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Overview


After searching for a group policy or creating a group policy, the user can access the policy's content links to view and edit details about the policies. This section describes those content links.


Detail Content Link


The group policy Detail content link is the same for all group insurance types and contains all of the information related to a group policy.


You can customize this content link to display different content if you have the appropriate user rights (see Page Layout Customization). This topic describes the contents of the SmartOffice default layout.


Most of the fields related to basic and premium information are similar to those found on the Basic Information content link of an individual policy. The Customer # field is for group carriers that use a customer number to reference their policies.


The Key Information section contains fields specific to group policies. The # of Members field displays the sum of group participants for all plans of the group policy.


Group Plans Content Link


The Group Plans content link lists all plans that have been added to the group policy.


List Sub-Content Link


The List sub-content link provides an overview of the plans available in the group policy and allows users to add, delete, view/edit and renew plans.


Adding a Plan


  1. Select Menu > New 'Group Plan Policy' record to open the Group Plan List dialog box.
  2. (Optional) If the plan does not display in the list, create it by selecting Menu > New 'Group Plan' record. This will add the plan to the group product record. For more information, see Viewing and Editing Group Products.
  3. Select one or more plans in the list.
  4. Click the OK button.

Deleting a Plan


Tip: To retain information about an old plan, such as coverage data, you can renew the plan instead of deleting it.


  1. Select one or more plans.
  2. Select Menu > Delete 'Group Plan Policy' record.

Viewing and Editing Plan Benefit Information


  1. Select a plan in the policy's Group Plans list.
  2. Do one of the following to display the plan benefit categories that the user can view and/or edit (see Viewing and Editing Group Products for more information):
  • Click the appropriate General sub-content link. For example, for a group medical plan, click the General Medical sub-content link.
  • Select Menu > Show Benefit.

Renewing a Plan


Renewing a group plan adds a new plan while retaining the old plan record, including its coverage and other information, for historical purposes.


The new plan is added to the list with an Active status, while the old plan remains on the list with a new status of Inactive. Group certificates linked to the inactive plan also become inactive, and status dates for both plans are updated to the current date (to see status and status date, you may need to customize the Group Plans list to add those columns).


  1. Select a plan, and then select Menu > Renew Group Plan to open the Group Plan List.
  2. Choose the new plan. Note that you can select the same plan.

The Group Plans list refreshes to display both the new and old plans.


Members Sub-Content Link


On the Group Plans content link for all group product types, select a plan and click the Members sub-content link to see a list of plan participants. To add plan members:


  1. Click the Options button and select New 'Group Plan Members' record to open the Employee Census List.

Note: The employees available for selection are defined on the Employee Census content link of the business record. Employees can also be added to a group plan from that content link. For more information, see SmartBenefits - Employee Census and Group Benefits.

  1. Select one or more employees.
  2. Click the OK button.

To delete plan members:


  1. Select one or more employees.
  2. Click the Options button and select Delete 'Group Plan Members' record.

Premium Sub-Content Link


On the Group Plans content link for group medical, group dental, group vision and travel policies, select a plan and click the Premium sub-content link to view and/or edit detailed premium information about the participants in that plan.


The column totals are calculated as follows:


  • ER (Employer) Cost Total: The sum of the ER Cost x Participation
  • EE (Employee) Cost Total: The sum of the EE Cost x Participation
  • Participation Total: ER Cost Total + EE Cost Total

For travel policies, the Premium sub-content link displays basic coverage information.


Contribution Plan Sub-Content Link


On the Group Plans content link for retirement policies, the Contribution Plan sub-content link tracks premium, eligibility, vesting and other information.


The Group Options List tracks the securities in the retirement plan. To add a security to this list, the user can click the Options button and select New 'Group Plan Options' record, which opens the New Group Options Detail dialog box.


Note: These securities are part of the group policy record. They are not created as investment security records used in the SmartInvestments module.


General Sub-Content Link


On the Group Plans content link for all group policy types, the General sub-content link displays the status and status date of the plan, in addition to other data specific to the plan type. The full name of this content link varies depending on the policy type (e.g., General Dental, General Life, General Long-Term Care).


Users can modify the status and status date of the plan by editing the Status/Date fields (under Plan Name).


Benefit Plan Sub-Content Link


On the Group Plans content link for retirement policies, the Benefit Plan sub-content link stores detailed information about benefit plans.


Definition Sub-Content Link


On the Group Plans content link for Section 125 policies, the Definition sub-content link tracks reimbursement, contribution and expense information.


Custom Sub-Content Link


The group plan Custom sub-content link can be used to track any data about the plan that is not tracked elsewhere in the system. This content link is available on all group policies.


To customize the fields and their labels, select Menu > Customize Page Settings > Customize Field Labels.


Letters/Documents Content Link


This content link displays correspondence and files related to the policy. It works exactly like the contact/business Letters/Documents content link.


Group Requirements Content Link


The Group Requirements content link displays any requirements associated with the group policy, such as advisor and approval requirements. To add a group requirement:


  1. Click the Options button and select New 'Requirement' record to open the Select Requirement Type dialog box.
  2. Select the appropriate requirement type to open the Select Requirement(s) dialog box. (The requirements listed in this dialog box are defined in Policy/Case Setup - Requirements.)
  3. Select the appropriate requirements.
  4. Enter the status, priority and other details of the requirement.
  5. Click the OK button.

For more information about working with requirements, see Pending Cases - Requirements Content Link.


Activity/Mail Content Link


This content link displays calendar activities and e-mail related to the group policy. Click an activity or e-mail message to view it, and use the Options menus for additional commands.


Custom Content Link


Use this content link to track group policy data that SmartOffice does not track. Users with the appropriate rights can create and relabel fields to suit their organizations' needs. This content link works the same way as the contact/business Custom content link.


Group Certificates


When a member is added to a plan, a group certificate is created. The group certificate is a record of the individual coverage for that member.


Viewing Group Certificates


Group certificates are displayed by default when the user navigates to the Policies tab while viewing a contact. Group certificates are shown with a blue background.


To view group certificates when performing a global policy search:


  1. From the SmartOffice side menu, select Insurance and then select Policies from the expanded menu to open the Search Policies dialog box.
  2. Select the Show group certificates option.
  3. Click the Search button to display the Global Policy List.

Click the group certificate to view coverage details.


Data Displayed in Group Certificates


The following data is transferred from a group policy to a group certificate:


  • Policy #
  • Plan Name
  • Carrier
  • Plan Code
  • Policy Date
  • Renewal Date
  • Primary Advisor
  • Status
  • Interested Parties (plan member is listed as the primary contact)

Navigating Between Group Certificates and Group Policies


There are several ways to navigate between a group certificate record and its associated group policy. While viewing a group policy:


  1. Click the Group Plans content link.
  2. Select a plan and click the Members sub-content link.
  3. Select a member.
  4. Click the Options button and select Show Policy.

While viewing a group certificate:


  1. Click the Basic Information content link.
  2. Select Menu > Show Group Policy.

Updating Group Certificates


SmartOffice periodically checks for group policies that have been modified and updates the associated group certificates accordingly. This process is automatic and occurs once per minute in the background.


Deleting Group Certificates


To delete a group certificate, the user must first remove the member from the group policy through the Members sub-content link.


The user can then delete the certificate just like any other policy.