Create Benefit Plans for Specific Plan Types

This guide provides instructions for setting up benefit plans requiring additional configuration, such as life insurance and supplemental health plans, using Benefits Administration. It details the specific requirements for various plan types, including life insurance, HSA, FSA, and supplemental health options. The table of contents outlines sections on collecting beneficiary information, basic and voluntary life insurance plans, and coverage options. Important features include automatic rate calculations for certain plans and the ability to collect beneficiary information during enrollment. The guide emphasizes the significance of accurately defining coverage amounts and eligibility criteria, ensuring compliance with administrative processes during employee enrollment and benefit elections.

  • Jul 8, 2026
  • Knowledge

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Create Benefit Plans for Specific Plan Types
Article Text
Benefits Administration is only included as an add-on.

This guide covers how to set up benefit plans that need extra configuration, such as life insurance, supplemental health, and more, using Benefits Administration. It also highlights the specific details each plan type requires during setup.

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Table of Contents

Did you know that specific plan types can have rates automatically calculated during benefits enrollment? Click the following plan types to learn more.

Life insurance

When you create a life insurance plan, start by selecting the plan type (Basic or Voluntary) and whether the plan covers life, AD&D, or both. These fields help ensure accurate data is sent to carriers and become locked once you save the plan. However, you can edit these fields if you are duplicating the plan, and you can update the Life/AD&D field when creating a new plan year version.

For existing life insurance plans, the Plan Type field defaults to the equivalent of your original selection (e.g., Basic Life Insurance > Basic). The Life/AD&D field stays blank until you choose to edit the plan.

Collecting beneficiary information

In the Enrollment Details step of a life insurance plan, you can choose to collect beneficiary information during enrollment. To enable this feature, select Yes under "Do you need to collect beneficiaries for this plan?" Once the plan is added to an enrollment window, eligible employees can enter their beneficiary information during enrollment. Once a benefit election is approved and becomes active on its effective date, a new table with their beneficiary details appears on the employee's Benefits tab, where it is visible to both admins and the employee (if granted access to their Benefits tab).

Basic life insurance plans

If you are creating a basic life (or disability) insurance plan, decide whether employees will be automatically enrolled in the plan. If you choose auto-enrollment, you can also specify whether employees are allowed to waive coverage.

In the Coverage Options step of a basic life insurance plan, you will choose who the plan can cover and define how their coverage amounts are calculated, using the options and settings shown below.

Coverage options

If your basic life insurance plan covers dependents in addition to the employee, choose the applicable coverage options (Spouse or Domestic Partner and/or Children).

Coverage amounts

From the Coverage Type dropdown menu, choose the coverage type: Fixed Amount, Salary-Based, or Other. Based on your selection (shown below), enter the amounts of life insurance coverage the employee and any covered dependents will receive.

OptionsHow It Works
Fixed Amount

This opens currency fields where you can enter set amounts for the employee, spouse or domestic partner, and/or child.

Salary-Based

Selecting this option displays different fields depending on the coverage options included in the plan. 

  • Employee

    • # x employee's salary: The amount is based on what the employee's annual salary is as of the enrollment effective date. For hourly employees, the system assumes a 40-hour workweek.

    • Minimum amount and maximum amount: The maximum amount is required. If you leave the minimum amount blank, it defaults to $0. If an employee does not have pay information listed on their profile, their coverage defaults to the minimum amount.

  • Spouse or Domestic Partner: Percentage of employee's coverage or fixed amount

  • Per Child: Fixed amount

Other

Coverage amounts will default to $0 if you choose this coverage type. You will need to enter the correct amounts (or waive the plan) when approving your employees' benefit elections

Coverage amounts for basic life insurance plans appear in the Enrollment Window Election Summary report and on PDF forms, and  they also sync to carriers through carrier connections.

Important notes about basic life insurance plans in BambooHR:

  • The system does not calculate coverage amounts outside of an enrollment window.
  • If you edit coverage options, the system automatically updates pending benefit elections to reflect those changes. Approved benefit elections do not update.

Voluntary life insurance plans

Voluntary life insurance in this guide refers to both voluntary life and voluntary life & AD&D plans.

If adding a voluntary life insurance plan, you can choose who else can be covered in addition to the employee in the Coverage Options step: Spouse or Domestic Partner and/or Children. After you save and finalize the plan, coverage options cannot be edited, but you can include additional levels.

The Employee Coverage Amount section shows by default in the Coverage Options step. If you include dependent coverage options, BambooHR displays a coverage section for each one. Each coverage section includes the following:

  • Increment Size (required)
  • Minimum
  • Maximum (required)

Two sections include additional settings:

  • Employee Coverage Amount: You can set another maximum based on a multiple of the employee's salary. The effective maximum is whichever value is lower of the two maximums. BambooHR supports up to two decimal places for those values.
  • Spouse/Partner Coverage Amount: You can choose whether the maximum is based on a percentage of the employee's coverage (supports up to two decimal places).

All fields must have a value greater than 0, except the Minimum field. If you leave the minimum blank, the system uses the increment size as the minimum.

During enrollment, employees select their preferred voluntary life coverage amounts based on the plan setup. When you review their benefit elections, you can confirm the amounts and enter the same or updated values in the Approved For fields before approving.

After defining coverage amounts, determine Guaranteed Issue (GI) amounts (employee and spouse) and coverage increases in the Guaranteed Issue Amounts step. This step also includes a Learn More link with definitions of guaranteed issue and evidence of insurability (EOI). 

SettingDescription
Guaranteed Issue Amounts

Guaranteed issue amounts determine how much coverage is approved automatically and when Evidence of Insurability is required.

How these amounts apply:

  • Employees can elect coverage up to the GI amount without providing EOI.
  • Coverage amounts above the GI require EOI and remain pending approval by the insurance carrier.
  • GI amounts work together with coverage increase settings to determine when EOI is required across enrollment windows.

If you do not need to set GI amounts, leave this step as is and select an option under Coverage Increases (#2) to continue.

Coverage Increases

Choose how Evidence of Insurability applies when an employee increases coverage for this voluntary life and/or AD&D plan in future enrollment windows. These rules work together with the plan’s GI amounts to determine when EOI is required.

How these rules apply:

  • When an employee is first offered the plan (such as during a new hire enrollment), they can elect coverage up to the guaranteed issue (GI) amount without EOI.
  • During open enrollment, employees who have previously been offered the plan—whether they are currently enrolled or previously waived coverage—follow the selected coverage increase rule to determine when EOI is required.
  • Depending on the selected option, increases may require EOI for all changes or allow limited increases without EOI.
  • Coverage increases during qualifying life events (QLEs) require EOI, regardless of the selected coverage increase option.

During enrollment, employees see how much coverage is available without evidence of insurability (EOI) based on the plan's guaranteed issue settings and coverage increase rules. If an employee elects coverage that requires EOI, the additional coverage is labeled as pending EOI during enrollment and on the admin approval page.

Voluntary AD&D insurance plans

You can set up Guaranteed Issue amounts for voluntary AD&D plans in the Guaranteed Issue Amounts step.

If you are creating a voluntary AD&D insurance plan, you can add AD&D premiums in the AD&D Rates table of the Eligibility and Cost step. Enter a rate per a specific amount of coverage. Once you add these values, the system uses them to calculate costs for employees to view during enrollment and for admins to review when approving benefit elections.

HSA & FSA

In the Plan Details step for HSA or FSA plans, indicate if the plan must be tied to specific medical plans. If so, select Yes and choose all the medical plans an employee must be enrolled in for the HSA or FSA to be available during enrollment.

Supplemental health

In the Plan Details step of a supplemental health plan, choose the plan type you want to offer. The available options are as follows:

  1. Hospital Indemnity
  2. Critical Illness*
  3. Accident
  4. Cancer

*The Premium Type field does not apply to plans set to the Critical Illness plan type.

If you choose Critical Illness, the Coverage Options step will appear. This is where you define coverage amounts for the employee and any covered dependents.

You can configure coverage amounts using one of the two methods:

  1. Range: This option displays fields where you can enter the increment size, minimum, and maximum amounts.
    • For the spouse/domestic partner maximum, you can enter a specific currency amount or choose to set the maximum as a percentage of the employee's coverage.
  2. Percentage of employee's coverage: This option allows you to enter a percentage that determines dependent coverage amounts based on the employee's approved coverage.

In the Eligibility and Cost step, a message explains how costs are handled. Because this is a variable rate plan, you will enter costs on the approval page when you review an employee's benefit elections.

During enrollment, employees select their coverage amounts for themselves and any covered dependents. After they submit their elections, you will enter the applicable costs on the approval page, where you can also reference the Selected Coverage Level column to confirm the coverage amounts.

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