RFI - HEALTH - LIFE INSURANCE.docx

RFI 19BF5026R0005 for Health & Life Insurance

REQUEST FOR INFORMATION

THIS IS NOT A REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS, NOR A REQUEST FOR QUOTATIONS; IT IS STRICTLY A REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI). NEITHER UNSOLICITED PROPOSALS NOR ANY OTHER KINDS OF OFFERS WILL BE CONSIDERED IN RESPONSE TO THIS RFI. NO CONTRACT WILL BE AWARDED PERSUANT TO THIS ANNOUNCEMENT.

SUBJECT: The U.S. Embassy Nassau is conducting market research for Health and Group Life Insurance Coverage for its employees at the U.S. Embassy Nassau, The Bahamas.

Responses are due to this RFI by 17:00 hrs., (Eastern Standard Time) on September 30, 2026

OVERVIEW/PURPOSE/DESCRIPTION OF REQUIREMENTS

The Government of the United States of America requires health and group life insurance coverage for its employees, as further described in herein, at the U.S. Embassy Nassau, The Bahamas. The Government has determined that the prevailing practice by employers in Nassau is that group life insurance coverage is representative of locally prevailing compensation practice and that the cost of such insurance protection is usually split by the employer and employee.

a. Therefore, the Government desires to adopt such locally prevailing practice as part of its compensation plan for its employees. The specific insurance coverage under this contract are individuals that age ranges from 18 to 75 years old with an approximate total of 100 employees.

SCOPE OF EFFORT

The Government seeks responses to a series of questions related to how potential industry partners propose collaborating with the U.S. Embassy Nassau to provide health and life insurance in accordance with local practice.

TECHNICAL CHARACTERISTICS

a. LIFE INSURANCE

Accidents Disability

b. HEALTH INSURANCE

50 Families

*Please note that employee numbers are stated for the purpose of this RFI only. Updated estimates will be provided if a Request for Proposals is issued.

REQUESTED INFORMATION

Answer the following questions and provide any supporting information you may have. Please note that no premium costs/rates are being requested.

a. LIFE INSURANCE

1. What life insurance plans can you offer for a large group of employees within the age range provided above?

2. Provide the specifications of each available plan you can offer for a large group of employees.

3. How are the premiums of each plan calculated?

4. Is there any age limit to be covered by any of the plans? If so, please clearly state the age limit for each plan you could offer.

5. In addition to basic coverage, do your plans include coverage for accidents and disability?

6. If answer to question 5 is yes, how do you determine payment under accident coverage is applicable?

7. If answer to question 5 is yes, what documents do you require for payment under accident coverage?

8. If answer to question 5 is yes, how do you define disability?

9. If answer to question 5 is yes, how do you determine payment under disability coverage is applicable?

10. If answer to question 5 is yes, what documents do you require for payment under disability coverage?

11. If answer to question 5 is yes, what exclusions are applicable for payment under accident and disability coverage?

12. What are the regular timeframes (periods) to payout coverage under the different categories of the plans you can offer?

13. Are funeral expenses included as part of all plans?

14. Are funeral expenses an additional or optional coverage?

15. What is the process to enroll employees to the policy?

16. How long does it take to enroll a new employee to the policy?

17. How would you provide insurance certificates? Are these digital or in hard copy?

18. What is the process to distribute the certificates?

19. Is a policy issuance fee charged?

20. If answer to question 19 is yes, when and how many times is this fee charged?

21. If answer to question 19 is yes, can this fee be added to the total premium?

22. Is there a difference in rates when policies are paid on an annual or a quarterly basis?

b. HEALTH INSURANCE

1. What health insurance plans can you offer for a large group of employees?

2. Provide the specifications of each available plan you can offer for a large group of employees.

3. State the hospitals that are included at each plan as part of coverage.

4. Specify the annual average coverage amount regularly offered.

5. How are the premiums of each plan calculated?

6. How are the payment rates to network providers calculated?

i. Hospitals

ii. Doctors and other Medical Providers

iii. Labs

iv. Pharmacies

v. Other

7. Does the coverage and type of plan impact the payment rates authorized for Doctors and other Medical providers?

8. Can the Payment Table for Doctors and Medical providers be selected?

9. Does maximum coverage affect premium rates?

10. Do co-insurance percentages affect premium rates?

11. Do deductible amounts affect premium rates?

12. What additional coverage is generally available?

i. Dental

ii. Ophthalmological

iii. Ambulance

iv. Air ambulance

v. International coverage

vi. Other

13. What is the age limit to be covered by any of the plans?

14. Are there different levels of family plans depending on the number of dependents?

15. If international coverage is available, will premiums cover any type of medical assistance. If so, please specify what types.

16. What International hospitals are included in your network?

17. How is international medical assistance evaluated and approved for payment?

18. Is international assistance provided by your company or by a third party?

19. How do you determine if medical expenses are to be paid through direct payment or through reimbursement?

20. How are claim requests submitted for review? (i.e. Via e-mail, apps, electronic files, hardcopies to customer representatives? Other?)

21. What is the timeframe to approve or reject reimbursement requests?

22. What is the timeframe to approve or reject scheduled surgery or other procedures?

23. What is the timeframe to approve or reject direct payment for emergencies?

24. What is the timeframe for payment of approved reimbursements?

25. How do you determine that a request is acceptable for payment?

26. Do you have offices at any hospitals in Mexico?

27. What is the process to enroll employees to the policy?

28. How long does it take to enroll a new employee to the policy?

29. How would you provide insurance certificates? Are these digital or in hard copy?

30. What is the process to distribute the certificates?

31. Is a policy issuance fee charged?

32. If answer to question 30 is yes, when and how many times is this fee charged?

33. If answer to question 30 is yes, can this fee be added to the total premium?

34. Is there a difference in rates when policies are paid on an annual or a quarterly basis?

35. Can your plans and policies be modified to add or remove services?

36. If answer to question 35 is yes, are changes done through individual endorsements or a separate customized policy is issued?

37. How are the endorsements (changes to regular policies) applied in your systems to be available for any customer representative or help desk in Mexico?

38. How long does it take to apply and replicate endorsements (changes to regular policies) in your systems?

RESPONSE GUIDELINES:

Companies who wish to respond to this RFI should send responses via email no later than 17:00 hrs., (Eastern Standard Time) on September 30, 2026 to NassauContractingOfficers@state.gov.

a. Interested parties are requested to respond to this RFI with a white paper.

b. Submissions cannot exceed 100 pages in length, including exhibits.

c. Interested parties are encouraged to answer as many questions as possible. Answering 100% of questions is not mandatory.

d. Please detail additional information the U.S. Embassy Nassau could provide that would be helpful to you in the event there is a Request for Proposals.

e. The response should not exceed a 5 MB e-mail limit for all items associated with the RFI response.

f. Multiple e-mails are accepted. Please clearly specify the number of emails being sent (example: email 1/2, email 1 of 5).

g. Responses must specifically describe the vendor’s capability provide Health and/or Life Insurance as per current available coverages.

h. No evaluation letters and/or results will be issued to the respondents.

i. Confidentiality will be maintained on all information received.

INDUSTRY DISCUSSIONS:

The U.S. Embassy Nassau may choose to meet with potential offerors and hold one-on-one discussions. Such discussions would only be intended to obtain further clarification of potential capability to meet the requirements.

QUESTIONS:

Questions regarding this announcement shall be submitted in writing by e-mail to NassauContractingOfficers@state.gov. Verbal questions will NOT be accepted. Answers to questions will be posted to sam.gov. The Government does not guarantee that questions received after September 23, 2026 will be answered. The Government will not reimburse companies for any costs associated with the submissions of their responses.

DISCLAIMER:

This RFI is not a Request for Proposal (RFP) and is not to be construed as a commitment by the Government to issue a solicitation or ultimately award a contract. Responses will not be considered as proposals, nor will any award be made as a result of this synopsis.

All information contained in the RFI is preliminary and subject to modification. It is in no way binding on the Government. FAR clause 52.215-3, “Request for Information or Solicitation for Planning Purposes”, is incorporated by reference in this RFI. The Government does not intend to pay for information received in response to this RFI. Responders to this invitation are solely responsible for all expenses associated with responding to this RFI. This RFI will be the basis for collecting information on capabilities available. This RFI is issued solely for information and planning purposes and does not constitute a solicitation. Proprietary information and trade secrets, if any, must be clearly marked on all materials. All information received in this RFI that is marked “Proprietary” will be handled accordingly. Please be advised that all submissions become Government property and will not be returned nor will receipt be confirmed. In accordance with FAR 15.201(e), responses to this RFI are not offers and cannot be accepted by the Government to form a binding contract. Neither unsolicited proposals nor any other kind of offers will be considered in response to this RFI.

The U.S. Embassy Nassau will not entertain any questions concerning the composition requirements, or the nature of services to be performed under any future request for proposal (RFP).

SBU - CONTRACTING AND ACQUISITIONS

SBU - CONTRACTING AND ACQUISITIONS

SBU - CONTRACTING AND ACQUISITIONS