Notice of Request for Proposals for Actuarial, Examination and CPA Services

Responses due no later than June 3, 2020 3:00PM CT
Contact: Reyn Norman, General Counsel
(334) 241-4116

5/1/2020

[Notice issued May 1, 2020; revised withanswers to questions May 28, 2020]

The Alabama Department of Insurance (DOI) hereby gives notice of the issuance of Requests for Proposals (RFP) for qualified respondents to provide the DOI with the following professional services:

·      Property and Casualty Insurance Actuarial Services

·      Life and Disability Insurance Actuarial Services

·      Certified Public Accountant Services

·      Insurer Examination Services

·      Insurer Market Conduct Examination Services

·      Insurer Investments Examination Services

·      Insurer Automated Examination Services

Contracts are contemplated to be awarded for the one-year of term October 1, 2020, through September 30, 2021.  Responses to the RFP must be received not later than June 3, 2020, at 3:00 PM CDT.  Each response must include one original unredacted response in printed form plus one identical electronic copy in PDF format on either Compact Disc (CD or DVD) or USB drive.

The RFPs are listed in the State of Alabama Accounting and Resource System (STAARS).  You may learn about STAARS at http://vendors.alabama.gov/, and can register as a Vendor at https://procurement.staars.alabama.gov/webapp/PRDVSS1X1/AltSelfService.

Additional information is set forth in the attached files, each accessible in Adobe format:

  • RFP for Professional Actuarial Services for Property and Casualty Insurance: Adobe
  • RFP for Professional Actuarial Services for Life and Disability Insurance: Adobe
  • RFP for Professional CPA Services: Adobe
  • RFP for Professional Insurer Examination Services: Adobe
  • RFP for Professional Insurer Market Conduct Examination Services: Adobe
  • RFP for Professional Insurer Investments Examination Services: Adobe
  • RFP for Professional Computer Audit Services: Adobe

Exhibit B, the TeamMate® Confidentiality Agreement, must be submitted with every proposal except for CPA.  A PDF copy is included above with each RFP.  An additional copy in Word format is accessible here: Word

State law requires a Disclosure Statement to be submitted with every proposal.  The form can be accessed from the DOI Web site at https://www.aldoi.gov/PDF/Misc/DisclosureStatement.pdf.

For the procedures and forms for foreign corporations to qualify to do business in the State of Alabama, please visit the web page for the Alabama Secretary of State at http://sos.alabama.gov/

REVISIONS TO THIS NEWS RELEASE AND RESPONSES TO QUESTIONS WILL BE POSTED BELOW.

Questions 1-7, regarding the RFP for Property & Casualty Actuary services:

Questions 1 & 2.  Who are the current consultants under contract with the Department and how long have they been working with the Department?

Answers:  The current P&C actuarial firms have been under contract as follows:

·       Actuarial & Analytics Consortium, LLC (first year contract)

·       Merlinos & Associates, Inc. (contracted for many years)

·       Taylor-Walker Consulting, LLC (contracted for many years)

Question 3.  Was the Department satisfied with the performance of the consultant? If yes, why is the Department issuing a new RFP?

Answer.  Yes.  The State of Alabama prefers to operate using one-year contracts, thus a new RFP has to be issued every year.

Question 4.  Has there been any change of the scope of work in recent years?

Answer:  For the most part, the scope of work for P&C actuarial firms has not changed much over the years.

Question 5.  Are actuarial services exempted from providing an authority to transact business in Alabama?

Answer:  No.  All business entities doing business in Alabama must register with the Office of the Secretary of State.

Question 6.  How much did the Department spend on actuarial consulting services last year?

Answer:  Over the last five years, the annual amount spent for P&C actuarial services has fluctuated from a low of $33,548 in FY2018 to a high of $92,018 in FY2016.  In FY2019 the total spent was $74,278.  Thus far in FY2020 we have spent only $15,622.

Question 7.  Can the Department share a sample actuarial consulting report?

Answer:  No.  We prefer to not provide this information. 

Question 8, regarding all RFPs, Delivery Format of proposals:

With so many offices closed and states requesting residents shelter-in-place, is the Department still expecting bidders to provide hard copies of their proposals or is it now ok to only email PDF copies?

Answer:  Yes.  Section 4.1. entitled “Delivery Format” reads in part as follows:

Respondents must submit one original, unredacted response in printed form plus one identical electronic copy in PDF format on either Compact Disc (CD or DVD) or USB Drive.  The original proposal, including the submittal letter required by Section 3.5 containing an original signature in ink, and the electronic copy of the proposal shall be sent to the DOI in a sealed envelope separate from the delivery envelope, addressed as provided in Section 4.2 below.

Question 9, regarding all RFPs, Authority to Transact business:

We do not have that authority at this writing as we are a newly formed entity.  It requires that we be authorized by June 3 apparently.  Can we simply say that if awarded the contract, we will register, or does your requirement rule us out from the get-go?

Answer:  Yes.  While Section 2.3.3. requires a business entity respondent to be qualified to do business in this state, Section 5.7. permits the DOI to waive minor deviations from the requirements expressed in the RFP.  Thus, failure to be qualified at the time of filing a proposal will not necessarily disqualify a proposal so long the respondent has qualified at the time a contract is actually signed with the state.

 

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