Creating Proposals

A Proposal in MonarkHQ is a curated set of benefit options assembled for a specific Group (plan year) under an Employer.

This guide covers creating a Proposal, uploading Census data, and managing covered members.

1. Understanding Proposals

A Proposal represents the package of benefits you present to an Employer for a specific plan year.

Each Proposal is tied to:

One Employer (the legal company)
One Group (the plan-year–specific population)

A Proposal contains:

Basic information (name, effective date, proposal type)
Census data (employees and dependents in the Group)
Selected coverage types (medical, dental, vision, etc.)
Quotes and offers from carriers
Employer contribution configurations
Employer selections and responses

Important:

An Employer can have multiple Groups over time, and each Group can have one or more Proposals (e.g., initial quote, revised options).

2. Start a New Proposal

You can create a Proposal in several ways:

From an Employer detail page → click Create Proposal
From the Proposals page → click + New Proposal
From the dashboard → use the quick action

Proposal Basics

When starting a Proposal, you’ll first define its purpose.

| Proposal Type | Description | | ---------------- | --------------------------------------------------------- | | Renewal | Renewing coverage for an existing Group (prior plan year) | | New Business | First-time coverage for a new Group |

Choose the option that reflects whether the Group already has coverage.

Employer Selection

Select the Employer from the dropdown
If starting from an Employer page, this is pre-selected
Only Employers you have access to are shown

Note:

If the Employer does not exist yet, create it first from the Employers page.

Group Context

If this Proposal represents a new plan year:

A new Group will be created automatically
The Group is associated with the selected Employer
Census, quotes, and contributions will be tied to that Group

Proposal Name

Enter a descriptive name for the Proposal. Examples:

“2026 Annual Renewal”
“Q1 2026 Benefits Proposal”
“Initial Benefits Package”

This name appears throughout MonarkHQ and in communications with carriers and Employers.

Effective Date

Select the date coverage should begin.

Defaults to the first of the next month
Should match the actual coverage start date
Used by carriers when pricing and underwriting

Click Continue: Upload Census to proceed.

3. Upload the Census

The Census defines the benefit-eligible population for this Group.

It includes all employees and dependents who will be considered for coverage and is required for most quoting workflows.

Supported File Formats

MonarkHQ accepts census files in the following formats:

| Format | Extension | Description | | ------ | ----------------- | -------------------------------------------- | | Excel | .xlsx, .xls | Spreadsheet files (recommended) | | CSV | .csv | Comma-separated values | | PDF | .pdf | Scanned or digital documents (AI extraction) | | Images | .png, .jpg, .jpeg | Screenshots or scans (AI extraction) |

Uploading Your Census

Drag and drop a file into the upload area, or
Click to browse and select a file

AI-Powered Extraction

For PDFs and image files, MonarkHQ uses AI to extract census data automatically:

The document is analyzed
Member data is extracted and mapped
Results are shown for review before saving

Census Data Fields

The following fields are processed:

| Field | Required | Description | | ------------- | -------- | ----------------------------------------- | | Family ID | Yes | Groups employees with their dependents | | First Name | Yes | Member first name | | Last Name | Yes | Member last name | | Date of Birth | Yes | Format: MM/DD/YYYY | | Gender | Yes | M or F | | ZIP Code | Yes | 5-digit residential ZIP | | Relationship | Yes | employee, spouse, child, domestic_partner |

Optional but Recommended Fields:

| Field | Description | | ------------------ | ------------------------------------------------ | | Job Class | Used for contribution rules | | Job Title | Employee role | | Email | Member email address | | Tobacco User | Used for rating | | Salary | Required for certain life insurance calculations | | COBRA | Flags COBRA participants | | Retiree | Flags retirees | | Current Plan Names | Useful for renewals |

Reviewing Census Data

After upload, you’ll see:

Summary

Total members
Number of employees
Number of dependents
Warnings or skipped rows

Preview Table

Editable list of all members
Validation errors highlighted
Inline edits supported

Editing Census Data

To make corrections:

Locate the row in the preview table
Edit the relevant fields
Resolve any validation errors (shown in red)
Changes are saved automatically when you continue

Validation Rules

MonarkHQ validates that:

Required fields are present
Date formats are correct
Gender values are valid
ZIP codes are valid U.S. formats
Relationship types are recognized

Continuing Without Census

If census data isn’t available yet:

Click Continue without census
You can upload or add members later
Some quoting features will remain unavailable

Click Continue: Select Coverage to proceed.

4. Select Coverage Types

Choose which lines of coverage to include in this Proposal.

Available Coverage Types

| Coverage | Category | Description | | ------------------ | --------- | ------------------------------------------- | | Medical | Medical | Health insurance (instant quotes available) | | Dental | Medical | Dental coverage | | Vision | Medical | Vision coverage | | Life & AD&D | Ancillary | Life insurance and AD&D | | Disability | Ancillary | Short- and long-term disability | | Accident | Voluntary | Accident coverage | | Hospital Indemnity | Voluntary | Hospital cash benefits | | Critical Illness | Voluntary | Critical illness coverage | | Pet Insurance | Voluntary | Pet insurance (instant quotes available) |

Selecting Coverage

Click a coverage type to select or deselect
Selected types display a checkmark
At least one coverage type is required

Coverage Categories

Medical: Core health benefits
Ancillary: Employer-sponsored benefits
Voluntary: Employee-paid optional benefits

Click Create Proposal & Start Quoting to complete setup.

Success Page

You’ll see a confirmation showing:

Proposal name and ID
Associated Employer and Group
Member count
Selected coverage types
Suggested next steps

Proposal Dashboard

Once created, the Proposal dashboard includes:

Overview – status, summary, key dates
Census – view and manage members
Quotes – configure instant quotes and RFPs
Proposal – build, send, and track employer selections

5. Managing Census Data

Viewing the Census

From the Proposal, open the Census tab to see:

All members in the Group
Relationships and family groupings
Edit and add actions

Editing Members

Locate the member
Click to edit
Update fields as needed
Save changes

Adding Members

Click + Add Member
Enter required fields
Set relationship (employee or dependent)
Assign the correct Family ID
Save the record

Understanding Family Groupings

Each family has a unique Family ID
Employees are the primary members
Dependents share the same Family ID
Family structure affects rating and contributions

6. Proposal Statuses

Proposals move through the following lifecycle:

| Status | Description | | --------- | ------------------------------- | | Draft | Initial setup and configuration | | Quoting | Quotes and RFPs in progress | | Ready | All quotes received | | Sent | Proposal shared with Employer | | Reviewed | Employer has viewed | | Responded | Employer submitted selections | | Completed | Coverage finalized |

7. Proposal Best Practices

Complete Census Data

Include all eligible employees and dependents
Verify dates of birth
Include job classes for contribution logic
Add emails when possible

Accurate Effective Dates

Set the correct effective date at creation
Changing it later may require requoting

Clear Naming

Include year or plan period
Helps distinguish multiple Proposals and Groups

Next Steps

With your Proposal created, continue to: