12-001286 Administrator for CE Program.pdf

STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA

Department of Insurance

Request for Proposal #: 12-001286

Administrator for Continuing Education (CE) Program for North Carolina Insurance Producers and Adjusters

Date of Issue: July 24, 2026

Proposal Opening Date: August 28, 2026

At 2:00 PM ET

Direct all inquiries concerning this RFP to:

Sloane Chua

Procurement Manager

Email: sloane.chua@ncdoi.gov

Phone: 919-807-6038

Ver: 11/2023

Request for Proposal #

12-001286

For internal State agency processing, including tabulation of proposals, provide your company’s eVP (Electronic Vendor Portal) Number. Pursuant to G.S. 132-1.10(b) this identification number shall not be released to the public. This page will be removed and shredded, or otherwise kept confidential, before the procurement file is made available for public inspection.

This page shall be filled out and returned with your proposal.

Failure to do so may subject your proposal to rejection.

Vendor Name

Vendor eVP#

Note: For a contract to be awarded to you, your company (you) must be a North Carolina registered vendor in good standing. You must enter the vendor number assigned through eVP (Electronic Vendor

Portal). If you do not have a vendor number, register at https://vendor.ncgov.com/vendor/login https://vendor.ncgov.com/vendor/login

Proposal Number: 12-001286 Vendor: __________________________________________

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Refer ALL Inquiries regarding this RFP to the procurement lead through the Message Board in the Sourcing Tool. See section 2.6 for details:

Sloane Chua Sloane.chua@ncdoi.gov

Request for Proposal #: 12-001286 Proposals will be publicly opened: August 28, 2026 at 2:00 PM ET

Using Agency: Department of Insurance Commodity No. and Description: 861322 Education Support Services Requisition No.:

EXECUTION

In compliance with this Request for Proposals (RFP), and subject to all the conditions herein, the undersigned Vendor offers and agrees to furnish and deliver any or all items upon which prices are bid, at the prices set opposite each item within the time specified herein.

By executing this proposal, the undersigned Vendor understands that false certification is a Class I felony and certifies that:

this proposal is submitted competitively and without collusion (G.S. 143-54), none of its officers, directors, or owners of an unincorporated business entity has been convicted of any violations of Chapter 78A of the General Statutes, the Securities Act of 1933, or the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (G.S. 143-59.2), and it is not an ineligible Vendor as set forth in G.S. 143-59.1.

Furthermore, by executing this proposal, the undersigned certifies to the best of Vendor’s knowledge and belief, that:

it and its principals are not presently debarred, suspended, proposed for debarment, declared ineligible or voluntarily excluded from covered transactions by any Federal or State department or agency.

As required by G.S. 143-48.5, the undersigned Vendor certifies that it, and each of its sub-Contractors for any Contract awarded as a result of this RFP, complies with the requirements of Article 2 of Chapter 64 of the NC General Statutes, including the requirement for each employer with more than 25 employees in North Carolina to verify the work authorization of its employees through the federal E-Verify system.

As required by Executive Order 24 (2017), the undersigned vendor certifies will comply with all Federal and State requirements concerning fair employment and that it does not and will not discriminate, harass, or retaliate against any employee in connection with performance of any Contract arising from this solicitation.

G.S. 133-32 and Executive Order 24 (2009) prohibit the offer to, or acceptance by, any State Employee associated with the preparing plans, specifications, estimates for public contracts; or awarding or administering public contracts; or inspecting or supervising delivery of the public contract of any gift from anyone with a contract with the State, or from any person seeking to do business with the State. By execution of this response to the RFP, the undersigned certifies, for Vendor’s entire organization and its employees or agents, that Vendor is not aware that any such gift has been offered, accepted, or promised by any employees of your organization.

By executing this bid, Vendor certifies that it has read and agreed to the INSTRUCTION TO VENDORS and the NORTH CAROLINA GENERAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS incorporated herein. These documents can be accessed from the Ariba Sourcing Tool.

Failure to execute/sign proposal prior to submittal may render proposal invalid and it MAY BE REJECTED. Late proposals shall not be accepted.

COMPLETE/FORMAL NAME OF VENDOR:

STREET ADDRESS: P.O. BOX: ZIP:

CITY & STATE & ZIP: TELEPHONE NUMBER: TOLL FREE TEL. NO:

PRINCIPAL PLACE OF BUSINESS ADDRESS IF DIFFERENT FROM ABOVE (SEE INSTRUCTIONS TO VENDORS ITEM #21):

PRINT NAME & TITLE OF PERSON SIGNING ON BEHALF OF VENDOR: FAX NUMBER:

Department of Insurance

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VENDOR’S AUTHORIZED SIGNATURE*: DATE: EMAIL:

VALIDITY PERIOD

Offer shall be valid for at least sixty (60) days from date of bid opening, unless otherwise stated here: ______ days, or if extended by mutual agreement of the parties in writing. Any withdrawal of this offer shall be made in writing, effective upon receipt by the agency issuing this RFP.

ACCEPTANCE OF PROPOSAL

If your proposal is accepted, all provisions of this RFP, along with the written results of any negotiations, shall constitute the written agreement between the parties (“Contract”). The NORTH CAROLINA GENERAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS are incorporated herein and shall apply. Depending upon the Goods or Services being offered, other terms and conditions may apply, as mutually agreed.

FOR STATE USE ONLY: Offer accepted and Contract awarded this________ day of __________, 20____, as indicated on

The attached certification, by ____________________________________________________________________.

(Authorized Representative of Department of Insurance)

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Contents

1.0 PURPOSE AND BACKGROUND

1.1 CONTRACT TERM

2.0 GENERAL INFORMATION

2.1 REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL DOCUMENT

2.2 E-PROCUREMENT FEE

2.3 NOTICE TO VENDORS REGARDING RFP TERMS AND CONDITIONS

2.4 RFP SCHEDULE

2.5 PROPOSAL QUESTIONS

2.6 PROPOSAL SUBMITTAL

2.7 PROPOSAL CONTENTS

2.8 DEFINITIONS, ACRONYMS, AND ABBREVIATIONS

3.0 METHOD OF AWARD AND PROPOSAL EVALUATION PROCESS

3.1 METHOD OF AWARD

3.2 CONFIDENTIALITY AND PROHIBITED COMMUNICATIONS DURING EVALUATION

3.3 PROPOSAL EVALUATION PROCESS

3.4 EVALUATION CRITERIA

3.5 PERFORMANCE OUTSIDE THE UNITED STATES

3.6 INTERPRETATION OF TERMS AND PHRASES

4.0 REQUIREMENTS

4.1 PRICING

4.2 FINANCIAL STABILITY

4.3 HUB PARTICIPATION

4.4 VENDOR EXPERIENCE

4.5 REFERENCES

4.6 BACKGROUND CHECKS

4.7 PERSONNEL

4.8 VENDOR’S REPRESENTATIONS

4.9 QUESTIONS TO VENDORS

5.0 SCOPE OF WORK

5.1 GENERAL

5.2 TASKS/DELIVERABLES

5.3 PROJECT ORGANIZATION

5.4 TECHNICAL APPROACH

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6.0 CONTRACT ADMINISTRATION

6.1 CONTRACT MANAGER AND CUSTOMER SERVICE

6.2 POST AWARD PROJECT REVIEW MEETINGS

6.3 CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT

6.4 ACCEPTANCE OF WORK

6.5 TRANSITION ASSISTANCE

6.6 DISPUTE RESOLUTION

6.7 CONTRACT CHANGES

6.8 ATTACHMENTS

ATTACHMENT A: PRICING

ATTACHMENT G: EXHIBIT ONE NC ADMISTRATIVE CODE

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1.0 PURPOSE AND BACKGROUND

The North Carolina Department of Insurance, hereafter referred to as “the Department”, is seeking proposals from interested and qualified organizations (“Vendor”) to administer the continuing education (“CE”) program for currently licensed NC resident insurance producers, NC resident adjusters/public adjusters, and non-resident adjusters/public adjusters that designate NC as their home state for licensing purposes (individually, “Producers,” “Resident Adjusters” and “NC DHS Non-Resident Adjusters” and, together, “Licensees”). Where used in this RFP and its attachments, the term “agent” is synonymous with Producer.

No State funds will be used for the administration of the CE program. All costs associated with the program will be recovered by the Vendor pursuant to NCGS §58-33-130. The program of CE administration as outlined in this RFP shall be without cost to the Department. It should be noted that pursuant to NCGS §58-33-130, this contract is not subject to Article 3 of Chapter 143 of the North Carolina General Statutes or Purchase and Contract regulations.

The intent of this solicitation is to award an Agency Specific Contract.

1.1 CONTRACT TERM

The Contract shall have an initial term of three (3) years, beginning on the date of final Contract execution (the “Effective Date”) or January 1, 2027, whichever is later.

At the end of the Contract’s initial term, the State shall have the option, in its sole discretion, to renew the Contract on the same terms and conditions for up to two (2) additional one-year terms. The State will give the Vendor written notice of its intent to exercise each option no later than sixty (60) days before the end of the Contract’s then-current term. In addition to any optional renewal terms, and with the Vendor’s concurrence, the State reserves the right to extend the Contract after the last active term.

Proposals shall be submitted in accordance with the terms and conditions of this RFP and any addenda issued hereto.

2.0 GENERAL INFORMATION

2.1 REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL DOCUMENT

This RFP is comprised of the base RFP document, any attachments, and any addenda released before Contract award, which are incorporated herein by reference.

2.2 E-PROCUREMENT FEE

ATTENTION: This is an NC eProcurement solicitation facilitated by the Ariba Network. The E-Procurement fee may apply to this solicitation. See the paragraph entitled ELECTRONIC PROCUREMENT of the North Carolina General Terms and Conditions.

General information on the E-Procurement Services can be found at: http://eprocurement.nc.gov/.

What is the Ariba Network?

The Ariba Network is a web-based platform that serves as a connection point for buyers and vendors. Vendors can log in to the Ariba Network to view purchase orders, respond to electronic requests for quotes, participate in Sourcing Events, and collaborate with buyers on contract documents.

For training on how to use the Sourcing Tool to view solicitations, submit questions, develop responses, upload documents, and submit offers to the State, Vendors should go to the following site:

http://eprocurement.nc.gov/training/vendor-training.

2.3 NOTICE TO VENDORS REGARDING RFP TERMS AND CONDITIONS

It shall be the Vendor’s responsibility to read the Instructions to Vendors, the North Carolina General Terms and Conditions, all relevant exhibits and attachments, and any other components made a part of this RFP and comply with all requirements and specifications herein. Vendors are also responsible for obtaining and complying with all Addenda and other changes that may be issued in connection with this RFP.

http://eprocurement.nc.gov/

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If Vendors have questions, issues, regarding any component of this RFP, those must be submitted as questions in accordance with the instructions in the PROPOSAL QUESTIONS Section. If the State determines that any changes will be made as a result of the questions asked, then such decisions will be communicated in the form of an RFP addendum. The State may also elect to leave open the possibility for later negotiation of specific provisions of the Contract that have been addressed during the question-and-answer period, prior to contract award.

Other than through the process of negotiation under 01 NCAC 05B.0503, the State rejects and will not be required to evaluate or consider any additional or modified terms and conditions submitted with Vendor’s proposal or otherwise. This applies to any language appearing in or attached to the document as part of the Vendor’s proposal that purports to vary any terms and conditions or Vendors’ instructions herein or to render the proposal non-binding or subject to further negotiation. Vendor’s proposal shall constitute a firm offer that shall be held open for the period required herein (“Validity Period” above).

The State may exercise in its discretion to consider Vendor proposed modifications. By execution and delivery of this RFP Response, the Vendor agrees that any additional or modified terms and conditions, whether submitted purposely or inadvertently, shall have no force or effect, and will be disregarded unless expressly agreed upon through negotiations and incorporated by way of a Best and Final Offer (BAFO). Noncompliance with, or any attempt to alter or delete, this paragraph shall constitute sufficient grounds to reject Vendor’s proposal as nonresponsive.

2.4 RFP SCHEDULE

The table below shows the intended schedule for this RFP. The State will make every effort to adhere to this schedule.

Event Responsibility Date and Time Issue RFP State July 24, 2026 Submit Written Questions Vendor August 7, 2026 Provide Response to Questions State August 14, 2026 Submit Proposals Vendor August 28, 2026 at 2:00 PM ET Contract Award State TBD

2.5 PROPOSAL QUESTIONS

Upon review of the RFP documents, Vendors may have questions to clarify or interpret the RFP in order to submit the best proposal possible. To accommodate the Proposal Questions process, Vendors shall submit any such questions by the “Submit Written Questions” date and time provided in the RFP SCHEDULE Section above, unless modified by Addendum.

Questions related to the content of the solicitation, or the procurement process should be directed to the person on the title page of this document via the Sourcing Tool's message board by the date and time specified in the RFP SCHEDULE Section of this RFP.

Vendors will enter “RFP # XXXXXXXXXX – Questions” as the subject of the message. Question submittals should include a reference to the applicable RFP section. This is the only manner in which questions will be received.

Questions or issues related to using the Sourcing Tool itself can be directed to the North Carolina eProcurement Help Desk at 888- 211-7440, Option 2. Help Desk representatives are available Monday through Friday from 7:30 AM ET to 5:00 PM ET.

Questions received prior to the submission deadline date, the State’s response, and any additional terms deemed necessary by the State will be posted in the Sourcing Tool in the form of an addendum and shall become an Addendum to this RFP. No information, instruction or advice provided orally or informally by any State personnel, whether made in response to a question or otherwise in connection with this RFP, shall be considered authoritative or binding. Vendors shall rely only on written material contained in the RFP and an addendum to this RFP.

2.6 PROPOSAL SUBMITTAL

IMPORTANT NOTE: This is an absolute requirement. Late bids, regardless of cause, will not be opened or considered, and will be automatically disqualified from further consideration. Vendor shall bear the sole risk of late submission due to unintended or unanticipated delay. It is the Vendor’s sole responsibility to ensure its proposal has been received as described in this RFP by the

Ver: 7/1/18 Page 7 of 41 specified time and date of opening. Failure to submit a proposal in strict accordance with instructions provided shall constitute sufficient cause to reject a Vendor’s proposal(s). Solicitation responses are subject to Sealed Bidding requirements.

Vendor’s proposals for this procurement must be submitted through the Sourcing Tool. For training on how to use the Sourcing Tool to view solicitations, submit questions, develop responses, upload documents, and submit offers to the State, Vendors should go to the following site: https://eprocurement.nc.gov/training/vendor-training

Questions or issues related to using the Sourcing Tool itself can be directed to the North Carolina eProcurement Help Desk at 888- 211-7440, Option 2. Help Desk representatives are available Monday through Friday from 7:30 AM EST to 5:00 PM EST.

Tips for Using the Sourcing Tool

1. Vendors should review available training and confirm that they are able to access the Sourcing Event, enter responses, and upload files well in advance of the date and time response are due to allow sufficient time to seek assistance from the North Carolina eProcurement Help Desk.

2. Vendors may submit their responses early to make sure there are no issues, and then submit a revised response any time prior to the response due date and time. The State will only review the most recent response.

3. Vendors should respond to all relevant sections of the Sourcing Event. Certain questions or items are required in order to submit a response and are denoted with an asterisk. The Sourcing Tool will not allow a response to be submitted unless all required items are completed. The Sourcing Tool will provide error messages to help identify any required information that is missing when response is submitted.

4. Simply saving your response in the Sourcing Tool is not the same as submitting your response to the State. Vendors should make sure they complete the submission process and receive a message that their response was successfully submitted.

5. Only Proposals submitted through the Content Section of the Ariba Sourcing Event will be considered. Proposals submitted through the Message Board will not be accepted or considered for award.

If confidential and proprietary information is included in the proposal, also submit one (1) signed, REDACTED copy of the proposal. Such information may include trade secrets defined by N.C. Gen. Stat. § 66-152 and other information exempted from the Public Records Act pursuant to N.C. Gen. Stat. §132- 1.2. Vendor may designate information, Products, Services or appropriate portions of its response as confidential, consistent with and to the extent permitted under the statutes and rules set forth above. By so redacting any page, or portion of a page, the Vendor warrants that it has formed a good faith opinion, having received such necessary or proper review by counsel and other knowledgeable advisors, that the portions determined to be confidential and proprietary and redacted as such, meet the requirements of the Rules and Statutes set forth above.

However, under no circumstances shall price information be designated as confidential.

If the Vendor does not provide a redacted version of the proposal with its proposal submission, the Department may release an unredacted version if a record request is received.

2.7 PROPOSAL CONTENTS

Vendors shall provide responses to all questions and complete all attachments for this RFP that require the Vendor to provide information and upload them to the Sourcing Event in the Sourcing Tool. Vendor may not be able to submit its response in the Sourcing Tool unless all required items are addressed. Vendors shall provide authorized signatures where requested. Failure to provide all required items, or Vendor’s submission of incomplete items, may result in the State rejecting Vendor’s proposal, in the State’s sole discretion.

Vendor shall include the following items and attachments in the Sourcing Tool:

a) Cover Letter, which must contain the following: (i)a statement that confirms that the proposer has read the RFP in its entirety, including all links, and all Addenda released in conjunction with the RFP; (ii) a statement that the Vendor agrees to perform in accordance with the scope of work, requirements, and specifications contained herein; and (iii) Vendor’s agreement to comply with all instructions, terms and conditions, and attachments.

https://eprocurement.nc.gov/training/vendor-training

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b) Title Page: Include the company name, address, phone number and authorized representative along with the Proposal Number.

c) Completed and signed version of all EXECUTION PAGES, along with the body of the RFP.

d) Signed receipt pages of any addenda released in conjunction with this RFP, if required to be returned.

e) Vendor’s Proposal addressing all Specifications of this RFP.

f) Completed version of ATTACHMENT A: PRICING

g) Completed and signed version of ATTACHMENT D: HUB SUPPLEMENTAL VENDOR INFORMATION

h) Completed and signed version of ATTACHMENT E: CUSTOMER REFERENCE FORM

i) Completed and signed version of ATTACHMENT F: LOCATION OF WORKERS UTILIZED BY VENDOR

j) Completed and signed version of ATTACHMENT G: CERTIFICATION OF FINANCIAL CONDITION

2.8 DEFINITIONS, ACRONYMS, AND ABBREVIATIONS

Relevant definitions for this RFP are provided in 01 NCAC 05A .0112 and in the Instructions to Vendors found in the Sourcing Tool, which are incorporated herein by this reference.

The following definitions, acronyms, and abbreviations are also relevant to this RFP:

a) BAFO: Best and Final Offer, submitted by a Vendor to alter its initial offer, made in response to a request by the issuing agency.

b) BUYER: The employee of the State or Other Eligible Entity that places an order with the Vendor.

c) COMMUNITY COLLEGE: Any of the fifty-eight (58) public North Carolina Community Colleges.

d) CONTRACT LEAD: Representative of the Department of Insurance who corresponds with potential Vendors in order to identify and contract with that Vendor providing the greatest benefit to the State and who will administer this contract for the State.

e) DEPARTMENT: North Carolina Department of Insurance

f) DR/BCP: Disaster Recovery/Business Continuity Plan

g) EFT: Electronic Funds Transfer

h) E-PROCUREMENT SERVICE(S): The program, system, and associated Services through which the State conducts electronic procurement.

i) FBI: Federal Bureau of Investigation

j) FINRA: Financial Industry Regulatory Authority

k) FOB-DESTINATION: Title changes hand from Vendor to purchaser at the destination point of the shipment; Vendor owns commodity in transit and files any claims, and Vendor pays all freight and any related transportation charges. A solicitation may request Vendors to separately identify freight charges in their proposal, but no amount or charge not included as part of the total proposal price will be paid.

l) I-Site: Internet-State Interface Technology Enhancement

m) JSON: (JavaScript Object Notation) is a lightweight data-interchange format. It is easy for humans to read and write. It is easy for machines to parse and generate.

n) NCDOI: North Carolina Department of Insurance

o) NIPR: National Insurance Producer Registry

p) NPN: National Producer Number

q) ON-TIME DELIVERY: The delivery of all items within a single order to the receiving point designated by the ordering entity within the delivery time required.

r) PROFESSIONAL MANNER: Means that the personnel performing the services will possess the skill and competence consistent with the prevailing business standards in the industry.

s) RESTful API: is an application program interface (API) that uses HTTP requests to GET, PUT, POST and DELETE data

t) RESTful JSON API: Representational State Transfer (REST) is an architectural style that defines a set of constraints to be used for creating web services. ... In a RESTful web service, requests made to a resource's URI will elicit a response with a payload formatted in either HTML, XML, JSON, or some other format.

u) QUALIFIED PROPOSAL: A responsive proposal submitted by a responsible Vendor.

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v) RFP: Request for Proposal

w) SBS: State Based Systems

x) SERVICES or SERVICE DELIVERABLES: The tasks and duties undertaken by the Vendor to fulfill the requirements and specifications of this solicitation.

y) SSE: Systems security engineering

z) STATE: The State of North Carolina, including any of its sub-units recognized under North Carolina law.

aa) STATE AGENCY: Any of the more than 400 sub-units within the executive branch of the State, including its departments, boards, commissions, institutions of higher education and other institutions.

bb) SUB VENDOR: Any person to whom, or entity to which, Vendor subcontracts any part of the Services.

cc) VENDOR: Supplier, bidder, proposer, company, firm, corporation, partnership, individual or other entity submitting a response to a Request for Proposal.

3.0 METHOD OF AWARD AND PROPOSAL EVALUATION PROCESS

3.1 METHOD OF AWARD

North Carolina G.S. 143-52 provides a general list of criteria the State shall use to award contracts, as supplemented by the additional criteria herein. The Goods or Services being procured shall dictate the application and order of criteria; however, all award decisions shall be in the State’s best interest. All qualified proposals will be evaluated, and awards will be made to the Vendor(s) meeting the specific RFP Specifications and achieving the highest and best final evaluation, based on the criteria described below.

Proposals will be evaluated according to content, experience with similar projects, ability of the Vendor and its staff, ability to begin administering program on January 1, 2027, scope of services, technical ability and approach, customer service and lowest cost. The evaluators will randomly select at least three (3) of the Vendor’s references, but the evaluators reserve the right to contact all the references listed, if information from the three (3) references contacted warrants further inquiry. The failure of the Vendor to list all similar contracts in the specified period may result in the rejection of the Vendor’s proposal.

The evaluators may check all public sources to determine whether Vendor has listed all contracts for similar work within the designated period. If the evaluators determine that references for other public contracts for similar contracts were not listed, the evaluators may contact the public entities to make inquiry into Vendor’s performance of those contracts and the information obtained may be considered in evaluating Vendor’s proposal. Award of a contract to one Vendor does not mean that the other proposals lacked merit, but that, all factors considered, the selected proposal was deemed most advantageous to the State.

While the intent of this RFP is to award a Contract(s) to a single vendor, the State reserves the right to make separate awards to different Vendors for one or more line-items, to not award one or more line-items or to cancel this RFP in its entirety without awarding a Contract, if it is considered to be most advantageous to the State to do so.

The State reserves the right to waive any minor informality or technicality in proposals received.

3.2 CONFIDENTIALITY AND PROHIBITED COMMUNICATIONS DURING EVALUATION

While this RFP is under evaluation, the responding Vendor, including any subcontractors and suppliers, is prohibited from engaging in conversations intended to influence the outcome of the evaluation. See Paragraph 29 of the Instructions to Vendors entitled

COMMUNICTIONS BY VENDORS.

Each Vendor submitting a proposal to this RFP, including its employees, agents, subcontractors, suppliers, subsidiaries and affiliates, is prohibited from having any communications with any person inside or outside the using agency; issuing agency; other government agency office or body (including the purchaser named above, any department secretary, agency head, members of the General Assembly and Governor’s office); or private entity, if the communication refers to the content of Vendor’s proposal or qualifications, the content of another Vendor’s proposal, another Vendor’s qualifications or ability to perform a resulting contract, Ver: 7/1/18 Page 10 of 41 and/or the transmittal of any other communication of information that could be reasonably considered to have the effect of directly or indirectly influencing the evaluation of proposals, the award of a contract, or both.

Any Vendor not in compliance with this provision shall be disqualified from evaluation and award. A Vendor’s proposal may be disqualified if its subcontractor and/or supplier engage in any of the foregoing communications during the time that the procurement is active (i.e., the issuance date of the procurement until the date of contract award or cancellation of the procurement). Only those discussions, communications or transmittals of information authorized or initiated by the issuing agency for this RFP or inquiries directed to the purchaser named in this RFP regarding requirements of the RFP (prior to proposal submission) or the status of the award (after submission) are excepted from this provision.

3.3 PROPOSAL EVALUATION PROCESS

Only responsive submissions will be evaluated.

The State will conduct a One-Step evaluation of Proposals:

Proposals will be received according to the method stated in the Proposal Submittal Section above.

All proposals must be received by the issuing agency not later than the date and time specified in the RFP SCHEDULE Section above, unless modified by Addendum. Vendors are cautioned that this is a request for offers, not an offer or request to contract, and the State reserves the unqualified right to reject any and all offers at any time if such rejection is deemed to be in the best interest of the State.

At the date and time provided in the RFP SCHEDULE Section above, unless modified by Addendum, the proposal from each responding Vendor will be opened publicly and all offers (except those that have been previously withdrawn, or voided bids) will be tabulated. The tabulation shall be made public at the time it is created. When negotiations after receipt of bids are authorized pursuant to G.S. 143-49 and 01 NCAC 05B.0503, only the names of offerors and the Goods and Services offered shall be tabulated at the time of opening. If negotiation is anticipated, cost and price shall become available for public inspection at the time of the award. Interested parties are cautioned that these costs and their components are subject to further evaluation for completeness and correctness and therefore may not be an exact indicator of a Vendor’s pricing position.

At their option, the evaluators may request oral presentations or discussions with any or all Vendors for clarification or to amplify the materials presented in any part of the proposal. Vendors are cautioned, however, that the evaluators are not required to request presentations or other clarification—and often do not. Therefore, all proposals should be complete and reflect the most favorable terms available from the Vendor.

3.4 EVALUATION CRITERIA

The following points will be assigned to the proposal for evaluation purposes:

Criteria Possible Score

1. Extent to which the structured systems security engineering (SSE) process identifies and mitigates threat/vulnerability risks to the model’s effectiveness and extent to which risk protection, detection, and response procedures/activities are incorporated into the model. Provide CE transcript and course schedule information that is electronically accessible in real-time via a RESTful API to the Department as required by the Technical Specifications in Section 5.0

2. Experience with similar projects 15

3. Scope of Services (Course Review, Recordkeeping of CE credits, CE audits, CE reports) 15

4. Fee collection, remittance to state and revenue reconciliation as required by NC State Government business rules 10

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5. Technical Ability and Technical Approach, Data Transfer, Updates and Website 15

6. Customer Service 10

7. Presentation 10

8. Cost 10

TOTAL SCORE 100

Technical (90 Maximum Points) Price (10 Maximum Points) The process for evaluating price is as follows: the lowest price receives the maximum points and each other proposal receives a percentage of the maximum, based on a comparison of that proposal price with the lowest price.

Example: The State will determine low cost by normalizing the scores as follows:

The proposal with the lowest cost will receive a score of 10. All other competing proposals will be assigned a portion of the maximum score using the formula:

3.5 PERFORMANCE OUTSIDE THE UNITED STATES

Vendor shall complete ATTACHMENT F: LOCATION OF WORKERS UTILIZED BY VENDOR. In addition to any other evaluation criteria identified in this RFP, the State may also consider, for purposes of evaluating proposed or actual contract performance outside of the United States, how that performance may affect the following factors to ensure that any award will be in the best interest of the State:

a) Total cost to the State

b) Level of quality provided by the Vendor

c) Process and performance capability across multiple jurisdictions

d) Protection of the State’s information and intellectual property

e) Availability of pertinent skills

f) Ability to understand the State’s business requirements and internal operational culture

g) Particular risk factors such as the security of the State’s information technology

h) Relations with citizens and employees

i) Contract enforcement jurisdictional issues

3.6 INTERPRETATION OF TERMS AND PHRASES

This RFP serves two functions: (1) to advise potential Vendors of the parameters of the solution being sought by the State; and (2) to provide (together with other specified documents) the terms of the Contract resulting from this procurement. The use of phrases such as “shall,” “must,” and “requirements” are intended to create enforceable contract conditions. In determining whether proposals should be evaluated or rejected, the State will take into consideration the degree to which Vendors have proposed or failed to propose solutions that will satisfy the State’s needs as described in the RFP. Except as specifically stated in the RFP, no one requirement shall automatically disqualify a Vendor from consideration. However, failure to comply with any single requirement may result in the State exercising its discretion to reject a proposal in its entirety.

10 x the cost of the lowest cost proposal the cost of the cost proposal being evaluated

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4.0 REQUIREMENTS

This Section lists the requirements related to this RFP. By submitting a proposal, the Vendor agrees to meet all stated requirements in this Section as well as any other specifications, requirements, and terms and conditions stated in this RFP. If a Vendor is unclear about a requirement or specification, or believes a change to a requirement would allow for the State to receive a better proposal, the Vendor is urged to submit these items in the form of a question during the question-and-answer period in accordance with the Proposal Questions Section above.

4.1 PRICING

Proposal price shall constitute the total cost to the State for complete performance in accordance with the requirements and specifications herein, including all applicable charges for handling, transportation, administrative and other similar fees. Complete ATTACHMENT A: PRICING FORM and upload in the Sourcing Tool. The pricing provided in ATTACHMENT A, or resulting from any negotiations, is incorporated herein and shall become part of any resulting Contract.

Costs must include:

• Provider Service Fees

• Fees for address lists of Licensees

• Any other costs or fees individually described and enumerated

The program of CE administration as outlined in this RFP shall be without cost to the Department.

Note: Current Vendor fees are as follows:

$ 1.00 per credit hour/per person processing fee $ 45.00 per course application processing fee $ 55.00 expedited course application fee $150.00 for mailing list of Licensees

The current Vendor collects and remits the following fees to the State:

$ 1.00 per credit hour/per person $100.00 course submission fee/per course

b) These fees are collected by the Vendor and remitted to the State for the following processes:

Extensions - $75.00 Reinstatements - $75.00

4.2 FINANCIAL STABILITY

Each Vendor shall submit the following financial documentation as an attachment to its Proposal:

• Recent audited or reviewed financial statements prepared by an independent certified public accountant (CPA) that shall include, at a minimum, a balance sheet, income statement (i.e., profit/loss statement) and cash flow statement and, if the audited or reviewed financial statements were prepared more than six (6) months prior to the issuance of this RFP, the Vendor shall submit its most recent internal financial statements (balance sheet, income statement and cash flow statement or budget with entries reflecting revenues and expenditures from the date of the audited or reviewed financial statements to the end of the most recent financial reporting period (i.e., the quarter or month preceding the issuance date of this RFP); or

• Recent compiled financial statements prepared by an independent CPA that shall include, at a minimum, a balance sheet, income statement (i.e., profit/loss statement) and cash flow statement and, if the compiled financial statements were prepared more than three (3) months prior to the issuance of this RFP, the Vendor shall submit its most recent internal financial statements (balance sheet, income statement and cash flow statement or budget with entries reflecting revenues and expenditures to date), and other evidence of financial stability such as most recently filed income tax return, evidence of a line of credit/loans/other type of financing with statement of amount in use/outstanding balance (e.g., a complete copy commitment letter, loan agreement, billing statement reflecting the line of credit or statement from lender

Ver: 7/1/18 Page 13 of 41 acknowledging the commitment to fund the Vendor’s stated financing), performance bond, personal guaranty with copies of personal income tax filing and statement of net worth or such other evidence that is accurate, reliable and trustworthy regarding the Vendor’s financial stability.

Recent shall be defined as financial statements that were prepared within the 12 months preceding the issuance date of this RFP.

The Vendor may be asked to arrange for the state to review its most recent SAS 70 Type II (or replacement SOC) report.

Consolidated financial statements of the Vendor’s parent or related corporation/business entity and at the discretion of the State the following is required: (1) Vendor provide its own internally prepared financial statements and such other evidence of its own financial stability identified above and attached to the parent company’s consolidated financial statements and (2) the parent or related corporation/business entity provide the State with a document wherein the parent or related corporation/business entity will be financially responsible for the Vendor’s performance of the contract and the consolidated statement demonstrates the parent or related corporation’s/business entity’s financial ability to perform the contract, financial stability and/or such other financial considerations identified in the evaluation criteria.

The Vendor’s failure to provide any of the above referenced financial statements or failure to submit all the requested financial statements may result in the rejection of the Vendor’s proposal and rejection is more likely to occur if other Vendors provide financial documentation in compliance with the foregoing provisions. Vendors are also encouraged to explain any negative financial information in their financial statements and are encouraged to provide documentation supporting those explanations.

Department Agent Services Division reserves full discretion to evaluate financial information submitted to determine what financial information is acceptable to determine and establish the financial stability of a Vendor.

Financial information, statements and/or documents submitted with a Proposal shall be evaluated to determine: whether the Vendor has sufficient ability to perform the Contract; whether the Vendor is able to meet its short term obligations, debts, liabilities, payroll, and expenses; whether Vendor has provided complete, reliable and accurate financial information regarding its business operation; whether the Vendor is financially solvent; and whether Vendor has sufficient cash flow and/or available financing from a financial institution to perform the proposed contract for 60 days without receiving payment from the State.

Financial information of non-public entities may be marked as confidential in accordance with the Paragraph of the Instructions to Vendors entitled Confidential Information.

4.3 HUB PARTICIPATION

Pursuant to North Carolina General Statute G.S. 143-48, it is State policy to encourage and promote the use of small, minority, physically handicapped, and women contractors in purchasing Goods and Services. As such, this RFP will serve to identify those Vendors that are minority owned or have a strategic plan to support the State’s Historically Underutilized Business program by meeting or exceeding the goal of 10% utilization of diverse firms as 1st or 2nd tier subcontractors. Vendor shall complete

ATTACHMENT D: HUB SUPPLEMENTAL VENDOR INFORMATION.

4.4 VENDOR EXPERIENCE

In its Proposal, Vendor shall demonstrate experience with public and/or private sector clients with similar or greater size and complexity to the State. Vendor shall provide information as to the qualifications and experience of all executive, managerial, legal, and professional personnel to be assigned to this project, including resumes citing experience with similar projects and the responsibilities to be assigned to each person.

The Vendor shall describe in detail the organization’s experience and qualifications for performing the scope of work described in this RFP. The Vendor shall have a minimum of five (5) years’ work experience with State Insurance Departments.

The Vendor shall provide information relevant to the prior experience with the Department and/or the Department Agent Services Division.

The Vendor shall include in the proposal the legal form of their business organization, the state in which incorporated (if a corporation), the types of business ventures in which the organization is involved, the office location that will be the point

Ver: 7/1/18 Page 14 of 41 of contact during the term of any resulting contract, a chart of the organizational structure, the reporting relationships as they relate to this RFP and shall include the following:

• General description of the organization

• Structure of the organization including parent company if applicable

• Number of employees in each major area of the organization

• History of the organization during past ten (10) years

• Description of software developers and ability of Vendor to address software issues needed to implement this RFP and any changes to the program due to statutory or National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) initiatives

The Vendor shall include the same information for all sub-vendors that will be working with the Vendor to fulfill the requirements of the RFP.

The Vendor shall disclose any services terminated by the client(s) and the reason(s) for termination.

4.5 REFERENCES

Vendor shall upload to the Sourcing Tool at least three (3) references, using ATTACHMENT E: CUSTOMER REFERENCE FORM, for which it has provided Services of similar size and scope to those proposed herein. The State shall contact these users to determine whether the Services provided are substantially similar in scope to those proposed herein and whether Vendor’s performance has been satisfactory. The information obtained shall be considered in the evaluation of the Proposal.

4.6 BACKGROUND CHECKS

Any personnel or agent of Vendor performing Services under any Contract arising from this RFP may be required to undergo a background check at the expense of the Vendor, if so requested by the State.

4.7 PERSONNEL

Vendor warrants that qualified personnel shall provide Services under this Contract in a professional manner. “Professional manner” means that the personnel performing the Services will possess the skill and competence consistent with the prevailing business standards in the industry. Vendor will serve as the prime contractor under this Contract and shall be responsible for the performance and payment of all subcontractor(s) that may be approved by the State. Names of any third-party Vendors or subcontractors of Vendor may appear for purposes of convenience in Contract documents; and shall not limit Vendor’s obligations hereunder. Vendor will retain executive representation for functional and technical expertise as needed in order to incorporate any work by third party subcontractor(s).

Should the Vendor’s proposal result in an award, the Vendor shall be required to agree that it will not substitute key personnel assigned to the performance of the Contract without prior written approval by the Contract Lead. Vendor shall further agree that it will notify the Contract Lead of any desired substitution, including the name(s) and references of Vendor’s recommended substitute personnel. The State will approve or disapprove the requested substitution in a timely manner. The State may, in its sole discretion, terminate the Services of any person providing Services under this Contract. Upon such termination, the State may request acceptable substitute personnel or terminate the contract Services provided by such personnel.

4.8 VENDOR’S REPRESENTATIONS

If Vendor’s Proposal results in an award, Vendor agrees that it will not enter any agreement with a third party that may abridge any rights of the State under the Contract. If any Services, deliverables, functions, or responsibilities not specifically described in this solicitation are required for Vendor’s proper performance, provision and delivery of the Service and deliverables under a resulting Contract, or are an inherent part of or necessary sub-task included within such Service, they will be deemed to be implied by and included within the scope of the Contract to the same extent and in the same manner as if specifically described in the Contract. Unless otherwise expressly provided herein, Vendor will furnish all of its own necessary management, supervision, labor, Ver: 7/1/18 Page 15 of 41 facilities, furniture, computer and telecommunications equipment, software, supplies and materials necessary for the Vendor to provide and deliver the Services and/or other Deliverables.

4.9 QUESTIONS TO VENDORS

Vendor shall respond to each of the following questions. Vendors are requested to keep responses concise and relevant and not include generic marketing materials. Responses will be reviewed as part of the evaluation process.

1. The Department is requesting Vendors provide CE transcript and course schedule information that is electronically accessible in real-time via a RESTful API, providing response data in JSON format to the Department at no cost to the State or the Department. How soon after the start of the contract on January 1, 2027 will you be able to deliver this API to the Department of Insurance?

2. If chosen as the CE Vendor for North Carolina, will the CE program be fully implemented by the current contract expiration of December 31, 2026? *** Please see 5.1 General, e), for further explanation and for data protection for the data exchange through the API.

5.0 SCOPE OF WORK

5.1 GENERAL

The Department is responsible for licensing Licensees who conduct business in North Carolina. The purpose of this RFP is for the Department to evaluate and contract with a Vendor to administer the CE program.

Effective January 1, 2008, North Carolina General Statute (NCGS) §58-33-130(a) authorized the Department to evaluate and contract with a Vendor to administer the CE program. The Vendor shall develop procedures to review and approve or deny insurance CE providers and insurance CE courses. The Vendor shall determine the number of insurance CE credit hours for each course submitted. The Vendor shall develop, maintain, and administer a recordkeeping system to track the compliance of Licensees with the CE requirements of this State. In addition, the Vendor must record course offering schedules as received from CE providers and display on the Vendor’s website for licensees to retrieve.

NCGS §58-33-130, §58-33-132, §58-33-133 and §58-33-135 and 11 NCAC 06A .0800 established the CE requirements for Licensees.

The statutes and rules require that those Licensees subject to CE compliance biennially {every two (2) years} must complete twenty-four (24) hours of insurance CE in the birth month and certify such completion to the Department or its Vendor to maintain the necessary qualifications for their Licensees. Each person with an even birth year will meet CE requirements in an even compliance year and each person with an odd birth year will meet CE requirements in an odd compliance year.

Pertinent facts regarding the Department’s CE program are as follows:

• Prometric is the current vendor responsible for the administration of the Agent Services Division’s Insurance CE program.

• The Department issues the following licenses or Lines of Authority (LOA) that have CE requirements: life;

accident and health or sickness; property, casualty, personal lines, variable life and variable annuity, adjuster and public adjuster.

• All Licensees required to meet CE have a biennial compliance period.

• Each person with an even birth year will meet CE requirements in an even compliance year and each person with an odd birth year will meet CE requirements in an odd compliance year.

A New Licensee Requiring CE is an individual that is issued any of the following licenses: Insurance Producer with LOA for Life, Variable Life & Variable Annuities, Accident & Health/Sickness, Property, Casualty, Personal Lines and or Adjuster.

Example:

1) An individual that is issued a Life license, effective January 1, 2026, is a New Licensee

Requiring CE.

2) An individual that was issued a Credit license, effective January 1, 2026, is not a New

Licensee Requiring CE.

Ver: 7/1/18 Page 16 of 41

Pursuant to N.C.G.S. 58-33-130(d), Biennial (every two years) CE requirements shall be 24 credit hours. The Commissioner may by rule establish a staggered system in which the credit hour compliance period is based on the month and year of birth of each individual licensee.

The licensee’s birth year determines if an individual must meet CE on an even or odd year.

1) 1960 is considered an EVEN year.

2) 1961 is considered an ODD year.

The licensee's birth month determines the month CE is due.

1) An individual born…