Last reviewed: September 2026.
The Insurance import creates and updates life insurance policies and their beneficiaries. Policies feed the Beneficiary report and the Net Worth report. Both of those Value Adds require the Pro plan to turn on.
At a glance
Start from Households › Add Household › Import Data, or Imports › Import Data.
Choose Import Account Data › Insurance.
Policy Number is the only required column. Client ID links the owner on new policies.
Beneficiary columns come as a set: map Beneficiary Name, Beneficiary Type and Beneficiary Allocation % together, or none of them.
One file per import. CSV or
.xlsx. Only the first sheet is read. Row 1 is the header row.One import both creates new policies and updates existing ones. Policies match by Policy Number.
The report and the original file stay on the Imports page. The person who ran the import and Admins can open them.
Before you start
Download the template. The link is on the first screen of the import: Download the Insurance Import template.
Give every policy a stable Policy Number. Spaces, commas and dashes are removed before matching, so
AB 12-34andAB1234are the same policy.Use the same Client IDs you used in the client import. The client becomes the owner and the insured person. There is no separate insured column.
Use one row per policy. For more than one beneficiary, repeat the Policy Number on one row per beneficiary.
Insurance beneficiaries are imported here. The Beneficiaries import is for financial accounts only.
Step 1: Open the import window
From Households: click Add Household, then Import Data.
From Imports in the left sidebar: click Import Data.
Both open the same window. Its title is Import. If your firm has no households yet, the Households page also shows an Upload button that opens it.
Step 2: Choose what to import
On Pick Your Data Type, click Import Account Data. The window moves ahead as soon as you click a tile.
On Choose Your Account Import Type, click Insurance.
The Prepare Your Spreadsheet screen lists the fields and has the Download the Insurance Import template link. Click Next.
Step 3: Upload your file
On Upload Insurance File, click Choose File or drag your file into the box.
Click Next.
Accepted files: CSV and Excel .xlsx. The older .xls format is rejected with "Only CSV or Excel (.xlsx) files are allowed for imports." SurgeTK reads the first sheet only. Row 1 must be the header row.
Step 4: Map your columns
The screen is called Map Spreadsheet Columns – Insurance.
Client ID, Policy Number and Cash Value are shown first. Policy Number must be mapped.
Map the other fields as needed: Carrier Name, Policy Type (Term / Permanent), Policy Sub-Type (Level Term, etc), Face / Coverage Amount, Premium Amount, Premium Mode, Effective Date, Expiration Date, Policy Status.
To import beneficiaries, map Beneficiary Name, Beneficiary Type and Beneficiary Allocation %. Beneficiary Date of Birth is optional. Mapping one or two of the three stops the import with "If you map any Beneficiary column, you must map all three: Name, Type, and Allocation %."
Click Import.
Step 5: Monitor progress
Created: new policies.
Updated: existing policies, with the fields that changed.
Failed: policies that were not saved, with the reason.
Duplicates: rows that repeat an earlier row exactly, listed as "Exact duplicate row in file (skipped)".
Warnings: appears only when there are warnings, such as an unrecognized Policy Status or "Household is archived". While it shows, it takes the place of the Updated tab.
When the import finishes, a See Report button appears and the page reloads shortly after. If nothing arrives for 60 seconds, the panel shows "The import appears to have stalled. Please close and try again."
Step 6: Review the report
Go to Imports. Each import is one row with the file name, the import type, who ran it, and the import date.
Click the View import report icon to open the PDF report in a new tab. Allow pop-ups for SurgeTK, or you see "Unable to open the report. Please allow pop-ups for this website and try again."
Click the Download original file icon to get the file you uploaded.
Only the person who ran the import and Admins can open the report and the file.
The newest import in the firm has an Undo button. See Undoing Your Most Recent Import.
What the import does and does not do
Matching and ownership
Policies match by Policy Number within your firm. The carrier is not part of the match. Two policies in one firm cannot share a number.
A new policy with a matched Client ID gets that client as owner and insured, and joins that client's household.
A new policy with no matched Client ID is created unlinked. The Households page then shows "You have N unlinked insurance policy/policies." with a Fix Insurance button that opens the Unlinked Insurance window.
On an existing policy, Client ID is ignored. A re-import cannot link the policy or change its owner.
A row without a Policy Number fails with "Missing policyNumber".
Several rows with one Policy Number make one policy. A later row overwrites an earlier row for the same field. Each row can carry one beneficiary.
Beneficiaries
Map Name, Type and Allocation % together, or not at all.
Beneficiaries match by type and name, ignoring letter case. A matched beneficiary is updated in place. A new one is added. An import never removes a beneficiary.
Primary allocations must total 100%. Contingent allocations must total 100%. Otherwise the whole policy fails with "Primary and Contingent allocations must each sum to 100%."
A 0% allocation fails the whole policy.
A row with an unrecognized Beneficiary Type or an unreadable Allocation % drops that beneficiary without a message. The policy itself still imports.
Dates, status and defaults
A new policy without a Policy Type is saved as
Term. If Policy Sub-Type is filled, the type comes from it (for example Whole Life gives Permanent).If the Expiration Date is before the Effective Date, SurgeTK corrects it. Permanent policies get no expiration date. Term policies get an expiration date equal to the effective date.
A new policy without a Policy Status is saved as
In force.A blank Policy Status keeps the stored status. Unrecognized text writes nothing and adds a warning.
A Cash Value marks the policy as having cash value.
After the import
This import cannot start while a Redtail sync, a Zoho sync or another account-type import is running for your firm. You see "A Redtail sync is currently running for your firm. Please wait for it to finish before starting an import." The first words name what is running. Wait, then try again.
Column reference
The template has these 16 columns.
Column | What SurgeTK does with it |
Client ID | Links the owner and insured person on a new policy. Ignored on an existing policy. |
Policy Number | Required. Spaces, commas and dashes are removed before matching. Unique within your firm. |
Policy Type (Term / Permanent) |
|
Policy Sub-Type (Level Term, etc) | Level Term, Decreasing Term, Renewable Term, Convertible Term, Whole Life, UL, IUL, VUL, GUL. Anything else is stored as |
Effective Date | A date. |
Expiration Date | A date. Corrected if it is before the Effective Date. |
Carrier Name | Text. Not part of the match. |
Face / Coverage Amount | A number. The Beneficiary report values the policy at this amount. |
Cash Value | A number. Marks the policy as having cash value. The Net Worth report uses this amount. |
Beneficiary Name |
|
Beneficiary Type |
|
Beneficiary Allocation % | A percentage above 0 and up to 100. |
Premium Amount | A number, 0 or more. |
Premium Mode |
|
Beneficiary Date of Birth | A date. |
Policy Status | In force, Lapsed, Expired, Surrendered, Claim paid, Paid up, Pending, Matured, Terminated. Also read: Active, Current or Open as In force; Closed, Inactive or Not in force as Closed; Cancelled as Terminated. Blank keeps the stored status. Other text writes nothing and adds a warning. |
Where policies appear
On the Beneficiary report
Every policy on the household appears unless its status is
Closed,Lapsed,Expired,SurrenderedorTerminated.The policy is valued at its Face / Coverage Amount, not its cash value. A cash value is not required.
Unlinked policies have no household, so they do not appear. Link them first with Fix Insurance.
Beneficiaries with a 0% allocation are skipped.
On the Net Worth report
A policy appears when it is marked as having cash value and its Cash Value is above 0.
Policies with the closed statuses listed above are left out.
The amount shown is the Cash Value.
Best practices
Keep Policy Numbers stable between imports.
Include Client ID on every new policy so nothing lands in Unlinked Insurance.
Include Face / Coverage Amount for the Beneficiary report and Cash Value for the Net Worth report.
Give each policy one row per beneficiary, and make each type total 100%.
Fill in Policy Status so lapsed or surrendered policies leave the reports.
FAQs
Do I need Client ID to update a policy?
No. The Policy Number alone updates it. Client ID cannot change the owner of an existing policy.
Why is my policy not on the Beneficiary report?
Check three things: the policy is linked to a client (no Fix Insurance banner), its status is not Closed, Lapsed, Expired, Surrendered or Terminated, and the Beneficiary Value Add is turned on for your firm.
Why is my policy not on the Net Worth report?
It needs a Cash Value above 0 and a status that is not closed.
Can I import account beneficiaries here?
No. Use the Beneficiaries import for financial accounts.
Why did the whole policy fail?
The most common reasons are a beneficiary with 0%, or Primary or Contingent allocations that do not total 100%.
Quick start tip: Download the template, fill in Policy Number and Client ID, add Face / Coverage Amount, Cash Value, status and beneficiaries, then import one file at a time.