[Notice issued May 13, 2016]
[Updated June 3, 2016 for Q&A]
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, 2016, through September 30, 2017. Responses to the RFP must be received not later than June 17, 2016, at 3:00 PM CDT. Each response must contain an original and three identical copies of the proposal.
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 DisabilityInsurance: 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 besubmitted 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 very proposal. The form can be accessed from the Attorney General’s Website at the following address: http://www.ago.state.al.us/Page-Vendor-Disclosure-Statement-Information-and-Instructions
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://www.sos.state.al.us/
For additional information, please send an E-Mail request to Kathleen.Healey@insurance.alabama.gov
REVISIONS TO THIS NEWS RELEASE AND RESPONSES TO QUESTIONS WILL BE POSTED BELOW.
General Questions Applicable to All Request for Proposals:
1. How do we obtain or review proposals submitted under the 2015 Requests for Proposals and the evaluation materials, as well as the resulting contracts that are currently in force?
A written request to the Department of Insurance would need to be submitted specifying which Request for Proposal you are seeking and materials requested. Please keep in mind that there may be differences in the Requests for Proposal from year to year and that responses to one proposal may not be indicative of the proposals received for the current Request for Proposals. Cost for copies (electronic or written) are $1 per page, payable in advance. The Department cannot guarantee that a requested copy will reach you prior to this current Request for Proposal deadline.
2. What is required under the Beason-Hammon Act?
A contract resulting from this RFP includes a provision for compliance with certain provisions of the Beason-Hammon Alabama Taxpayer and Citizen Protection Act (Act 2011-255, as amended by Act 2012-491 and codified as Sections 31-13-1 through 35, Code of Alabama 1975, as amended). As required by Section 31-13-9(b), Code of Alabama, 1975, as amended, a contractor that is a business entity or employer as defined in Code 31-13-3, will enroll in the E-Verify Program administered by the United States Department of Homeland Security, will provide a copy of its Memorandum of Agreement with the United States Department of Homeland Security for that program and will use that program for the duration of the contract. A certification of compliance will also be required prior to contracting.
Actuarial Services for Property and Casualty Insurance Questions:
1. Who was the last consulting firm that performed the work? (Similar question: What contractor(s) currently provides actuarial services to the Department, and for how long has the contractor(s) provided such services to the Department?)
Merlinos & Associates, Inc. and Risk & Regulatory Consulting, LLC, currently have contracts with the Department to provide actuarial services for property and casualty insurance.
2. How long have the current actuaries been providing their service? (Similar question: Please state which firms were selected/awarded a contract for the contract years ending September 30, 2015 and September 30, 2016).
Merlinos & Associates, Inc., has had a contract with this department for more than 15 years. Risk & Regulatory Consulting, LLC, has had a contract with this Department for approximately two years.
3. What were the annual fees charged and the terms of the contract? (Similar question: For the contract years ending September 30, 2015 and September 30, 2016, what were the fees paid to each actuarial service contractor for all services performed for the Department? What were the maximum fees set?)
The contracts currently in use are substantially similar to those posted for use in this current Request for Proposal. Services will be provided on an as-requested or as-needed basis. Having a contract with the Department does not guarantee that the Department will use your services during the course of the contract period or that the services requested, if any, will reach the maximum dollar amount of the contract.
Here are the total amounts paid for all Actuarial services and expenses in the fiscal years indicated:
Actuarial (combined P&C and Life/Disability):
FY2015 $377,212
FY2016 (last billing cycle) $105,151
4. Has the scope of the work changed since the work was done?
The scope of work expected for this contract cycle is included in the Request for Proposal.
5. Can we get a copy of the most recent actuarial report? (Similar question: Is a prior report prepared by the Department’s current actuarial service contractor(s) available for one representative financial examination to help gauge the Department’s expectations regarding the depth and breadth of the services to be provided?)
We respectfully decline to provide copies of actuarial reports.
6. Can we get a copy of the proposal of the last successful bidder?
Please see our response to “General questions applicable to all Request for Proposals” above.
7. Will you share the Evaluation Sheet and perform a debriefing if requested at the end of the process?
We have not previously performed a debriefing with the proposed contractors and it is not anticipated we would start doing so this year.
8. Can the Qualifications Section 1.3.2. "Demonstrated knowledge in ACL and TeamMate" be removed?
No.
9. Item 2.3.4 of the RFP indicates that the proposers shall include an “unconditional agreement” to enter into a contract with the DOI in the form of Exhibit A. Will proposers know the fixed-price amount in that contract before agreeing unconditionally?
The final contract will include a maximum dollar amount determined by the Department to be the maximum amount that can be invoiced to Department. Services will be provided on an as-requested or as-needed basis. Having a contract with the Department does not guarantee that the Department will use your services during the course of the contract period or that the services requested, if any, will reach the maximum dollar amount of the contract.
10. 2.3.4 Agreement to contract. The proposal “shall include” an unconditional agreement to enter into a contract with the DOI in the form of Exhibit “A”, which will be modified to include the services, pricing and expense reimbursement terms and as may be necessary for the DOI’s compliance with State and Federal laws, within the time specified in the notice of award if Respondent is notified of a contract award. Does this mean we only state that we agree with Exhibit A as formatting, or does it state that we should include Exhibit A in the proposal with our name and signature to note that we are in agreement with the contract as written?
Failure to affirmatively state in a response to a Request for Proposal as required that the respondent agrees to the basic terms and conditions of the form contract shall cause a proposal response to be rejected as “non-responsive.” Additionally, any request in the response to the Request for Proposal to modify or change the basic terms and conditions of the form contract shall be rejected as “non-responsive.”
11. There is a requirement in the RFP to supply the Alabama disclosure statement. We have downloaded the form and we are going to propose on four of the insurance RFPs. My question is: Does there have to be an original signed disclosure form for each proposal? Or, can the firm, have one original, because provided in pdf format, and then put in copies of the signed and notarized form in each proposal?
2.3.14. Financial disclosure. The proposal must include a properly completed and executed disclosure statement required pursuant by Ala. Code §§ 41-16-80 et seq. (2001). The disclosure statement form and instructions are accessible on the website of the Attorney General of Alabama at: http://www.ago.state.al.us/Page-Vendor-Disclosure-Statement-Information-and-Instructions.
An original signed disclosure must be included with each response to the Request for Proposal.
Actuarial Services for Life and Disability Actuarial Services Questions:
1. Page 3 item 2.2, of the RFP seems to indicate that subcontracting is not allowed. Page 3 item 2.3.5 and page 14 item 5.1 seem to indicate that subcontracting is allowed. Please clarify.
Section 2.2 contemplates that once a contract is awarded, subcontracting or assignment of the contract itself or the performance of specific aspects of the services is not permitted. Section 2.3.5.addresses qualifications of personnel to be used. The Department prefers the contractor use its employees. There have historically been very limited exceptions where the Department allowed a contractor to use subcontractors; however, the subcontractors must act under the direct supervision and responsibility of the contracted firm and must be listed by name, classification, qualifications, etc., on the Pricing Form.