PeopleSoft CRM 9.1 Industry Application Fundamentals PeopleBook

Working with Products in Financial Services and Insurance

This chapter provides an overview of products for the financial service and insurance industries, and discusses how to:

Set up and maintain product groups.
Define products and product packages.
Define product relationships.
Set up actions for insurance.

Understanding Products in the Financial Service and Insurance Industries

In this section, we discuss:

Insurance products.
Financial services products.
Product attachments.
Product relationships.
Attributes
Actions

Insurance Products

Insurance products—whether life, health, or Property and Casualty (P&C)—are essentially a collection of available coverages. Coverages are specific to the line of business; however, specific coverages may appear in multiple products. Using the PeopleSoft Customer Relationship Management (PeopleSoft CRM) for Insurance product model, you set up coverages as individual products and group them in packages. The product model uses products as the basic building blocks that you use to create policies that are offered to your customers. Products can be coverages, benefits, riders, exclusions, and so on—any basic component of an insurance policy. Setting up coverages separately enables you to easily change the configuration of products to meet market needs. In addition, it provides the flexibility to meet regional and legislative requirements.

This table lists details about the terminology used for insurance products:

Term	Details
Product	Each product is a coverage, a benefit, a rider, or an exclusion. For example, collision coverage, loss of use, or covered property would each be set up as a product. Coverages are grouped together in a product package to create an insurance policy. Coverages can be used once or for multiple policies. You can assign a code to each coverage to facilitate searching.
Product group	A product group organizes your coverages into manageable groups for retrieval purposes. For Property and Casualty, there are more than 1,200 coverage codes that you can group. The coverages are organized into about 100 groups from Property and Casualty ACORD standard data.
Product package	Packages assemble coverages into a policy that your company can offer to a customer. For example, a package can be a homeowners policy, a personal auto policy, or a term life policy. Each package is an accumulation of products. You must have a minimum of two products to create a package.
Arrangement	A product arrangement is composed of a single product or product package with enhanced features that is made available to organizations, not individual consumers. An organization can be a company, a partnership, or an alternate capacity. For example, an insurance company may offer a preferred rate on automobile policies sold to employees of a company.
Contract	A contract is an agreement between the insurance company and a specific organization that includes a specific product. In contrast to an arrangement, a contract is tied to one organization and is specific to that organization.
Product relationship	A product relationship links one product to another in a specific relationship. Product relationships can define alternate products, complementary products, cross-sells, prerequisites, replacements, service features, and upsells.

Financial Services Products

This table lists details about the terminology used for financial services products:

Term	Details
Product	A product can also be known as a single product or base product. This is the product that a financial institution sells to a business contact. A product could be a regular savings account, a certificate of deposit, automobile insurance, or a credit card.
Product group	A product group is a collection of related financial services products. For example, the Checking product group could consist of regular checking, premium interest checking, student checking, and business checking.
Product package	A package consists of two or more base products that may not be related, but are grouped together for sales or marketing purposes. A Senior Banking package might consist of a premium interest checking account, an ATM card, and a credit card, as well as preferred rate auto and home insurance. A product package can include another product package.
Arrangement	A product arrangement is composed of a single product or product package with enhanced features that is made available to organizations, not individual consumers. An organization can be a company, a partnership, or an alternate capacity. For example, a bank may offer a preferred rate of interest on a savings account to employees of the company.
Contract	A contract is an agreement between the financial institution and a specific organization that includes a specific product. In contrast to an arrangement, a contract is tied to one organization and is specific to that organization.
Product relationship	A product relationship links one product to another in a specific relationship. Product relationships can define alternate products, complementary products, cross-sells, prerequisites, replacements, service features, and upsells.

Product Attachments

Financial services organizations need to associate documents to products. Federal regulations require that banks ask customers that they understand the terms and conditions of products and that they agree to them. In internet product sales, attachments of the Disclosure type appear when a customer is applying for a product. The attachments are stored on a File Transfer Protocol (FTP) server.

You may need to associate disclosure or prospectus documents with certain insurance products. In the Internet product sales process, attachments of the type Disclosure or Prospectus can be displayed when a customer is applying for a product. The attachments are stored on a File Transfer Protocol server.

When you add an attachment to a component, you identify the file to be attached. Once you identify the file, the system uploads the attachment to your PeopleSoft attachment server. Storing all attachments on a central server ensures that the attachment is available to all users.

When you click the link for an existing attachment, the system launches the attachment. The system handles the file according to your operating system's rules, either opening the file in a new browser window, prompting you for a location to download the file, or offering you a choice between these two actions.

To support attachments, set up an FTP server to store attachments and configure the system to access the server. To configure the system, use the URL Maintenance page to specify a URL for each component that supports attachments. This setup is part of the PeopleSoft CRM installation process.

Product Relationships

A product relationship links one product to another in a specific relationship. You can define these relationships:

Relationship	Usage
Alternate products	Products that could replace the original product.
Complementary products	Products that complement the original product.
Cross-sells	Products or services that are complementary to those that the customer already has or intends to buy.
Prerequisites	Products that should be purchased prior to the purchase of the product.
Replacements	Products that can replace the original product.
Service features	Service features that can be sold in conjunction with the product.
Upsells	Products or services that are of higher value or more expensive than those the customer already has or intends to buy.

See Also

Managing Product Relationships

Attributes

This section discusses:

Attributes used in financial service industries.
Attributes used for insurance industries.

Attributes for Financial Services

PeopleSoft for financial services uses the core PeopleSoft CRM attribute functionality. Attributes can be assigned at the individual product or product group level. PeopleSoft delivers three attributes specifically designed for products in the financial market:

Features

Features describe product characteristics. Examples include overdraft protection or simple interest.
Terms and Conditions

This attribute displays conditions and details for the product or product group.
Services

This attribute displays the services provided with the product.

Note. Your organization can add attributes in addition to those supplied by PeopleSoft.

See Defining Product Attributes.

Attributes for Insurance

Insurance uses the core PeopleSoft CRM attribute functionality. Product-specific attributes are extended to the insurance product as part of this functionality. Attributes can be assigned at the individual product, product group, or product package level.

Limits and deductibles are insurance-specific attributes.

The limit of liability indicates the maximum amount that the policy will honor for a particular coverage. Insurance companies typically offer a range of predefined limits for different types of coverages. These are defined in the product model by the insurance provider. They are added as attributes on the Attribute tab in the Product component.

For example, assume that Bodily Injury coverage is $100,000 per person, $300,000 per accident. You set up an attribute category, “INS-PERSONAL AUTO-BODILY INJ.” For Attribute Name, Limits (Per Person), set up two values: Attribute Value = $50,000 USD, and Attribute Value = $100,000 USD. For the Attribute Name, Limits (Per Accident), set up Attribute Value = $150,000 USD, and Attribute Value = $300,000 USD. You can add additional attribute values to meet your business needs.

There are different limits for different coverages. Because the drop-down list box of available values changes from coverage to coverage, you will create a different limit attribute for each coverage that has limits, and associate the limit attribute to the appropriate attribute category.

A deductible is the amount of an insured loss for which the insured is financially responsible before an insurance policy provides coverage. A flat deductible is usually a monetary amount. You predefine deductibles in the product model. Deductibles are added as attributes for a coverage on the Attribute tab. The attribute is called Deductibles, and contains the available values in a drop-down list box. The deductible attribute is related to the appropriate attribute category.

You define these limits based on your business needs. For example, you may define an attribute called Deductibles with values of $250 USD and $500 USD. Because this creates the drop-down list box of available values that changes from coverage to coverage, you create a different deductible attribute for each coverage that has deductibles. The deductible attribute is related to the appropriate attribute category.

Product Application Forms

You can configure product application forms to vary by channel. For example, you may want to present one form to the customer applying through the internet and a different form to a call center agent taking information from the customer over the phone. You can have only one application form per channel for each product.

In order to apply for a product in FSI or obtain an insurance quote, only Configurator is supported. Any product action that requires re-quoting supports the Configurator model only (for example, actions like adding a driver, removing a driver, and so on).

Other actions, such as Create FNOL, can use any of the following four ways to set up product applications:

Branch scripts
Configurator
URLs
Online application forms

The following table describes each type:

Application Type	Details	More Information
Branch scripts	Can be configured according to channel Use the core branch script functionality. Are associated with the product and the channel. The association allows the runtime program that accesses the product to initiate the correct branch script.	See Defining Scripts, Running Scripts.
Configurator	Uses the core Configurator functionality. You associate a configuration schema with the product and the channel. The association allows the runtime program that accesses the product to initiate the Configurator.	See Getting Started with PeopleSoft Advanced Configurator.
URL	Can be configured according to channel. Links to an external web application. Since the URL is an external link, it is not inside your firewall. Use the URL to integrate with third-party web-data-collecting applications.
Application Form	Can be configured according to channel. Set up an application form using the Application Form component.	See Setting Up Online Application Forms for FNOL.

Actions

Product actions are the activities that can be performed on a product. Actions vary by product line. For example, on an automobile policy, you might add a driver, while on a life policy, you might change the beneficiary.

You can associate each action with an application type. When a customer or customer service representative selects an action, the system automatically starts the appropriate application type. Actions can be associated with branch scripts, application forms, or the product configurator.

See Also

Defining Product Actions

Internal and External Visibility

For financial services you can make product and product group descriptions available internally, externally, or both. All products are internally visible by default.

The internal description is seen only by employees of the financial institution, such as agents or account managers, and is not visible to self-service customers. The external description is seen by self-service customers and the internal audience.

With internal and external visibility, you can:

Supply two versions of a product description, one for employees and one for self-service customers.

You may need to provide a very detailed description for employees and a marketing oriented description for self-service customers.
Control certain products so that customers can only access them through employees.

The external visibility for a product or a package is controlled by the External Visibility field on the Product Definition page. For a product group, if the external description field is populated, the product group is external. Otherwise, it is considered to be internal.

Setting Up and Maintaining Product Groups

This section discusses how to:

Define product groups.
View product group attributes.

Pages Used to Set Up and Maintain Product Groups

Page Name	Definition Name	Navigation	Usage
Product Group	RBFPROD_GROUP_TBL	Products CRM, Product Groups, Product Group	Define a group of related products.
Product Group Attributes	RB_ATTR_PRDGRP_SEC	Click the Attributes link on the Product Group page	View attributes for a product group.
Product Group - Linked Products	RBF_PRODGRP_DEF	Products CRM, Product Groups, Linked Products	View products that are contained within this product group.

Defining Product Groups

Access the Product Group page (Products CRM, Product Groups, Product Group).

Status

Enter Active or Inactive.

Group Type

Select a category for the group type. You can use this as an additional organizational tool.

Attributes

Click to access the Attributes page.

Viewing Product Group Attributes

Access the Product Group Attributes page (click the Attributes link on the Product Group page).

External Description

Enter data to make the product group visible to self-service users. If there is no entry in the External Description field, then the product group is visible to internal agents only.

Confirming Linked Products

Access the Linked Products page (Products CRM, Product Groups, Linked Products).

The system displays all products that have been associated with the product group. Click the transfer button on the product row to access the Product component and view and update the record.

Defining Products and Product Packages

This section discusses how to:

Define products and product packages.
Link products and packages to product groups.
Define external descriptions.
Associate applications with products and packages.
Define regions.
View attributes.
Defining attachments.
View product packages.
View and maintain arrangements.
View and maintain contracts.
Define actions.
Initiate business processes.
Attach images.
Define correspondence options.

Pages Used to Define Products

Page Name	Definition Name	Navigation	Usage
Product Definition	RBFPROD_DEFN	Products CRM, Product Definition, Product Definition	Set up product information.
Product Definition - Product Groups	RBF_PROD_GROUP_LNK	Products CRM, Product Definition, Product Groups	Link a product to a product group. One product can belong to multiple groups.
Product Definition - External Description	PROD_EXT_DESCR	Products CRM, Product Definition, External Description	Enter the external description of the product to appear on the self-service customer page. The page allows the entry of HTML text, as well as an area to preview the HTML-enabled descriptions.
Product Definition - Application	RBF_PROD_APPL	Products CRM, Product Definition, Application	Associate an application with a product.
Product Definition - Regions	PROD_REGION	Products CRM, Product Definition, Regions	Define availability of product by region.
Product Definition - Attributes	RB_ATTR_RUN_PROD	Products CRM, Product Definition, Attributes	View attributes that are attached to this product on the Product Definition page.
Product Definition - Attachments	PROD_ATT	Products CRM, Product Definition, Attachments	Attach files.
Product Definition - Packages	RBF_PRODKIT_LINK	Products CRM, Product Definition, Packages	View packages that contain the product.
Product Definition - Arrangements	RBF_PROD_ARRA	Products CRM, Product Definition, Arrangements	View the arrangements that are associated with the product or package.
Product Definition - Contracts	RBF_PROD_ACNT	Products CRM, Product Definition, Contracts	View the contracts that are associated with the product or package.
Product Definition - Actions	RBT_PROD_ACTION	Products CRM, Product Definition, Actions	Link actions to the product or package.
Product Definition - Business Process	RBF_PROD_BUSPRJ_PG	Products CRM, Product Definition, Business Process	Initiate business processes to be performed on the product or package.
Product Definition - Images	PROD_IMAGES	Products CRM, Product Definition, Images	Associate images with the product or package. The images that you associate here are used for Internet sales.
Correspondence Options	RBF_BPEL_CORRSP	Products CRM, Product Definition, Correspondence Options	Select correspondence options for the product or product package.

Defining Products and Product Packages

Access the Product Definition page (Products CRM, Product Definition, Product Definition).

Name

Enter up to 30 characters that describe the product or package.

Status

Select Active or Inactive.

External Visibility

Select to make the product description visible externally.

If selected, the External Description and Long External Description fields must be completed.

Coverage Code

Coverage codes are limited to five characters.

Product Sold to Business or Consumer

Select if the product is available for business customers, individual consumers, or both.

Attribute Category

Select the attribute category that applies to this product. Use the Product Definition - Attributes page to view the attributes as they appear on internal or external pages.

Script Name

Select an upsell script to use in connection with this product. The upsell script is optional.

Long Description

The extended product description is entered in HTML. This is the description that the internal agent sees.

Preview

Click to display the product description as it appears on the sales entry page.

Product Type

The fields in the Product Type group box define whether the product is a single product, a product package, or a product arrangement.

Product Type	Select to designate the product as a Single Product, Product Package, or Product Arrangement. The page changes depending on your selection.
Package Components	This group box is displayed if Product Package is selected. A product package has two or more components. Enter the products—coverages, benefits, riders, exclusions, and so on—belonging to this package. You can select only single products, not other product packages.
Arrangement	This group box is displayed if Product Arrangement is selected.

See Also

Working with Arrangements and Contracts

Linking Products and Packages to Product Groups

Access the Product Definition - Product Groups page (Products CRM, Product Definition, Product Groups).

Product Group Type

Select a type based on common product features. The system comes with functional product group types already defined. You can add additional groups.

Product Group

Associate single products with a product group for organizational purposes. One product can belong to many product groups. You can drill down to the Product Group page from the definition.

Defining the External Description

Access the Product Definition - External Description page (Products CRM, Product Definition, External Description).

Description

Enter a name to appear for self-service customers.

If the Description and Long Description fields are completed on this page, then the product is considered to be external.

Entry in these fields selects the External Visibility check box on the Product Definition page automatically.

Long Description

Enter the extended product description in HTML. This is the description that the self-service customer sees.

The <html>, <title>, <header>, and <body> tags are not supported.

Use this field to enter URL links to websites used during the sell process to deliver detailed information.

Preview

Click to show the product description as it appears on the sales entry page.

Associating Applications with Products and Packages

Access the Product Definition - Application page (Products CRM, Product Definition, Application).

Configured Package

Select to define the product package as a fully configured package. A fully configured package uses the product configurator at runtime and creates a package based on your choices from the Configurator model.

Distribution Model

Select the distribution model related to the product package.

Channel

Indicate where the application will be available. You may define only one application form per channel. Insert a row to add a new channel. Delivered values are All Channels, Internal, and Web Self-Service.

Application Form

Select if you are using an application form created in the Application Form component.

Form Name

Enter the application form ID. Click the transfer button to access the application form component and view and update the form.

Branch Script

Select to use a branch script. The association allows the runtime program that accesses the product to initiate the correct branch script.

Script Name

Enter the branch script name. Click the transfer button to access the branch script tree and view and update the form.

URL

Select to use an internal link to an application form.

URL

Enter the URL to transfer the customer to the application form.

See Product Application Forms.

Defining Regions

Access the Product Definition - Regions page (Products CRM, Product Definition, Regions).

The fields under Region Options enable you to define specific areas where the product is available for sale.

All Regions	Select to make the product generally available.
Only in Regions below	Select to make the product unavailable in all regions except those you specify. Use the Region ID field to identify the regions (by region ID) where the product can be sold. Use this to set up products that are only available in specific states.
All except Regions below	Select to make the product available in all regions except those you specify. Use the Region ID field to identify the regions in which the product is unavailable.

Note. Region IDs are defined on the Region page, and are of the type Product Sales.

Viewing Attributes

Access the Product Definition - Attributes page (Products CRM, Product Definition, Attributes).

The system displays the attributes associated with the product or package on the Product Definition page. You can select additional values from the drop-down list boxes.

See Also

Configuring Attributes

Defining Attachments

Access the Product Definition - Attachments page (Products CRM, Product Definition, Attachments).

File Name

Displays the name and extension of the attached file. Click to activate a pop-up window that displays the contents of the attachment. The contents of this file will be viewed by the self-service user during product selection.

File Type

Select an attachment type. Options are: Disclosure, Literature, White Paper, and Prospectus.

Description

Enter a brief description of the attachment.

Required

This flag is used at runtime to identify whether the user must view the attachment to order the product, or whether the information is solely informational.

Audience

Select the audience for the attachment. Options include All, External, Internal, and None.

Attach a File

Click to select the file to attach to the product.

Note. Refer to Adding Attachments for the associated rules.

See Also

Working with Notes and Attachments

Viewing Product Packages

Access the Product Definition - Packages page (Products CRM, Product Definition, Packages).

The system displays all packages that contain the product. Click the transfer button to drill down to package details.

See Also

Setting Up Products

Viewing and Maintaining Arrangements

Access the Product Definition - Arrangements page (Products CRM, Product Definition, Arrangements).

The system displays the arrangements associated with the product. Click the transfer button in the Arrangements Containing Product row to access the Arrangement component, where you can view and update the record.

The system also displays the contracts that contain the arrangement. Click the transfer button in the Contracts Containing Arrangement row to access the Contract component, where you can view and update the record.

Viewing and Maintaining Contracts

Access the Product Definition - Contracts page (Products CRM, Product Definition, Contracts).

The system displays the contracts associated with the product.

Click the transfer button in the Contracts Containing Product row to access the Contracts component, where you can view and update the record.

Defining Actions

Access the Product Definition - Actions page (Products CRM, Product Definition, Actions).

Action Name

Select an action to associate with the product or package. An action defines an activity that can be performed on the policy.

Action Type

Displays the action type defined in the Action component.

Application Method

Displays the application method defined in the Action component.

Application Name

Displays the name that appears in Web Self Service.

See Also

Working with Active Analytics Framework

Initiating Business Processes

Access the Product Definition - Business Process page (Products CRM, Product Definition, Business Process).

You can initiate business processes to be performed on the product or package.

Attaching Images

Access the Product Definition - Images page (Products CRM, Product Definition, Images).

You can associate images of different sizes with the product or package. The image will appear in the product catalog.

Defining Correspondence Options

Access the Product Definition - Correspondence Options page (Products CRM, Product Definition, Correspondence Options).

You can set up automatic correspondence to be sent based on selected actions.

See Also

Correspondence Management

Defining Product Relationships

This section discusses defining relationships for products and product groups.

Pages Used to Define Product Relationships

Page Name	Definition Name	Navigation	Usage
Product Relationships	PROD_RELATIONS	Products CRM, Product Relationships, Product Relationships	Define relationships with products and product packages.
Product Relationships - Relationships Overview	PROD_REL_OVERVIEW	Products CRM, Product Relationships, Relationships Overview	View product and product group relationships.

Defining Product Relationships

Access the Product Relationships page (Products CRM, Product Relationships, Product Relationships).

Product Relationship

Select the relationship to establish between products or product groups.

Product ID

Enter the product ID for the related product.

Catalog

Select to display the product in the catalog.

Start Date and End Date

Enter the start and end dates for the relationship.

See Setting Up Product Definitional Elements.

Setting Up Actions for Insurance

This section discusses how to set up actions.

Page Used to Set Up Actions

Page Name	Definition Name	Navigation	Usage
Actions	RBT_ACTION	Set Up CRM, Product Related, Order Capture, Action, Action	Set up actions for products and product groups.

Setting Up Actions for Insurance

Access the Actions page (Set Up CRM, Product Related, Order Capture, Action, Action).

Action Code

Displays the action code that you entered on the search page.

Action Name

Enter the name for the action or change.

Action Type

Select an action type.

Re-Quote

Select if the action needs a re-quote because of a changed premium.

Action Reference

This field is not used for insurance.

Application Method

Select the application method to be associated with the change. Values are Application Form, Configurator, and Branch Script.

Script Name

Select the script to be associated with the change.

Status	Enter Active or Inactive.
Group Type	Select a category for the group type. You can use this as an additional organizational tool.
Attributes	Click to access the Attributes page.

Name	Enter up to 30 characters that describe the product or package.
Status	Select Active or Inactive.
External Visibility	Select to make the product description visible externally. If selected, the External Description and Long External Description fields must be completed.
Coverage Code	Coverage codes are limited to five characters.
Product Sold to Business or Consumer	Select if the product is available for business customers, individual consumers, or both.
Attribute Category	Select the attribute category that applies to this product. Use the Product Definition - Attributes page to view the attributes as they appear on internal or external pages.
Script Name	Select an upsell script to use in connection with this product. The upsell script is optional.
Long Description	The extended product description is entered in HTML. This is the description that the internal agent sees.
Preview	Click to display the product description as it appears on the sales entry page.

Product Group Type	Select a type based on common product features. The system comes with functional product group types already defined. You can add additional groups.
Product Group	Associate single products with a product group for organizational purposes. One product can belong to many product groups. You can drill down to the Product Group page from the definition.

Configured Package	Select to define the product package as a fully configured package. A fully configured package uses the product configurator at runtime and creates a package based on your choices from the Configurator model.
Distribution Model	Select the distribution model related to the product package.
Channel	Indicate where the application will be available. You may define only one application form per channel. Insert a row to add a new channel. Delivered values are All Channels, Internal, and Web Self-Service.
Application Form	Select if you are using an application form created in the Application Form component.
Form Name	Enter the application form ID. Click the transfer button to access the application form component and view and update the form.
Branch Script	Select to use a branch script. The association allows the runtime program that accesses the product to initiate the correct branch script.
Script Name	Enter the branch script name. Click the transfer button to access the branch script tree and view and update the form.
URL	Select to use an internal link to an application form.
URL	Enter the URL to transfer the customer to the application form.

File Name	Displays the name and extension of the attached file. Click to activate a pop-up window that displays the contents of the attachment. The contents of this file will be viewed by the self-service user during product selection.
File Type	Select an attachment type. Options are: Disclosure, Literature, White Paper, and Prospectus.
Description	Enter a brief description of the attachment.
Required	This flag is used at runtime to identify whether the user must view the attachment to order the product, or whether the information is solely informational.
Audience	Select the audience for the attachment. Options include All, External, Internal, and None.
Attach a File	Click to select the file to attach to the product. Note. Refer to Adding Attachments for the associated rules.

Action Name	Select an action to associate with the product or package. An action defines an activity that can be performed on the policy.
Action Type	Displays the action type defined in the Action component.
Application Method	Displays the application method defined in the Action component.
Application Name	Displays the name that appears in Web Self Service.

Product Relationship	Select the relationship to establish between products or product groups.
Product ID	Enter the product ID for the related product.
Catalog	Select to display the product in the catalog.
Start Date and End Date	Enter the start and end dates for the relationship.

Action Code	Displays the action code that you entered on the search page.
Action Name	Enter the name for the action or change.
Action Type	Select an action type.
Re-Quote	Select if the action needs a re-quote because of a changed premium.
Action Reference	This field is not used for insurance.
Application Method	Select the application method to be associated with the change. Values are Application Form, Configurator, and Branch Script.
Script Name	Select the script to be associated with the change.