Prepare Quote Census Data
Learning Objectives
After completing this unit, you’ll be able to:
- Explain the role of a quote census in group quoting.
- Distinguish quote census records from enrollment census records.
- Describe how member records and class summaries support rating.
Prepare Population Data for Group Quoting
A group product defines what the insurer can offer, such as plans, coverages, and rules. Before that offering can be quoted for a specific employer, the insurer also defines the group it’s quoting.
In Digital Insurance, that group is captured in a Group Census record. For quoting, the census identifies the employees and dependents in scope and tracks the data pricing uses. Some products rate from class-level totals, such as member or dependent counts. Others rate from member details, such as age, gender, or family composition. Either way, the quote depends on a census tied to the employer being quoted.
A Type field sets how each Group Census record is used. When Type is Quote, the census supports pricing and offers design before a contract exists. When Type is Enrollment, it supports member selections after the contract is in place.
In this unit, you learn about the quote census and the records that prepare an employer population for quoting.
Track Quote Census Records
Before pricing a group offering, an insurer needs a population record for the quoted employer. These records connect the employer account, the quote census, the members in scope, the classes members belong to, and the class-level summaries that quoting can use. Check out this Group Benefits data model with important census, quoting, and contracting objects highlighted.
This table places some key quote census records in context.
Object |
What It Represents |
Purpose |
|---|---|---|
Account (1) |
The employer requesting group coverage |
Provides the employer context for the census and the quote that later references it |
Group Census (2) |
The population snapshot used for quoting |
Stores the employer population used for quoting when the record’s Type is set to Quote |
Group Census Member (3) |
An employee or dependent included in the quote census |
Defines the people in scope for the quote and supplies member-level detail when pricing or validation needs it |
Group Class (4) |
The classification assigned to members within the employer population |
Organizes the census into groups that quoting, eligibility logic, and contribution structure can reference |
Group Census Group Class Summary (5) |
The rollup of census data by group class |
Provides the class-level totals used when quoting relies on summary values rather than evaluating each member individually |
Taken together, these records show how Digital Insurance prepares an employer population for quoting. The quote census captures who is in scope, group classes organize that population into plan and rating contexts, and the class summaries roll the data up for pricing methods that work at the class level.
Manage the Quote Census
Before quoting begins, a group benefits specialist needs a reliable way to load the employer population and review whether it is ready for pricing. A Salesforce admin can support that process by adding the Insurance Group Census Lightning web component to the Group Census record page. This gives specialists a dedicated workspace for uploading member data, reviewing results, correcting issues, and working with member records and group class summaries.
When a specialist submits a CSV file through that component, Digital Insurance processes it through the Process Group Census Member Data flow. The flow retrieves records from the CSV, checks for duplicates, validates group class assignments and member associations, and saves valid records while flagging any errors for review.
To explore this process in practice, follow a group benefits specialist as they prepare the quote census for a new employer offering.
Create and Load the Census
At Cumulus Insurance, a group benefits specialist starts by creating a new Quote Census from an employer account.
Using the Insurance Group Census component on the Quote Census record, the specialist uploads a CSV file and maps the source columns to the Group Census Member fields defined in the census model.
That mapping ensures employee, dependent, demographic, and class-related data populates consistently. A few structural rules govern the CSV. Primary members appear before their dependents in the file. The group class assigned to a primary member is automatically applied to dependents. The upload uses first name, last name, and association with the primary member to identify records for insert or update.
After submission, Digital Insurance processes the file asynchronously through the Process Group Census Member Data flow.
Review the Results
When processing finishes, the Quote Census record surfaces the results in the census management workspace, where the specialist reviews members and dependents, inspects summary information, and corrects any issues before quoting begins.
If the upload encounters errors, such as invalid associations or duplicate records, the system generates an error file and stores it in the Notes & Attachments list on the quote census record for review.
Before moving forward, the specialist confirms that the census is ready. On the Related tab, the Group Census Member List shows the underlying employee and dependent records. The Group Class Summaries list displays the class rollups available for summary-based rating.
At this point, the employer population is ready for quoting.
What’s Next?
In this unit, you learned how a quote census captures the employer population that pricing depends on. You explored how the Type field separates quote census from enrollment census, and how member records and class summaries support member-based and summary-based rating.
In the next unit, you learn how Digital Insurance uses that quote census to build the employer offering, calculate premiums, and create the contract that enrollment uses later.