Digitized Forms

For Group Benefits Plan Members & Administrators

— PROJECT NAME

Digitized Forms

— ROLE

UX Designer

— DATE

August 2025 – September 2025

Insurance forms might not sound exciting, but they carry real weight. The way the forms experience was in my previous role inspired me to take on this project as a case study.

Where I worked, if a group benefits plan member wanted to change their life insurance beneficiary or extend coverage for a dependent turning 21, a single mistake could delay coverage or cause unnecessary stress.

My roles responsibilities for this project included:

- Mapping the current experience for both plan members and group administrators.
- Analyzing existing forms to determine what could be simplified or removed.
- Conducting competitive analysis across other insurers.
- Designing wireframes and high-fidelity mockups.
- Writing plain language microcopy, help text, and tooltips.

When I started the project in my previous role, if any plan members wanted to change their beneficiary or extend coverage for a dependent child over the age of 21, it required a lengthy process with PDF forms. They had to:

1. Find the correct form (often difficult).
2. Print or digitally complete it.
3. Physically sign in some cases (like beneficiary updates).
4. Scan or attach the form to an email.
5. Wait with no visibility into the status.

On the administration side, the process was just as painful. My subject matter expert estimated 50–60% of forms had errors — missing information, late submissions, or illegible handwriting. Each error meant reaching back out to the member, asking for corrections or resubmissions, and delaying coverage updates.

Plan Member At-A-Glance
🔍 Hard to find forms, unclear deadlines, and confusing instructions
📝 Jargon-heavy PDFs with no required fields → frequent errors
⏳ No visibility into status, must call or email to confirm receipt or progress
❌ Rejected submissions due to missing info or invalid signatures → coverage gaps and frustration

Group Admin At-A-Glance

📝 Incomplete or messy forms slow down processing
📧 Manual, confusing email templates frustrate members
❌ Wet signature requirements cause unnecessary denials
☎️ High call centre volumes from members checking receipt, status, denials, next steps, or coverage gaps

Analyzing the PDFs

I reviewed the most common forms – Beneficiary Change and Over-Age Dependent.
Using annotations, I flagged what was essential, what could be simplified, and what could be removed or hidden.
Example: policy or certificate numbers could be pulled automatically, rather than forcing members to re-enter them.

Competitive Analysis

I reviewed digital form solutions from other insurers to benchmark expectations.
For this, I focused on where other providers had digitized forms successfully and where they fell short:
- PDF forms are becoming account settings → Competitors are treating updates like password resets or contact info changes — quick and self-serve, not paper-based.
- Support is clearer elsewhere → FAQs and help content are easy to find without logging in, reducing confusion.
- Design maturity varies → Some insurers use mobile-friendly layouts and tooltips, while others have cluttered, outdated forms.

Streamlined experience

For this project, my focus was on the forms themselves. In the real world, these forms would be embedded in the plan member’s profile for ease of access. This would eliminate the hunt for buried PDFs. Further, I designed the forms to have error states to reduce the back-and-forth with administrators.

Further, the need for wet signatures would be eliminated. Authentication through the secure member portal provides sufficient identity verification, aligning with industry best practices. This simplifies the experience for plan members while maintaining security and trust.

Show only what's relevant

I used conditional logic to display fields only when needed.

Examples:

- Revocable/irrevocable options only appear for plan members located in Quebec (based on their home address).
- Proof of enrolment questions only appear if a plan member indicates that their dependent’s school is outside Canada.

Simplify language and guidance

I rewrote the form copy in plain language (e.g., “Is the college or university outside of Canada?” instead of “Indicate if the college or university is outside of Canada.”
I also added tooltips and inline help text to explain jargon like “accredited” or “revocable.”
To make instructions approachable and supportive, I replaced legalistic instructions and criteria with copy written for a lower reading level.

Statuses and Alerts

To assure plan members that changes have occurred or are in-progress, I created status alerts and cards.

Regarding eligibility changes for dependents, I created alerts to let the plan member know actions should be taken.

I also created cards for the assigned beneficiaries so plan member have visual confirmation that their changes have been saved and implemented.

This gives plan members visibility into where things stand, something the old process never offered.

Plan members

- Less stress & confusion → plain language, inline help, and contextual fields make forms easier to complete.
- Fewer delays → built-in validation prevents errors before submission.
- Transparency & trust → banners and status updates show where things stand (no more wondering if a form was received).

Group Administration

- Fewer incomplete forms → less time chasing missing information.
- Reduced back-and-forth → auto-validation catches common errors like missing birthdates or wrong versions of forms.
- Simpler tracking → digital submissions mean no more juggling email attachments and spreadsheets.
- Decreased workload → changes to beneficiaries can be automatically updated in the back end system without manual effort.

The Business

- Lower call centre volume → fewer “Did you get my form?” or “Why isn’t my child covered anymore?” calls.
- Reduced costs → fewer manual errors and resubmissions.
- Happier members → smoother coverage updates improve satisfaction and retention.

This project wasn’t just about digitizing two forms. It set the stage for a broader transformation:

- Modernization → Moving from PDFs to guided digital flows brings insurance processes in line with user expectations for online self-service.
- Scalability → The same approach can be extended to other high-friction forms (direct deposit, coverage change, disabled child status).
- Compliance & accessibility → Plain language, conditional fields, and digital authentication reduce legal risk while improving inclusivity.
- Industry positioning → While many competitors still rely on paper for beneficiary and over-age dependent updates, this approach positions the company as a modern, member-focused insurer.

Jess Veldhuis UX Designer

Digitized Forms

For Group Benefits Plan Members & Administrators