QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS.pdf

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

19RP3826Q0020 Group Locally Employed Staff Life Insurance Coverage

Q 1.Policy Ownership

Referring to Section C.2 – Group Life Insurance and Section C.2.3 – Eligible Participants:

Can the Government confirm that the group life insurance policy will be issued with the U.S.

Embassy / U.S. Mission Philippines as the policy owner, and eligible employees designated as the insured members?

A1: Yes

Q2.Prime Contractor and Licensed Insurer Structure

Referring to Section F.6.1 (General) and F.6.2 (Licenses and Local Laws):

Is it acceptable for the Prime Contractor- US Based to engage a Philippine-licensed life insurance company to issue and underwrite the policy, while the Prime Contractor remains responsible for contractual administration and invoicing?

A2: Refer to Section 1 F.6 (Miscellaneous Contractor Requirements) and Section 2 Contract Clauses DOSAR 652.242-73 (Authorization and Performance) for applicable guidance.

Q3.Licensing Sufficiency

Referring to DOSAR 652.242-73 (Authorization and Performance):

Is it sufficient that the performing insurer holds the required licenses with the Philippine Insurance Commission, even if the Prime Contractor is a U.S. company?

A3: Refer to Section 1 F.6 (Miscellaneous Contractor Requirements) and Section 2 Contract Clauses DOSAR 652.242-73 (Authorization and Performance) for applicable guidance.

Q4.Claims Payment Timeline

Referring to Section F.4(b)(2):

Can the Government confirm that payment of valid life insurance claims must be made within sixty (60) days from receipt of complete documentation?

A4: Yes

Q5.Claims Coordination

Referring to Section F.4 – Administrative Records and Contractor Responsibility:

Should claim coordination occur directly between the insurer and the COR, or through the Prime Contractor?

A5: The COR coordinates directly with the prime contractor.

Q6. Covered Population Confirmation

Referring to Attachment A – Employee Statistics and Section 1 pricing quantities:

Can the Government confirm the anticipated covered population at contract start and whether significant fluctuations are anticipated during the base year?

A6: No, since number of covered employees are based on U.S. Embassy / U.S. Mission Philippines priorities and authorized funding. Currently, we do not expect any significant fluctuations during the base year.

Q7.Enrollment Updates and Ordering

Referring to Section F.3 – Ordering Procedures:

Will employee additions and deletions continue to be consolidated and issued via quarterly task orders?

A7: Yes

Q8.ORE and Peace Corps Rider Billing

Referring to Section C.2.3.3 (Participants Covered Under a Rider) and Section E.2 (Submission of Invoices and Payment):

Can the Government confirm that ORE and Peace Corps premiums will be billed separately from Government employee coverage under the Prime contract?

A8: Yes

Q9.Retention Amount Structure

Referring to Sections B.10 and B.11:

Can the Government confirm that the retention amount must be expressed as a fixed monetary amount per separate premium paid per employee, and not as a percentage?

A9: Yes

Q10.Economic Price Adjustment Timing

Referring to Section B.12.1:

Can the Government confirm that no premium adjustment is permitted during the first twelve

(12) months of performance?

A10: Yes

Q11.Age Distribution for Pricing

Referring to Attachment A – Employee Statistics and the pricing methodology under Section 4 – Evaluation Factors:

To enable actuarially sound group life pricing, can the Government provide age distribution data by age bands (e.g., 20–29, 30–39, 40–49, etc.) for the covered population?

A11: Please refer to amendment 001

Q12. (a) Are authorized insurance brokers permitted to submit offers on behalf of licensed carriers?

(b) Even though we are not a direct life insurance carrier, can an insurance agency market this opportunity to multiple insurance carriers to determine acceptability?

A12: (a and b) Refer to Section 1 F.6 (Miscellaneous Contractor Requirements) and Section 2 Contract Clauses DOSAR 652.242-73 (Authorization and Performance) for applicable guidance.

Q13: This is our first time to engage/participate in Group Life bidding in US Embassy.

May we ask what is the next step to proceed.

A13: As a first-time participant, it is essential to thoroughly review the complete solicitation to ensure full understanding of all requirements, including but not limited to:

o Scope of work (Section 1) o Contract Clauses (Section 2) o Solicitation Provisions (Section 3) o Evaluation Factors (Section 4) o Representations and Certifications (Section 5)

Q14: May we kindly request if it would be possible to schedule a walkthrough of SAM.gov? We would greatly appreciate your guidance to ensure that we properly understand the process and requirements.

A14: As noted during the pre-quotation conference, Post Manila does not have administrative authority over SAM.gov but will provide assistance with familiar issues where possible.

The guidelines for registration in SAM are also available at: https://sam.gov/content/help

Q15: (a) We would like to clarify whether we should issue separate contracts for ORE employees, PC employees, and US Embassy Manila employees.

https://gcc02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fsam.gov%2Fcontent%2Fhelp&data=05%7C02%7CLegayadaBB%40state.gov%7C87e2c6a839874a1d012808dc7fb1c6eb%7C66cf50745afe48d1a691a12b2121f44b%7C0%7C0%7C638525648730750351%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=CQj37iWNWDnKYVOuPmO04DGAT%2FpN8s5M%2F4m9JUOImEE%3D&reserved=0

(b) Alternatively, should we proceed with one policy under US Embassy Manila, with separate billing arrangements for the US Embassy, ORE, and PC?

A15: (a) Please refer to Section 1, A. Group Life Insurance Services

(b) Yes