One page per group with the plans people are enrolled in, FAQs, who to call at the carrier, who to call for claims, and a line to an account manager at your agency.

Warnings that go out early enough to handle new hires and changes before the effective date.

Automated monthly client updates.

A short, regular note to each group, so the renewal isn’t the only time they hear from you.

Have you built these?

One of them. I built Finn, a benefits chatbot that still runs on my last agency’s website. The other four, not yet. I’ve built my own CRM, notetaker, proposal generator, and enrollment platform, and I’d build them the same way.

Does the chatbot answer on its own?

Only from your plan designs and your agency’s past answers. Anything it isn’t sure about goes to a person.

Where would you start?

Inbox triage for the top five emailed topics.

Every build is a fixed fee, scoped after a $1,500 discovery.

From reactive to proactive: what client service automation looks like at a benefits agency

I’m Chris Cordon, a 17 year benefits producer. I built my own CRM, notetaker, proposal generator, and enrollment platform, plus a benefits chatbot named Finn that still runs on my last agency’s website. I haven’t built the other four client service tools for a client yet, and I’ll say so on every page. Here’s how I’d build them.

What does client service automation cover?

Client service automation at DoBetter covers five services:

Client portals.: One page per group with the plans people are enrolled in, FAQs, who to call at the carrier, who to call for claims, and a line to an account manager at your agency.
Benefits Q&A assistant.: A chatbot, available 24/7, that answers from your agency’s email history and the plan designs for the health plans and ancillary benefits. I built one, Finn, on about 300 emails’ worth of real questions and answers plus all of an agency’s plans.
Renewal reminders.: Warnings that go out early enough to handle new hires and changes before the effective date.
Service request tracking.: One place to see what came in, who has it, and what’s still open.
Automated monthly client updates.: A short, regular note to each group, so the renewal isn’t the only time they hear from you.

The software does the sorting, the drafting, and the remembering. A person still owns the client.

What does account management look like before and after?

Before, most account management is reactive. Account managers answer the same emails all day. ID cards are “by a country mile” the number one thing they’re emailed about, even when employees were told where to find a digital copy and when the hard copies would arrive by mail.

After, the first thing I’d build is inbox triage for account management, on both the sales side and the service side. Find the top five things account managers get emailed about. Write a template for each one. Let the software sort the inbox and draft the reply, and let the account manager approve it.

“They are a well oiled machine when they’re being proactive.” Clearing those five topics off their desks frees them to call clients and ask if they need help.

My CRM already works this way for me. It drafts my replies into a queue, and nothing goes out until I approve it.

Why do wrong answers at open enrollment cost so much?

Wrong answers at open enrollment cost a second round of work. “HR giving the wrong kind of answers causes multiple hitches in the giddyup because we’re usually scrambling for stragglers at open enrollment.” When people get the wrong information, the agency has to double back and correct them, and that risks calling the carrier for an extension.

A benefits chatbot that answers from the actual plan designs gives the same answer at 10pm that the account manager gives at 10am. Questions like “Can I add dependents?” and “Can I change my plan this year?” get answered the first time.

What won’t client service automation do?

Client service automation won’t replace your account managers. It won’t give medical, legal, or tax advice. A benefits Q&A assistant hands anything it isn’t sure about to a person at your agency.

It won’t fix a slow TPA either. In a self funded plan, a TPA that’s behind on reimbursements leaves clients with balance bills, and your account manager gets caught in the crossfire. Service request tracking can show exactly who hasn’t called back and for how long. Getting the call back is still a person’s job.

Who is client service automation a fit for?

Client service automation fits a benefits agency whose account managers spend their days answering the same emails and chasing the same answers. It’s a poor fit for an agency whose groups rarely email, or whose groups already get what they need from a benefits administration platform.

Quick answers

Have you built these?: One of them. I built Finn, a benefits chatbot that still runs on my last agency’s website. The other four, not yet. I’ve built my own CRM, notetaker, proposal generator, and enrollment platform, and I’d build them the same way.
Does the chatbot answer on its own?: Only from your plan designs and your agency’s past answers. Anything it isn’t sure about goes to a person.
Where would you start?: Inbox triage for the top five emailed topics.
What does it cost?: Every build is a fixed fee, scoped after a $1,500 discovery.