For Compensation and Benefits Analysts ·
What you'll accomplish
Use Claude to extract and compare key data from benefits carrier renewal proposals: medical, dental, vision, or voluntary benefits. Instead of spending a full day building a comparison matrix from 3–4 proposals, you'll have a structured executive summary in under an hour.
What you'll need
Write a quick list of what matters for this decision. For medical renewals, this typically includes:
Having this list before you start makes your prompts more targeted.
Go to {{tool:Claude.url}} and click New Chat. Click the paperclip icon and upload the first carrier proposal PDF.
Once uploaded, send this prompt:
This is a benefits carrier proposal for [plan type] renewal. Please extract and summarize:
1. Proposed monthly premiums: employer cost and employee cost for single, EE+Spouse, EE+Child(ren), and Family coverage tiers
2. Annual deductible (in-network and out-of-network)
3. Annual out-of-pocket maximum (in-network and out-of-network)
4. Coinsurance percentage after deductible
5. Prescription drug tiers and copays
6. Network type and estimated size (if stated)
7. Any changes from current year (look for "renewal changes" or "plan design changes" section)
8. Annual renewal rate increase percentage
Format as a structured list, not a table.
Start a new message (keep the same conversation), upload the next carrier's proposal, and send the same extraction prompt. Claude will produce comparable summaries for each carrier.
What you should see: Consistent structured summaries for each carrier, covering the same data points, ready to compare side-by-side.
Troubleshooting: If Claude misses a data point (says "not found"), search the PDF manually using Ctrl+F for that term. It may be in a supplemental exhibit rather than the main proposal.
Once you have summaries for all carriers, ask Claude to synthesize them:
Based on the carrier proposals I've described, please create a comparison table with:
- Rows: the key plan features (premiums, deductible, OOP max, etc.)
- Columns: Carrier A / Current Plan, Carrier B, Carrier C
Then add a 3-sentence recommendation summary identifying which carrier offers the best combination of employee cost-sharing, network breadth, and employer cost.
Copy Claude's comparison table into a PowerPoint slide or Excel sheet. Add a row showing the year-over-year cost change for your current carrier as context.
For a dental or vision renewal: "Extract from this dental carrier proposal: monthly premiums (employee-only and family), annual maximum benefit, orthodontia coverage and lifetime max, preventive vs. basic vs. major service cost-sharing, and network size. Compare to our current plan: [describe current plan briefly]."
For identifying the key difference: "Based on the 3 carrier summaries above, what is the single most significant difference between the three options that should drive the selection decision?"
For estimating total annual employer cost: "Based on these premiums and our enrollment distribution (350 employees; 60% single, 25% family, 15% EE+spouse), estimate total annual employer cost for each carrier."