiting version says "120 percent contract". Here's what the words actually mean so you can read your own agreement.

Contract level. Your first-year commission expressed as a percentage of the carrier's base. A "100 percent contract" means you're paid the carrier's street level; higher numbers mean your upline is passing more of their override down to you. The number only means something next to the base rate for that product.

Override. The difference between your level and your upline's. It's how the person above you gets paid on your business, and why their contract sits above yours.

Advances. A percentage of first-year commission paid up front, with the rest as earned. Advanced business creates chargebacks when it lapses. As-earned business doesn't, and pays slower.

Release. The letter from your current upline that lets you move your carrier appointment to a new hierarchy. Some contracts grant it freely, some require a waiting period after your last business, some make it painful. Read this clause before you sign, not when you want to leave.

Vesting. Whether your renewals keep paying you if you leave.

Assignment of commissions. Whether the carrier pays you directly or pays your upline who pays you. Direct is cleaner.

This room is for understanding and comparing these terms. Recruiting posts get removed; questions about a clause in front of you are exactly what it's for.