Proposal Templates

Required Permissions:
In order to complete this task, user permissions must be set to include:

Agency Setup > Correspondence Templates

See User Permissions for more information.

Adding a Template

Adding Hazards or Schedules to a Proposal Template

Editing a Proposal Template

Importing and Exporting Proposal Templates

1. Click the  Settings icon, and then select Correspondence Templates.
2. Select the Proposals tab.

3. Click Add.

   The Add Proposal Template dialog opens.

4. Select Cover Letter, Post Letter, or a specific Line of Business from the Select a Line of Business drop-down list.

5. Enter a Proposal Template Description for the item selected in the drop-down. The description should include the type of proposal this template will be used for. For example, you could create a cover letter, line of business, and post letter that is specifically tailored to a niche you are targeting such as Attorneys, Restaurants, or Janitorial Services.

6. Click OK.

   The CMS Letter Editor opens the selected template.

   • Cover Letter – The CMS Base Form Letter Template is displayed.

   • Line of Business – Depending on the coverage, the template may contain a list of the ACORD Terms and Definitions (where applicable), as well as a merge field to insert a list of coverages for that line of business.

     To add hazards and schedules to a Line of Business template, see below.

     Some lines of business, such as Business Automobile, have state-specific templates. In this case, a second Select Template menu will appear. Click the drop-down arrow and select the appropriate state for the selected line of business.

   • Post Letter – A blank CMS Letter Editor is displayed. Make formatting changes according to agency preferences. You can add text, agency logo, merge fields, and objects.

7. Edit each of the items, as needed.

   See Correspondence Templates - Formatting Options (Letters, Memos, Proposals, and Policy Overview) for more information.

8. Click Save & Close to save each new item.

   When you've created several letter templates, these templates can be sorted into categories, for example, "Restaurants" or "Contractors", to enable quick retrieval of specific templates.

9. When all items have been added to your proposal template, click Close.

1. Click the  Settings icon, and then select Correspondence Templates.
2. Click the Proposals tab.

3. Click Add.

   The Add Proposal Template dialog opens.

4. Select a specific Line of Business from the Select a Line of Business drop-down list.

5. Enter a Proposal Template Description for the item selected in the drop-down.

   The description should include the type of proposal this template will be used for. For example, you could create an LOB template for Inland Marine that includes a detailed list of scheduled items, and then create another template that includes a summary list.

6. Click OK.

   The CMS Letter Editor opens the selected Line of Business template.

   Depending on the line of business, the template may contain a list of the ACORD Terms and Definitions (where applicable), as well as a merge field to insert a list of coverages for that line of business.

7. Insert merge fields to add a hazard and/or schedule list to the template.

   1. Place your cursor in your template where you want the hazard or schedule information to appear.

   2. Click Insert > Field.

      The Select Merge Field to Insert dialog opens.

   3. Use the Filter Fields box to locate Hazard or Schedule fields.

   4. Select the Detail List, or the Summary List for the schedules and/or hazards, and then click Insert.

      The Merge Field Properties dialog opens.

   5. Leave the Line of Business default to All Lines of Business.

      You already selected an LOB in step 4.

   6. Use the check boxes to select information to be included.

      Depending on the selected merge field, different check boxes will be available.

   7. Optional: Select a color for the Header Text and Header background as you want it to appear on the correspondence.
   8. Click OK.
8. Click Close when you are done inserting merge fields.

9. Click Save & Close to save the template.

10. When all items have been added to your proposal template, click Close to exit the Correspondence Templates dialog.

1. Click the  Settings icon, and then select Correspondence Templates.

   The Correspondence Templates dialog opens.

2. Click the Proposals tab.

3. Select a proposal template item from the list, and then use the following buttons as needed:

   Edit – Click to open the CMS Letter Editor and modify the template as needed, and then click Save and Close.

   See Correspondence Templates - Formatting Options (Letters, Memos, Proposals, and Policy Overview) for more information.

   Each correspondence template is created from a base template. See Base Templates to modify the default CMS Form Letter base template, if needed.

   Rename – Click to enter a new template description.

   Duplicate – Click to copy the template and enter a new description for the copy.

   Remove – Click to delete the template.

HawkSoft includes the ability to import proposal templates into CMS from your local files, as well as export existing templates to your local files. This enables you to use templates from other sources, as well as send your agency's templates to other HawkSoft agencies.

For full steps on importing and exporting proposal templates, see Importing and Exporting Correspondence Templates.