Amendment 01 Questions.docx

RFQ No. 19AQMM26Q0155 - Amendment 01

Please find the answers to all questions asked below. In addition, we are attaching information about DBA from USAID. Please note that these reports only cover DBA under the former USAID and do not cover legacy DoS information.

Question 1: Is the intent of this program to cover all the prior USAID humanitarian service or is this for all DOS contractors?

Answer 1: All of DOS

Question 2: We have seen some larger DOS contracts that consist of heavy construction and security. These types of risk do not necessarily fall into the humanitarian service exposure. If it includes armed security, large aviation, and heavy construction we would not consider those contracts. Therefore, I need a complete breakdown of the exposures by class of business: Service, Construction-light and heavy, Flight crew, Ground crew, Security-mobile and static for underwriting purposes.

Answer 2: The Department of State cannot provide this information.

Question 3: I need the historical payrolls and losses for at least 5 years and estimated headcounts by country or region. If we could get a list of the contractors that would be participating in the program that would be very helpful.

Answer 3: The Department of State cannot provide this information.

Question 4: We would like to know if this is a brand-new contract OR if there is (was) an incumbent performing these services. If not brand new, could you please provide the current / previous contract number?

Answer 4: This is a new award.

Question 5: US DOS Contracts: Would DoS consider excluding certain departments or contracts such as INL (Undersecretary of Arms Control and International Security)? [For background - coverage for INL in the past has been carved out and not a part of the sole source program, therefore no loss data will be available for underwriters to quote rates.] Answer 5: No

Question 6: Can DoS carve out departments or Contracts for INL; and if unable to do so can the Offeror quote categories with exclusion (and footnote) of those with no data available (as noted above example: INL)?

Answer 6: No

Question 7: Underwriting Data Needed: The following historical data is needed to underwrite and provide quotes for the program. Can DoS please provide as many years as available - but preferably at least the last 5 years for:

· Contracts- please confirm that the data is for ALL US DoS contracts, or if just the historical USAID contracts which were covered by the USAID DBA sole source program since 2001.

· Exposures- Premium, and Payroll by Class- Service, Construction, Security.

· Loss data by category - (class of service), by year, by region/country, and by nationality (US, local nationals and 3rd party nationals) - currently valued within the last 3 months, as well as the Loss Reports as required in the SOW, for the last two report periods.

Answer 7: The Department of State cannot provide this information. However, we are providing some historical data from USAID, please see attached.

Question 8: Estimated annual payroll by class (services, construction and security with aviation ground and flight crews separated), employee type (USN, TCN or LN), and country of risk for those contractors expected or required to participate Answer 8: The Department of State cannot provide this information.

Question 9: Contractor list for prospective program participants and expected policy count Answer: 9 The Department of State cannot provide this information.

Question 10: Historical premium by year, if available Answer 10: The Department of State cannot provide this information.

Question 11: Will historical premium, payroll, policy count, and loss information for the incumbent Department of State DBA program be made available to all Offerors for pricing purposes? If so, when and in what format will that information be provided?

Answer 11: It will not be provided.

Question 12: Historical loss runs, including the following fields which should also be filterable/sortable:

a. Date of loss

b. Reported date

c. Closed date (if date not available, then an indicator for open vs closed claims)

d. WHCA and non-WHCA claims

e. Total incurred amounts

f. Claims descriptions Answer 12: The Department of State cannot provide this information.

Question 13: Any required approval or consultation on claim controversion, settlements, appeals, or WHCA submissions Answer 13: The Department of State does not manage WHCA claims.

Question 14: WHCA reimbursement history Answer 14: The Department of State does not manage WHCA claims.

Question 15: Commentary on WHCA-eligible claims approval support/priority, if any, afforded to the winning carrier Answer 15: The Department of State does not manage WHCA claims.

Question 16: Any available contractor safety or performance information currently utilized by the DoS for award purposes Answer 16: No.

Question 17: DoS requirement wording and enforcement practices for procurement of insurance for DoS contractors Answer 17: Question is unclear but from the Department of Labor website: Federal law requires all U.S. government contractors and subcontractors to secure workers' compensation insurance for their employees working overseas. The related statutes include the Defense Base Act, 42 U.S.C. §§ 1651-54 and the Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act, 33 U.S.C. §§ 901-50. Implementing regulations can be found at 20 C.F.R. Parts 701, 702, 703 and 704. The Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) also sets out the workers' compensation insurance requirements for all overseas contracts at 48 C.F.R. §§ 28.305 and at §§ 52-228-3 and § 52-228-4.

Question 18: Any DoS contractors that would be specifically excluded from the program Answer 18: Not at this time.

Question 19: Any expected material changes in DoS overseas contracting activity Answer 19: The question is unclear. DOS intends to operate as indicated on all publicly available websites such as Congressional Budget Requests and DOS public media releases.

Question 20: Would the winning carrier be allowed to conduct onboarding webinars or share onboarding material/program guidance with contractors Answer 20: Yes

Question 21: Section B-01 – Purpose states that the “Insurer will be the source of Worker’s Compensation Insurance as required by the Defense Base Act (DBA) for all Department of State (DoS) managed contracts.” Would this include rolling in all existing Embassy Security contracts, including but not limited to Task Orders under what is currently known as WPS III under contract 19AQMM20R0013? If awards similar to the above are included, will those current contracts in force be terminated? If WPS and/or embassy security are not included, will this solicitation be modified to reflect the true scope of the contract/program?

Answer 21: The intent of the DBA rate contract is to set up a DBA insurance provider that all DOS contractors will use. Current DBA policies will remain in effect until their expiration dates. Contractors will then initiate new DBA policies with the DOS DBA insurance provider.

Question 22: On the historic information for Exposure and Premium, has DoS made any attempt to gather the relevant information from the current Insurers in the market covering those contracts? If so, will the relevant information be shared with all the markets?

Answer 22: The State Department does not have the relevant information.

Question 23: If DOS is unwilling or unable to forecast payroll exposure for their contractors, would they instead be able to provide a low end or high end payroll exposure for the total program?

Answer 23: No

Question 24: Will this contract require any active security clearance?

Answer 24: No

Question 25: The current insurance market for DBA includes licensed insurance brokers who represent, advise, and advocate on behalf of their clients on their risk transfer, including Defense Base Act. Will brokers continue to be allowed to advise their clients accordingly? If so, will the Insurer rates include any broker commission/fee?

Answer 25: The rates are the total price insurers can charge. Other charges such as broker fees, processing fees, or policy origination fees are considered to be included in the insurer’s rate.

Question 26: The solicitation references FAR 52.204-7 (System for Award Management). Would you please confirm whether the Offeror must have an active SAM registration at the time of quotation submission, or whether registration must simply be active prior to award?

Answer 26: At the time of quotation submission.

Question 27: Does the Department have preferred templates or sample formats for the quarterly, semiannual, and annual reporting requirements referenced in the Statement of Work, or should Offerors propose their own reporting format?

Answer 27: Offerors can propose their own reporting format.

Question 28: Assuming an award is made, has the Department established an anticipated transition and implementation schedule prior to the successful Offeror becoming the required source of Defense Base Act insurance for Department of State-managed contracts?

Answer 28: No

RFQ No. 19AQMM26Q0155 - Amendment 01 of