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Porter Insurance Company has three lines of insurance: automobile, property, and life. The life insurance segment has been losing money for the past five quarters, and Leah Harper, Porter’s controller, has done an analysis of that segment. She has discovered that the commission paid to the agent for the first year the policy is in place is 55 percent of the first-year premium. The second-year commission is 20 percent, and all succeeding years a commission equal to 5 percent of premiums is paid. No salaries are paid to agents; however, Porter does advertise on television and in magazines. Last year, the advertising expense was $500,000. The loss rate (payout on claims) averages 50 percent. Administrative expenses equal $450,000 per year. Revenue last year was $10,000,000 (premiums). The percentage of policies of various lengths is as follows:
Experience has shown that if a policy remains in effect for more than two years, it is rarely cancelled.
Leah is considering two alternative plans to turn this segment around. Plan 1 requires spending $250,000 on improved customer claim service in hopes that the percentage of policies in effect will take on the following distribution:
Total premiums would remain constant at $10,000,000, and there are no other changes in fixed or variable cost behavior.
Plan 2 involves dropping the independent agent and commission system and having potential policyholders phone in requests for coverage. Leah estimates that revenue would drop to $7,000,000. Commissions would be zero, but administrative expenses would rise by $1,200,000, and advertising (including direct mail solicitation) would increase by $1,000,000.
Required:
- 1. Prepare a variable-costing income statement for last year for the life insurance segment of Porter Insurance Company.
- 2. What impact would Plan 1 have on income?
- 3. What impact would Plan 2 have on income?
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Chapter 18 Solutions
Cornerstones of Cost Management (Cornerstones Series)
- Porter Insurance Company has three lines of insurance: automobile, property, and life. The life insurance segment has been losing money for the past five quarters, and Leah Harper, Porters controller, has done an analysis of that segment. She has discovered that the commission paid to the agent for the first year the policy is in place is 55 percent of the first-year premium. The second-year commission is 20 percent, and all succeeding years a commission equal to 5 percent of premiums is paid. No salaries are paid to agents; however, Porter does advertise on television and in magazines. Last year, the advertising expense was 500,000. The loss rate (payout on claims) averages 50 percent. Administrative expenses equal 450,000 per year. Revenue last year was 10,000,000 (premiums). The percentage of policies of various lengths is as follows: Experience has shown that if a policy remains in effect for more than two years, it is rarely cancelled. Leah is considering two alternative plans to turn this segment around. Plan 1 requires spending 250,000 on improved customer claim service in hopes that the percentage of policies in effect will take on the following distribution: Total premiums would remain constant at 10,000,000, and there are no other changes in fixed or variable cost behavior. Plan 2 involves dropping the independent agent and commission system and having potential policyholders phone in requests for coverage. Leah estimates that revenue would drop to 7,000,000. Commissions would be zero, but administrative expenses would rise by 1,200,000, and advertising (including direct mail solicitation) would increase by 1,000,000. Required: 1. Assume Fred holds the policy for one year and then drops it. What is his contribution to Porters operating income? 2. Assuming Fred holds the policy for three years, what is his contribution to Porters operating income in the second and third years? Over a three-year period? What implications does this hold for Porters efforts to retain policyholders?arrow_forwardDel Spencer is the owner and founder of Del Spencers Mens Clothing Store. Del Spencers has its own house charge accounts and has found from past experience that 10 percent of its sales are for cash. The remaining 90 percent are on credit. An aging schedule for accounts receivable reveals the following pattern: 15 percent of credit sales are paid in the month of sale. 65 percent of credit sales are paid in the first month following the sale. 14 percent of credit sales are paid in the second month following the sale. 6 percent of credit sales are never collected. Credit sales that have not been paid until the second month following the sale are considered overdue and are subject to a 3 percent late charge. Del Spencers has developed the following sales forecast: Required: Prepare a schedule of cash receipts for August and September.arrow_forwardPoleski Manufacturing, which maintains the same level of inventory at the end of each year, provided the following information about expenses anticipated for next year: The selling price of Poleskis single product is 16. In recent years, profits have fallen and Poleskis management is now considering a number of alternatives. Poleski wants to have a net income next year of 250,000, but expects to sell only 120,000 units unless some changes are made. The president of Poleski has asked you to calculate the companys projected net income (assuming 120,000 units are sold) and the sales needed to achieve the companys net income objective for next year. Also, compute Poleskis contribution margin per unit, contribution margin ratio, and break-even point for next year. The worksheet CVP has been provided to assist you. Note that the data from the problem have already been entered into the Data Section of the worksheet.arrow_forward
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