Policy illustration software is the specialized system life insurance carriers and distributors use to generate compliant projections of policy performance. It incorporates product specifications, current interest or dividend assumptions, policy charges, underwriting classes, rider options, and regulatory formatting requirements. Advisors and home office staff input client data-such as age, gender, underwriting class, premium pattern, and desired benefits-and the software calculates year-by-year death benefits, cash values, surrender values, and sometimes loan scenarios. Modern illustration platforms may be web-based, integrated with CRM tools, and capable of running side-by-side comparisons or multiple scenarios. Because illustration outputs are highly regulated, policy illustration software must be carefully controlled, tested, and updated whenever product designs or regulatory rules change.

In daily use, advisors rely on policy illustration software to design proposals, stress-test funding strategies, and respond quickly to client questions. For example, they might run an indexed universal life illustration comparing level premiums versus short-pay designs, or show how different dividend options impact long-term whole life cash accumulation. Home office advanced sales or case design teams use the same tools to build sophisticated presentations for estate or business planning cases, sometimes exporting data into customized reports. Compliance requires that advisors use only current, carrier-approved versions of the software and that they submit unaltered output with applications. When in-force policies are reviewed, updated inforce illustrations are often produced from the same or related systems. Understanding policy illustration software allows advisors to harness its analytical power responsibly, combining precise calculations with clear communication and documentation that support long-term, client-centered planning.