This article will act as your start-up guide to Propel. Learn how to navigate Propel, create your first case, set up your client/ policy data, and more!
Video Resource
If you prefer to what a video, check out our YouTube training video on client management
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Getting Started
When you log in to your Propel account, you'll start at the dashboard, which is the home page of your account.
Select the Add New Case option to create a new case .
If this is your first time in Propel, you need to create a client to design a case. Do this by selecting the +New Client icon.
The following details are required when creating your client;
- First and Last Name
- DOB* (Not required, but highly recommended so Propel can round up to their age nearest if they're within 6 months of their birthday).
- Gender
- Smoker Status
- Country
- Province
Click save and you'll see the client's name in the text bar on the add new case page. Click continue to proceed.
Design Case Page
All insurance cases in Propel start on this page. The top section with the label "Add Plans to Compare" is where you can add plans to present.
TIP: There are no limitations to the amount of plans, carriers, product types, and death benefits that can be used in a case.
The right side of the page is where you can find your prospects or client's information, add a secondary client for joint or multi-life cases and create a personal or business insurance needs analysis.
Below the plan icons at the center of the page is where you can customize the report. This area will expand once plans are brought into the case.
Adding Term Plans
The steps listed below apply to both individual and joint/multi-life coverage. For case types with more than one client, add in the secondary client through the Add Joint Client icon.
Start by selecting the +Term icon on the design case page.
This will bring you to the plan specification page, where you can enter the details of what plan you'd like to search. Of all the options, make sure you enter the following;
- Insurance Benefit or Premium Amount to search for the plan.
- Term Length
- Health/Risk
- Quote Type (Only applicable when a joint client is added to the case)
- Payment Schedule (Annual or Monthly)
- Company Filter (Go to the account settings guide to learn more about creating a preferred company list).
Select search to see the results.
The results will show up in the least to most expensive order. All plans listed will have the same action icons.
Select the "Add to Case" icon to add the plan to the presentation. This will add the plan's initial premium and guaranteed renewal schedule to the design case page. See the following image means the plan is ready to present.
Other Term Search Options
If you wish to show the market survey results to your clients, select the "Save Survey To Client File" icon on the top right of the results page.
Not only will this provide a presentation of the results for your client, but it will also save the report to the client's profile as proof of the research you've done to select one of the options for your recommendation.
Click here to see an example market survey report.
Another option is to add term plans and forecast what would happen if they were to be reissued upon the renewal timeline. Presenting the reissued term will assume that the client is in the same health as they are today and uses today's rates. To add one of the reissued options, select the arrow to the right of the "Add To Case" icon.
Adding Permanent Plans
Simplistic permanent plans, such as Minimum Funded Universal Life and Non-Par Whole Life can be searched in Propel, just like Term insurance. To start this process, choose the product type you wish to work with and select the "Search Rates" option that appears in the dropdown menu.
*Remember, market surveys are limited to presenting the plan's premium, guaranteed cash value and insurance benefit.
More complex options, such as Overfunded Universal Life and Participating Whole Life, can be presented in Propel. The information for these plans needs to be generated from the carrier illustration software.
To start this process, identify the plan type you wish to work with and click on one of the carrier options in the dropdown menu.
By selecting a carrier, you're telling Propel that you're going to bring in data from that carrier illustration software. Propel will require the information from the carrier's illustrator in a spreadsheet format.
When a carrier is selected, you'll notice Propel will ask for the data to be brought in via a saved file through the import option, or that you've copied with the paste spreadsheet data icon.
All carrier desktop or web-based illustrators offer a data or spreadsheet option. Notice how this program shows a "View Data" icon in this example.
When selected, it will present the data of the plan I design in a spreadsheet format within their program. To move it to Propel, I'll need to explore the data in Excel. Some carrier programs, such as this example, offer an easy-to-find icon just above the spreadsheet values. Others will change the icons at the top of the page to add in an export icon.
Once you have the data exported and loaded in Excel, you can either;
- Save it as a file.
- Copy all the data, including the column header.
For the copy option, you can either use the CTRL+A keyboard shortcut to highlight all the values or select the green arrow icon to the left of the A Column and above the first row.
Once all the values are highlighted, right-click and copy it, or use the keyboard shortcut CTRL+C.
If you saved the file on your computer, click the import spreadsheet file icon on the design case page. From there, you can select the click here icon to choose a file on your computer to import.
Once you've selected the file, it will import the values automatically.
If you've pasted the data, click the paste spreadsheet data option. A large text box will appear to paste the data into. Either right-click and select paste or use the keyboard shortcut CTRL + V.
Despite the messy information, Propel recognizes this and will sort the data into your presentation when you click the upload icon.
The Design Case Page will reload with this message at the top of the page.
You'll also know that the import and paste options are no longer below the carrier name.
Both of these indicators confirm that the data is ready for your presentation!
Adding Existing Policies
When working with existing policyholders, we have two ways to add in the data, depending on if you're client and policy data is in Propel. To learn more about policy management, click here!
For clients already in Propel, you'll notice an option called "Inforce Policy" on the design case page. When selected, it will show all the policy numbers in the client's profile.
Once you select a policy number, Propel will ask you to confirm the length of the policy, to properly format the data in the presentation.
Once confirmed, click the save option. In a few seconds, you'll see the design case page has reloaded with the plan you selected. A key indicator to tell if a plan is already inforce is by the issue date, stated to the right of the policy name.
Since carriers cannot send the guaranteed renewal schedule, these need to be added to the plan data to present the future cost. To add this in, click the edit plan icon, located to the right of the plan's name.
TIP: Edit plan can be used to change the name and add a description for any plans you've added to the presentation. We highly recommend doing this for each plan.
Edit Plan will load up a pop-up window where you'll find the renewal premium text bars. Enter either the annual or monthly premium, depending on what the client is currently paying.
Click the save option once completed.
Adding Policies not in Propel
You can leverage the manual option on the design case page to bring in the policy data. When you select the manual icon, a dropdown menu will appear. Choose the policy type you wish to add.
When selected, a pop-up window will appear for you to enter the information. The key criteria includes;
- Policy Name and Description
- Initial and Renewal Premium
- Payment Schedule (Annual/Monthly)
- Renewable to Age
- Issue Date
- Policy Number
- Insurance Benefit
Click save once completed.
Compliance
Needs Analysis
To create an insurance needs analysis, start by selecting the edit icon for either the personal or business option on the right side of the page.
When brought to the needs analysis page, you have the option of sharing the needs analysis with your client via an interactive weblink or filling it in yourself on this page. To share the needs analysis to the client, click the link your client to fill icon on the top right of the page.
When selected, it will provide a custom website link to share with the client via email. The blue icon to the right of the link will copy the link, allowing you to easily paste it in an email.
The client can enter the values on their own device. Once they save the changes, the needs analysis will be updated in the case and you'll be notified by Propel. You can make edits to the needs analysis if the client makes an error entering in the data.
When completing the needs analysis on your own the top 2 sections for Current insurance and Assets will subtract from the insurance need. While from Mortgage to Other will add to the need.
Some sections offer a multiplier. In the example below, you'll see income replacement and education are multiplied by the number of years, or years and children to calculate the final need.
TIP: The client will only see the final calculated need for each section. If you wish to bring in an outside calculation, this is possible. Just change the years or years and child to the number 1.
When you select save changes, the needs analysis will be included in the presentation, as long as the needs analysis page has been selected.
Compliance Documents
On the design case page, if you scroll past the case controls, you'll find the notes subsection at the center of the page. The report notes option can load in a compliance document template to present as a custom page in your presentation. To start this process, select the concepts icon, to the right of the report notes title text bar.
A drop-down menu will appear with multiple options, including compliance documents and concept write-ups.
When you select the option of your choice, you'll notice the text has populated in the report notes text box. Fill in the blanks, if needed.
TIP: You can add in multiple report pages if you wish and your compliance document templates to use for future cases.
Additional Case Customization
The Case Controls subsection acts as the settings for the case you're working on. Some of the main selections here include;
- Modifying the client's age
- Changing the premium payment schedule. (This doesn't apply the modell factor if you brought in an annual premium on a market survey when switching it to monthly).
- Changing the report length.
- Adding inflation (Present Value).
- Changing the dividend default from current to reduced.
- Selecting a pre-selected page template for your report.
The final setting mentioned can be found with the Report Concept option. Here, you can choose what report type or concept you're working with and Propel will select the best page options. Custom page selections can be made for future cases.
Concepts can be included through the Alternate Investment Assumptions and Immediate Finance Agreement section.
To learn more about designing concepts, click here to view the guide.
The Report Component option is where you'll find a list of all the page options in Propel. A default list will be pre-selected. Click the checkbox to add or remove any of the options or, use the report concept option to use a pre-selected list.
Generate the Report
To see the report, select the Generate Report option at the top of the page.
You can always go back to edit the case, once generated.
Support
To learn more about designing a case, feel free to schedule a meeting with our customer success team through the link below.
Click Here to Schedule A Meeting