Plan Compass

The Problem

Plan Compass was managing 80+ active insurance clients across spreadsheets, email, and memory. Renewal dates, enrollment deadlines, and client birthdays were scattered everywhere. The team would miss a renewal window and realize three weeks later that a client had switched carriers. Proposal comparisons took 45 minutes - carrier brochures were screenshotted, pasted into Word, and manually built into comparison tables. Clients received messy documents that looked unprofessional.

Most of the week was admin: building proposals, digging through old emails for birthdates, and searching for renewal dates during live client calls. Relationship-building work got squeezed into whatever time was left.

The Turning Point

Plan Compass realized revenue was being lost on autopilot. The business had built a solid book of clients, but missed renewals meant clients leaving without the team even knowing. A client called asking about a renewal, and the original proposal had to be dug out of email. That was the moment the system was clearly broken.

The Solution

Plan Compass was built as a custom app that centralizes every client in one profile, including spouse information, children, birthdates, coverage history, and notes. The app automatically surfaces renewal dates, enrollment deadlines, and birthdays. When a prospect comes in, the team can generate a branded PDF plan comparison in 5 minutes instead of 45. Automated touchpoints send birthday emails, renewal reminders, and enrollment nudges without manual effort.

The Results

• Renewal tracking: Plan Compass now actively monitors 85+ clients, with zero missed renewal windows in the past 6 months.
• Proposal speed: Plan comparisons dropped from 45 minutes to 5 minutes with a branded PDF output.
• Time freed up: Automated emails handle 20+ routine touchpoints per month, returning an estimated 12-15 hours monthly.
• Client response: A birthday email reopened a client conversation, led to a policy review, and resulted in an upsell.
• Retention: Quarterly retention reached 98% (up from an estimated 92%), with proactive reminders credited for keeping 3-4 clients from lapsing.

Tech Stack

• React frontend for the dashboard
• Node.js backend
• EZLynx integration for carrier lookup
• PL Rater integration for plan comparison
• Resend for automated email
• Deployed to Netlify
• 4-week build, live in production

The Human Detail

"The thing that surprised me is how much time I get back just from the automated emails. I used to send birthday emails manually. Now it just happens. But the real win is the proposals. I can pull up a client, hit generate comparison, and have something that looks like it came from a 50-person firm. Clients are impressed. That's worth the investment right there."

The Takeaway

This project proved that insurance brokers can shift from reactive to proactive operations without expensive enterprise software. One custom app replaced spreadsheets, manual proposals, and forgotten follow-ups, and turned saved time directly into revenue opportunities.