What you'll accomplish
By the end of this guide, you'll have Claude set up with your actual employer plan documents uploaded — so when an employee asks "Is my physical therapy covered?" or "What's the out-of-pocket max for family coverage?", you can get an accurate, document-grounded answer in seconds instead of hunting through PDFs for 5 minutes. You'll also have a tool you can use to quickly train new HR staff on plan details.
What you'll need
- A Claude Pro account (claude.ai/pro)
- Your current plan documents in PDF format: SPD, SBC, and/or carrier Evidence of Coverage documents
- The plan documents should be the current plan year (2026)
- Time needed: 30-45 minutes to set up; seconds per query after that
- Cost: Claude Pro — $20/month
How-To Guide: Build a Benefits Q&A Assistant with Your Plan Documents
Step 1: Create a Claude Account and Subscribe to Pro
- Go to claude.ai and click Sign Up if you don't have an account
- After signing in, click your name in the top left → Settings → Billing
- Choose Claude Pro ($20/month) — you need Pro to upload documents and create Projects
- Complete the payment and return to the main Claude interface
What you should see: The main Claude chat interface with a Projects option visible in the left sidebar.
Troubleshooting: If you don't see Projects, try refreshing the page or clearing your browser cache. Projects is a Pro feature — make sure billing went through.