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Broker Building Proposals

Building Proposals

Once you’ve gathered quotes and carrier offers, the next step is to curate and prepare the Proposal that your Employer will review. This guide focuses on selecting, organizing, and presenting proposal content—not on quoting or configuration.

1. Understanding the Proposal Builder

What This Step Is (and Isn’t)

At this stage:

  • The Proposal already exists
  • Census, coverage types, quotes, and contributions are already configured

The Proposal Builder is where you:

  • Decide which options the Employer will see
  • Organize those options clearly
  • Highlight recommendations
  • Prepare the Proposal for delivery

What a Proposal Contains

A Proposal is an employer-facing package that may include:

  • Selected Proposal Items (plans/options)
  • Employer and employee cost summaries
  • Side-by-side comparisons
  • Member-level cost breakdowns
  • Supporting documents and notes

Key Proposal Components

| Component | Purpose | | ----------------- | --------------------------------------- | | Proposal Items | Individual plans included for review | | Coverage Sections | Grouping of items by coverage type | | Executive Summary | High-level overview and recommendations | | Comparisons | Side-by-side plan evaluation | | Member Breakdown | Payroll and employer cost detail | | Attachments | Supporting documents |

2. Accessing the Proposal Builder

  1. Navigate to the Proposal
  2. Click the Proposal tab
  3. Open the proposal workspace

This workspace reflects exactly what the Employer will see, subject to permissions and delivery method.

3. Adding Items to the Proposal

What Can Be Added

You can add:

  • Plans from Instant Quotes
  • Carrier Offers received via RFPs

Only items you explicitly add appear in the Proposal.

Adding from Instant Quotes

  1. Go to the Quotes tab
  2. Open instant quote results (e.g., Medical, Pet)
  3. Select one or more plans
  4. Click Add to Proposal

Adding from Carrier Offers

  1. Go to the Quotes tab
  2. Select the relevant coverage type
  3. Review submitted carrier offers
  4. Click Add to Proposal on the offers you want included

Bulk vs. Individual Adds

  • Individual: Add one plan at a time
  • Bulk: Select multiple plans and add them together

4. Managing Proposal Items

Viewing Proposal Items

Within the Proposal tab, items are organized by coverage type.

Each item displays:

  • Carrier and plan name
  • Key benefit highlights
  • Premium summary (with contributions applied)
  • Recommendation status (if marked)

Marking Recommendations

Highlight preferred options for the Employer:

  1. Locate the Proposal Item
  2. Click Recommend (star icon)
  3. Recommended items appear more prominently

Tip: Recommendations should be intentional. Too many dilute their value.

Reordering and Removing Items

  • Reorder: Drag items within a coverage section to control display order
  • Remove: Click Remove to exclude an item from the Proposal

Removing an item does not delete the underlying quote or offer.

5. Coverage Sections

How Sections Work

Proposal Items are automatically grouped by coverage type, such as:

  • Medical
  • Dental
  • Vision
  • Life & AD&D
  • Disability
  • Voluntary Benefits
  • Pet

Each section helps Employers evaluate options in context.

Section-Level Overview

Each coverage section shows:

  • Number of options included
  • Cost range across plans
  • Recommended options highlighted

6. Executive Summary & Cost Overview

Executive Summary

The Executive Summary gives Employers a high-level snapshot:

Employer & Group Context

  • Employer name
  • Census summary (employees, dependents, total members)
  • Effective date

Coverage Overview

  • Coverage types included
  • Number of options per coverage
  • Recommended selections

Cost Overview

  • Total premium ranges
  • Employer vs employee cost ranges
  • High-level contribution impact

Viewing Item Details

Click any Proposal Item to see:

  • Full benefit details
  • Rate tables
  • Contribution-adjusted costs
  • Carrier documents (SBCs, summaries)

7. Comparisons

Creating Side-by-Side Comparisons

  1. Select multiple Proposal Items within a coverage type
  2. Click Compare
  3. Review comparison table

What Comparisons Show

| Comparison Area | Description | | ---------------- | ---------------------------- | | Benefits | Key plan features | | Rates | Premiums across tiers | | Cost Differences | Relative pricing | | Metrics | Deductibles, OOP max, copays |

Comparisons can be used internally or included in employer-facing exports.

8. Member Cost Breakdown

What the Breakdown Shows

The member breakdown displays:

  • Per-member premium amounts
  • Employer contribution per member
  • Employee payroll deduction per member

Viewing the Breakdown

  1. Open a Proposal Item
  2. Click View Member Breakdown
  3. Review per-member cost allocation

Contribution rules are applied automatically based on prior configuration.

9. Attachments and Notes

Attachments

Add documents that help Employers make decisions:

  • Benefit summaries
  • SBCs
  • Comparison spreadsheets
  • Implementation timelines

Attachments can be reordered or removed as needed.

Notes and Commentary

Add broker notes to provide context:

  • Recommendations and rationale
  • Key trade-offs
  • Decision guidance

Some notes may be internal-only, depending on configuration.

10. Exporting the Proposal

Export Formats

| Format | Common Use | | ---------- | -------------------------------- | | PDF | Client review and printing | | Excel | Analysis and customization | | PowerPoint | Executive or board presentations |

Export Options

Choose what to include:

  • Executive summary
  • Coverage details
  • Comparisons
  • Member breakdown
  • Attachments
  • Broker notes

You can also apply:

  • MonarkHQ branding
  • Your organization’s branding

11. Proposal Status

Proposal Lifecycle

| Status | Meaning | | --------- | ----------------------------- | | Draft | Still being built | | Ready | Finalized and ready to send | | Sent | Delivered to Employer | | Viewed | Employer opened Proposal | | Responded | Employer submitted selections | | Completed | Decision finalized |

Status updates automatically as you move through delivery and selection.

12. Best Practices

Curate, Don’t Dump

  • 2–4 options per coverage is usually ideal
  • Fewer options = clearer decisions

Lead with Insight

  • Mark recommendations clearly
  • Explain trade-offs in notes

Review Before Sending

  • Confirm contributions and costs
  • Ensure attachments are relevant
  • Preview exports

Next Steps

Once the Proposal is complete: