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Emergency Procurement for Insurance Licensing Examination Services

This is an Emergency Determination Form and Addendum submitted by the New Mexico Office of Superintendent of Insurance (OSI) for the procurement of licensing examination development and administration services. The OSI seeks to contract with PSI Services to develop and administer comprehensive licensing examinations testing applicants' knowledge of insurance law, practice, licensee duties, and professional competence across multiple license types including life insurance, accident and health, property, casualty, title, bail, crop hail, consultants, personal lines, and adjuster licenses. The contractor must offer examinations at least monthly at five ADA-compliant test centers located in Albuquerque, Santa Fe, Roswell, Las Cruces, and Farmington, with additional locations available as approved by the Superintendent. The contractor must develop and maintain a large bank of state-specific examination questions, provide remote proctored testing (RPT) services via webcam, conduct annual examination development workshops, and produce quarterly statistical reports on exam performance. The contract term is six months, with the emergency procurement intended as a temporary measure until a competitive Request for Proposal (RFP) process can be completed. The contractor must achieve operational readiness within 90 days of contract award, including exam development, approval, handbook preparation, and staffing of all test centers.

The contract contains no state funding obligation, as the contractor's sole compensation derives from examination fees collected directly from candidates at the time of registration. The contractor must accept major credit cards, debit cards, and checks as payment, with a required passing score of 70 percent. The emergency procurement was justified by recent severe fire and flood conditions in New Mexico occurring in late June and early July 2026, which created an urgent need for qualified licensed adjusters and insurance producers to handle claims and sell protective coverage. PSI Services, the incumbent contractor from the 2024 competitive RFP award, was selected because it possesses the current, up-to-date examination questions specific to New Mexico law and regulations; any transition to another vendor would require several months of question redevelopment and system integration, creating service disruption during a critical period when New Mexicans need rapid licensure of adjusters and producers. The OSI previously contracted with Prometric but discontinued that relationship due to operational challenges including inconsistent communication, cancelled appointments, poor customer service, and inadequate physical testing presence within New Mexico.

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2022 Emergency Form

STATE OF NEW MEXICO

EMERGENCY DETERMINATION FORM

The emergency procurement method (NMSA 1978, Section 13-1-127) may only be used when the service, construction or item of tangible personal property procured:

1. is needed immediately to:

a. control a serious threat to public health, welfare, safety or property caused by a flood, fire, epidemic, riot, act of terrorism, equipment failure or similar event; or

b. plan or prepare for the response to a serious threat to public health, welfare, safety or property caused by a flood, fire, epidemic, riot, act of terrorism, equipment failure or similar event; and

2. cannot be acquired through normal procurement methods.

a. The agency entering into an emergency procurement should employ a competitive process to the extent practicable under circumstances.

The purchase or lease of heavy road equipment is not allowed under the emergency procurement statute.

The state purchasing agent or a central purchasing office that makes an emergency procurement shall outline its determination of the basis for the procurement and its selection of the contractor in writing and include the writing in the procurement file. (That writing can be made on this form.) Promptly thereafter:

the state purchasing agent shall post notice of the procurement on its website; or the central purchasing office shall post notice of the procurement on its website, if it maintains one, and shall transmit the notice to the state purchasing agent for posting on the state purchasing agent's website.

NOTE: the state purchasing agent or a central purchasing office that makes an emergency procurement to plan or prepare for the response to a serious threat to public health, welfare, safety or property caused by a flood, fire, epidemic, riot, act of terrorism, equipment failure or similar event shall account for the money spent in making the procurement and report on that accounting to the legislative finance committee and the department of finance and administration within sixty days after the end of the fiscal year in which the procurement was made.

I. Name of Agency: New Mexico Office of Superintendent of Insurance

Agency Chief Procurement Officer:

Telephone Number: 505-

II. Name of Contractor: PSI Services

Address of Contractor: 18000 W 105th St Olathe, KS 66061

Amount of prospective contract: $0.00. OSI is not responsible for any expenses, services, or taxes incurred by Contractor in performing under this Agreement. The exam fee is paid by the candidate seeking licensure will be paid directly to the Contractor, and that is the sole source of Contractor’s compensation under the contract. No state funds will be expended under this contract.

Term of prospective contract: Six (6) months.

III. Thoroughly list the services (scope of work), construction or items of tangible personal property being procured:

The contractor will perform the following work:

1. As prescribed by the New Mexico Insurance Code, NMSA 1978, Section 59A-1-1 et seq., Contractor shall develop and administer licensing examinations for the Superintendent that test an applicant’s knowledge of specific areas of insurance law and practice, a licensee’s duties and responsibilities, and general competence.

2. Each exam must be offered at least once each month at each facility listed in paragrpah 16 below.

3. Each exam must be made available for additional occurrences in highly populated areas or if warranted by demand. The exam schedules are set by the exam vendor and approved by the Superintendent. Contractor shall publish the schedule online and shall include links from the schedule to the electronic application.

4. Insurance examinations shall be based on national job analysis and state- specific analysis performed by the Contractor and based upon the New Mexico Insurance Code, rules promulgated by the Superintendent, and other related laws and regulations.

5. Each test item shall represent essential knowledge and skills for acceptable entry-level performance of licensed insurance professionals as specified in NMSA 1978, Section 59A- 11-1 et seq. Each examination shall provide a comprehensive test (as a whole), of the applicant’s knowledge necessary for the license type applied for, the duties and responsibilities of the licensee, and the insurance laws and regulations of the state New Mexico.

6. All questions and answers shall be verified and approved as to correctness, relevance, content, and other factors set by the Superintendent and each test (as a whole), shall be reviewed and approved by the Superintendent.

7. All state-specific questions developed by Contractor pursuant to this contract shall become the property of OSI and the State.

Mark Melhoff Highlight

Mark Melhoff Highlight

8. Contactor shall develop a bank of exam questions of a large enough quantity to assure that Contractor shall be able to generate multiple, and non-identical versions of each required exam. Contractor shall also develop a process for selecting test questions from the bank of questions for a specific occasion.

9. Contractor shall evaluate and notify candidates within five business days of their eligibility to test using criteria defined in the Insurance Code and in 13.4.2.11 NMAC.

10. Contractor shall continually process registrations for candidates authorized to take examinations. Contractor shall accept registrations by electronic means including a website registration or email and by telephone. Contractor must have a procedure to validate an applicant’s email address. Within five (5) business days of submission of a registration, Contractor shall issue a registration confirmation notice to the candidate with a valid email address electronically, or by hard copy via U.S. mail, based on the applicant’s preference.

11. Contractor shall develop a procedure to verify all social security numbers as valid and belonging to the applicant.

12. Contractor shall develop a procedure to validate an applicant’s email address so that duplicate email addresses for the same applicant cannot be accepted.

13. Contractor shall collect an examination fee pursuant to NMSA 1978, Sections 59A-6-1, 59A-11-6(J), and 59A-11-6(K).

14. Contractor shall accept major credit cards, debit cards, and checks, as payment of the examination fee at the time of registration. Contractor shall collect all approved examination fees for first time and retake candidates at or prior to time of the exam registration.

NOTE: Contractor’s compensation is limited solely to fees collected in this manner. The State will not provide any additional compensation to Contractor subject to the terms of the contract.

15. Contractor shall administer exams in English or Spanish, as requested by the examinee.

16. Contractor shall administer the following insurance exams:

a. life insurance producer;

b. accident and health or sickness insurance producer;

c. life, accident and health or sickness insurance producer;

d. property insurance producer;

e. casualty insurance producer;

f. property, and casualty insurance producer;

g. Title with Escrow

h. Title Escrow only

i. Title only

j. bail;

k. crop hail insurance producer;

l. consultant’s life and health;

m. consultant’s property, property and casualty

n. consultant’s life and health and Property and casualty;

o. personal lines insurance producer;

p. independent and staff adjuster P/C and W/C;

q. independent and staff adjuster P/C excluding Workers Compensation

r. independent and staff adjuster Public Entity and

s. public adjuster

17. Contractor shall develop any other licensing examination in response to statutory or regulatory changes or as otherwise requested and approved by the Superintendent during the terms of the Contract.

18. Contractor shall establish at minimum, five ADA–compliant New Mexico-based test centers at no cost to OSI or the State. These test centers shall be located in Albuquerque, Santa Fe, Roswell, Las Cruces, and Farmington, or at additional sites approved by the Superintendent. Seating capacity and hours of operations for each test center shall be approved by the Superintendent. Each test center shall be under the supervision of Contractor’s certified Test Center Administrators at all times during exam administration.

Contractor shall safely secure examination questions prior to test administration and following the examination.

19. Contractor shall receive approval for each required exam and be prepared to begin conducting exams at all test centers no more than 90 days after the date the contract is awarded, during which time the Contractor shall develop exams, obtain exam approval, prepare the handbook, and arrange for testing and supervisory personnel for each test center.

Approval of the proposed exam questions shall be within one month after submission to OSI.

20. Contractor shall develop, print, and distribute a comprehensive handbook for applicants, the Superintendent, and any other interested party, and make the handbook available by mail or electronic download at no additional charge. Contractor shall work with the Superintendent to determine the handbook’s specifications, which shall include, at a minimum: exam requirements, exam registration information, test site locations, a summary of topics that may be covered for each exam, sample questions, scoring procedures, re-examination requirements, contact information, procedures for requesting ADA accommodations, and other information that may be helpful for applicants. The Superintendent will conduct the final review and approval of the handbook prior to its printing and distribution. Contractor shall submit the handbook to OSI for final approval at least two (2) weeks prior to administration of the first exam, and then annually thereafter.

21. Contractor shall provide RPT Services to OSI for candidates located in the United States.

RPT Services shall mean the activities and work performed by Contractor to provide test registration and scheduling, test delivery, and test results processing for a computer-based test proctored remotely via webcam and audio by Contractor and delivered online to a test candidate enabling test candidates to use their own personal computer equipment. Contractor shall administer standard exit surveys to all candidates at the end of the exam. The survey information shall be used by Contractor to maintain a high level of customer service provided to the candidates.

Contractor shall include questions in the survey as directed by the Superintendent.

Contractor shall provide the results, including any complaints contained in the exit surveys, to the Superintendent, in the format, medium, and frequency acceptable to the Superintendent.

22. Following an examination, Contractor shall score all exams in a fair, impartial and nondiscriminatory manner using a consistent scoring process. Contractor shall not pass a candidate unless the candidate receives a grade of at least seventy percent (70%) on the examination, pursuant to NMSA 1978, Section 59A-11-6(D). Contractor shall print and distribute passing and failing score reports at the test sites to each candidate who takes an examination before the candidate leaves the test center. The score report shall indicate pass or fail and provide information about retaking an exam for any candidates who fail the exam.

23. Within one business day of the completion of the examination, Contractor shall provide examination data to the Superintendent in a secure electronic format designated by the Superintendent; including, but not limited to, exam date, applicant names, scores, exams taken, photographs, social security numbers and dates of birth. Contractor shall report exam scores in compliance with requirements for electronic transfer of information using the NAIC’s State Based Systems (SBS) or as otherwise directed by the Superintendent.

24. Contractor shall produce and maintain reports as specified by the Superintendent for online review and printing in the format, medium, and frequency acceptable to and accessible by the Superintendent. Contractor shall provide a report upon request that includes the fees collected by Contractor from candidates, in the format, medium, and frequency acceptable to and accessible by the Superintendent.

25. Contractor shall generate and provide OSI with on-line access to regular quarterly statistical reports that include the number of registrants, exams given, passes, failures, retests and psychometric exam statistics necessary to measure the performance of the exams, and other data requested by the Superintendent in the format, medium, and frequency acceptable to the Superintendent. These reports shall include accurate score accounting and reporting, including pass/fail ratios by exam type.

26. Contractor shall provide pass/fail scores to the NAIC upon request.

27. In coordination with the Superintendent, Contractor shall conduct Examination Development Workshops at Contractor’s expense, either via webinar or in person in New Mexico, at least annually to review and update content outlines; review, modify or write materials as necessary for each examination level; assign levels of difficulty to new items;

create exam forms; and perform any additional tasks required to create and maintain the examinations.

28. Contractor does not have to maintain an administrative office in New Mexico, but shall have a contact available via toll-free telephone and email address during regular business hours (8:00a.m. to 5:00p.m. Mountain Time, Monday through Friday) to handle miscellaneous requests from applicants or the Superintendent.

29. Contractor is required to provide expert testimony in an administrative hearing if called to do so by the Superintendent of Insurance or designee of the Superintendent of Insurance.

IV. Provide an explanation for the justification of the procurement including a description of the emergency condition(s) requiring use of emergency procurement and the practicable competition utilized in compliance with NMSA 1978, Section 13-1-127.

This procurement is necessary under emergency circumstances because a disruption of state required testing services for ongoing examinations would occur and this would cause a disruption in the on-going needs and mission of the New Mexico Office of Superintendent of Insurance.

Describe what measures are being taken to minimize the duration and effect of this particular emergency procurement (for example: is the emergency only in place until a competitive process can be completed, etc.).

The emergency procurement would only be in place until the RFP process can be conducted.

OSI requests an emergency procurement for a maximum of six (6) months until an RFP can be issued, evaluated and awarded.

Describe what measures the Agency will take in the future to prevent/mitigate use of an emergency procurement under similar circumstances.

In the future to prevent/mitigate the use of an emergency procurement under similar circumstances, OSI anticipates requiring Division Directors, Bureau Chiefs, and other OSI employees to review the agency’s cont act needs in the third quarter of the fiscal year in order to project procurement needs that will arise as the commencement of the new fiscal year. This will allow the agency to identify what contracts will be ending and what new contracts need to be entered into and provide for an approximately three (3) month period to engage in the correct procurement processes so that contracts are in place and ready to commence without disruption in services.

Certified by: Date: _______________

Agency Chief Procurement Officer

Agency Approval by: Date: _______________

Cabinet Secretary/Governmental Entity Head or Designee gency CCCCCCCCCCChief Procur

7/17/2026

Mark Melhoff New Stamp

Certificate Of Completion Envelope Id: 74E49118-7307-851F-80FF-E700CE513D48 Status: Completed Subject: Complete with Docusign: 07.16.2026.Testing Services.Emergency-Procurement-Form-V2022 (002).pdf Source Envelope:

Document Pages: 6 Signatures: 1 Envelope Originator:

Certificate Pages: 4 Initials: 0 Edwin Quintana AutoNav: Enabled EnvelopeId Stamping: Enabled Time Zone: (UTC-08:00) Pacific Time (US & Canada)

11493 Sunset Hills Road Reston, VA 20190 edwin.quintana@osi.nm.gov IP Address: 164.64.160.154

Record Tracking Status: Original

7/17/2026 8:28:15 AM

Holder: Edwin Quintana edwin.quintana@osi.nm.gov

Location: DocuSign

Security Appliance Status: Connected Pool: StateLocal

Signer Events Signature Timestamp Timothy Vigil timothy.vigil@osi.nm.gov Security Level: Email, Account Authentication (None), Login with SSO

Signature Adoption: Pre-selected Style Using IP Address: 164.64.160.158

Sent: 7/17/2026 8:29:00 AM Viewed: 7/17/2026 8:31:13 AM Signed: 7/17/2026 8:32:39 AM

Electronic Record and Signature Disclosure:

Accepted: 3/8/2024 12:47:27 PM ID: 35300223-808f-461e-a40f-3ebd59504c18

In Person Signer Events Signature Timestamp

Editor Delivery Events Status Timestamp

Agent Delivery Events Status Timestamp

Intermediary Delivery Events Status Timestamp

Certified Delivery Events Status Timestamp

Carbon Copy Events Status Timestamp

Witness Events Signature Timestamp

Notary Events Signature Timestamp

Envelope Summary Events Status Timestamps Envelope Sent Hashed/Encrypted 7/17/2026 8:29:00 AM Certified Delivered Security Checked 7/17/2026 8:31:13 AM Signing Complete Security Checked 7/17/2026 8:32:39 AM Completed Security Checked 7/17/2026 8:32:39 AM

Payment Events Status Timestamps

Electronic Record and Signature Disclosure

A. ELECTRONIC RECORD AND

SIGNATURE DISCLOSURE (ERSD)

From time to time, New Mexico Department of Information Technology (DoIT), on behalf of the State of New Mexico (SONM), may be required by law to provide you with certain written notices or disclosures. Stated below are the terms and conditions for DoIT’s providing you such notices and disclosures electronically through the DocuSign system. Please read this information carefully. If you are able to access this information electronically and agree to this Electronic Record and Signature Disclosure (ERSD), please confirm your agreement by selecting the check-box next to “I agree to use electronic records and signatures” before clicking “CONTINUE” within the DocuSign system.

B. Obtaining paper copies At any time up to twenty (20) calendar days following your use of DocuSign to electronically sign a document, you may request a paper copy of any record provided or made available electronically to you by DoIT. You will have the ability to download and print documents SONM sends you through the DocuSign system during and immediately after the signing session and, if you elect to create a DocuSign account, you may access the documents for a twenty (20) calendar day period after such documents are first sent to you. Following the twenty (20) day period, if you want DoIT to send you paper copies of any such documents from DoIT’s office, you will be charged a $1.00 per-page fee plus postage. You may request delivery of such paper copies from DoIT by following the procedure stated in Section H, below.

C. Withdrawing your consent If you decide to receive notices and disclosures from DoIT electronically, you may at any time change your mind and inform DoIT you want to receive required notices and disclosures only in paper format. The procedure concerning how you may inform DoIT of your decision to receive future notices and disclosures in paper format as well as withdraw your consent to receive notices and disclosures electronically is stated in Section D, immediately below.

D. Consequences of changing your mind If you elect to receive required notices and disclosures only in paper format, it will slow the speed with which DoIT will be able to complete certain steps in specific transactions and deliver paper copies to you. DoIT will need: (1) to send the required notices or disclosures to you in paper format; and (2) wait until DoIT receives your acknowledgment of your receipt of such paper notices or disclosures. Further, you will no longer be able to use the DocuSign system to receive required notices and consents electronically from SONM or to electronically sign documents generated and sent to you from SONM.

E. All notices and disclosures will be sent to you electronically Unless you inform DoIT otherwise according to these procedures, DoIT will electronically provide you through the DocuSign system all required notices, disclosures, authorizations, acknowledgements and other documents that are required to be provided or made available to you during the course of your electronic signature relationship with SONM. To reduce the possibility of inadvertent non-receipt, DoIT prefers to provide all required notices and disclosures by the same method and to the same email or physical address that you furnish to DoIT. Thus, you may receive the disclosures and notices electronically or in paper form. If you do not agree with this procedure, please inform DoIT according to the procedures stated in Section I, below. Please also refer to Section D, immediately above, which states the consequences resulting from your declination of electronic delivery of notices and disclosures.

F. How to contact DoIT:

You may inform DoIT of any changes you select regarding SONM’s electronic communications with you, to request paper copies of certain information from DoIT, and to withdraw your prior consent to receive notices and disclosures electronically by emailing your request(s) to DoIT at:

esig.withdraw@state.nm.us

G. To advise DoIT of your new email address To inform DoIT of a change in the email address to which DoIT sends you notices and disclosures electronically, you must send an email to DoIT at esig.change@state.nm.us and in the body of such request you must include your previous and new email addresses.

If you have already created a SONM DocuSign account, you may update your new email address and other preferences within the DocuSign system by updating your SONM DocuSign account preferences.

H. To request paper copies from DoIT To request delivery of paper copies of electronic notices and disclosures that DocuSign and/or DoIT have previously provided to you, you must send an email to DoIT at esig.copy@state.nm.us and in the body of your email request state your email address, full name, mailing address, and telephone number. DoIT will charge you a $1.00 per page copy fee plus postage.

I. To withdraw your consent with DoIT

To inform DoIT that you no longer wish to receive notices and disclosures in electronic format you may:

(1) Decline to sign a document from within a signing session, and on the subsequent page, select the check-box indicating you wish to withdraw your consent, or you may:

(2) Send DoIT an email to esig.withdraw@state.nm.us and in the body of your request state your email address, full name, mailing address, and telephone number.

J. Required hardware and software

The minimum system requirements for using the DocuSign system may change over time. The current DocuSign system requirements may be found at:

https://support.docusign.com/guides/signer-guide-signing-system-requirements

K. Acknowledging your access and consent to receive and sign documents electronically To confirm that you are able to electronically access the information contained in this Electronic Record and Signature Disclosure (ERSD), please confirm that you have: (1) read this ERSD, and either: (2) you are able to print on paper or electronically save this ERSD for your future reference and access; or (3) you are able to email this ERSD to an email address where you will be able to print this ERSD on paper and/or save this ERSD for your future reference and access.

Further, if you consent to receiving notices and disclosures from DocuSign and/or DoIT exclusively in electronic format, then select the check-box next to “I agree to use electronic records and signatures,” before you click “CONTINUE” within the DocuSign system.

By selecting the check-box next to “I agree to use electronic records and signatures,” you confirm that:

You have read this Electronic Record and Signature Disclosure (ERSD); and

You can print this ERSD on paper, or you can save and/ or send this ERSD to a location where you can print this ERSD, for your future reference and access; and

Until or unless you notify DoIT as stated in this ERSD, you consent to exclusively receive through electronic means all notices, disclosures, authorizations, acknowledgements, and other documents that are required to be provided or made available to you by DoIT during the course of your electronic signature relationship with

SONM.

STATE OF NEW MEXICO

OFFICE OF SUPERINTENDENT OF INSURANCE

SUPERINTENDENT OF INSURANCE

Alice T. Kane

DEPUTY SUPERINTENDENT

Timothy Vigil

SANTA FE LOCATION (MAIN OFFICE)

(OVERNIGHT/SECOND DAY MAIL ONLY)

1120 Paseo De Peralta, 4th Floor

Santa Fe, New Mexico 87501

(USPS MAIL ONLY)

P O Box 1689

Santa Fe, New Mexico 87504

Main Phone: (505) 827-4601 | Toll Free: (855) 4 - ASK - OSI www.osi.state.nm.us

July 22, 2026

Sent via email MarkS.Melhoff@dfa.nm.gov

Mr. Mark Melhoff

Financial Control Division

Acting State Controller / Acting ASD Director

Department of Finance & Administration

Re: Addendum to Emergency Procurement Request

Dear Mr. Melhoff, Thank you for your July 21, 2026, email providing the New Mexico Office of Superintendent of Insurance with the opportunity to address your concerns prior to making a determination on the Emergency

Procurement Request. We understand that the original submission did not clearly identify the specific emergency event or explain why normal procurement methods could not be utilized. Thank you for this opportunity to provide additional information explaining the specific circumstances that created the emergency and why normal procurement methods could not be utilized.

• The specific event or circumstance that created the emergency requiring immediate procurement.

Based on information from the employees within the OSI, a combination of recent weather factors unlike before is causing conditions that are extraordinarily rare and impacts will likely be severe with respect to both fires and floods within the state of New Mexico. Pursuant to the information from the OSI employees, New Mexicans need access to qualified licensed adjusters to handle claims after fires and floods and, knowing what the future months will bring given the extreme weather conditions, New

Mexicans need access to qualified licensed insurance producers who will be able to sell them insurance products to plan, prepare and protect themselves against the anticipated risks that experts predict are in the coming months due to the combination of extreme weather and climate conditions we are currently experiencing and are projected to experience in the coming months.

Docusign Envelope ID: 8772EC4A-2BB1-8D4E-801A-1C0148A56005

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SANTA FE LOCATION (MAIN OFFICE)

(OVERNIGHT/SECOND DAY MAIL ONLY)

1120 Paseo De Peralta, 4th Floor

Santa Fe, New Mexico 87501

(USPS MAIL ONLY)

P O Box 1689

Santa Fe, New Mexico 87504

Main Phone: (505) 827-4601 | Toll Free: (855) 4 - ASK - OSI www.osi.state.nm.us

New Mexicans need licensed adjusters and agents who are competent in handling the natural disasters that our state is currently experiencing including fires and floods, droughts, and severe storms. With many rural communities, New Mexicans now more than ever need access to competent and licensed insurance adjusters and insurance producers who are knowledgeable about the unique risks that New Mexicans are currently facing in light of the extreme climate events we are now experiencing and projected to experience in the coming months.

Conditions including unusually strong winds, increased incidences of lightning strikes, record high heat and extreme dry conditions, are resulting in increased new fire starts throughout New Mexico and our surrounding states. These extreme conditions are causing serious risk to the health and safety of individuals and increased risk to loss of life and property. The monsoon season when combined with burned acres from recent fire damage is resulting in significant flooding requiring emergency evacuations and serious risk to life, health and the loss of life and property now and in the coming months as well.

There is a hotter, dry forecast and experts are concerned that the fires currently tearing through the southwest could be a sign continued fires in the next few months. The lack of moisture currently in the southwest is compounding the fire hazards in New Mexico and its surrounding states. A climate scientist has described the situation as, “The air is bone dry. The soil is bone dry. The vegetation is bone dry as well. So, it’s a pretty serious situation.” These fire hazards are presenting at a time of extreme climate crisis and at a time when many agencies have lost many fire-qualified staff. Attached in support of the evidence of recent and extreme climate and weather events causing life threatening flash flooding and fires are the following:

1. July 21, 2026, Watch Duty map showing the fires within new Mexico and in nearby adjacent lands located in Arizona, Utah, and Colorado presenting continued danger to New Mexicans.

2. July 21, 2026, Fire and flood watch in New Mexico showing the fires and the flooding in the southern part of the state including the Las Cruces and surrounding area.

3. July 21, 2026, National Weather Service Flash Flood warning concerning life threatening flash flooding in McKinley County locations including Zuni Pueblo, Black Rock, Ramah, Pescado.

4. July 21, 2026, National Weather Service Flash Flood warning concerning Cibola County areas.

5. July 18, 2026, Fire Watch for the Blossom Fire in Socorro County which engulfed 120 acres and 0% containment on the date that Watch was issued.

6. July 21, 2026, KOAT News alert regarding evacuations ordered for Zuni Pueblo due to flash flooding.

7. July 19, 2026, New Mexico Fire Information report concerning the New Fire on Mount

Taylor Ranger District that resulted from scattered thunderstorms throughout central New

Mexico.

8. July 17, 2026 update on the Gallo Wildfire on Mountainair Ranger District regarding: 1. The fact that lightning strike is what started the fire; and, 2. the need to suspend response to the fire due to threatening weather conditions.

9. June 30, 2026, article, “Large Fires Scorch Drought-Stricken Western U.S.” discussing the extreme dry conditions and the serious situation in the southwest states.

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(OVERNIGHT/SECOND DAY MAIL ONLY)

1120 Paseo De Peralta, 4th Floor

Santa Fe, New Mexico 87501

(USPS MAIL ONLY)

P O Box 1689

Santa Fe, New Mexico 87504

Main Phone: (505) 827-4601 | Toll Free: (855) 4 - ASK - OSI www.osi.state.nm.us

As a result of the fires and floods that New Mexico is currently experiencing, which have been caused by a recent combination of factors, we are in an emergency situation requiring immediate procurement so that the NM OSI may procure necessary testing services to ensure New Mexicans will have access to qualified adjusters to handle loss claims and qualified producers from whom to purchase the necessary insurance coverage to protect life and property from the anticipated fire and flood hazards predicted in the coming months.

The fires and floods we are currently experiencing and will experience in the coming months will impact health and life. Because of the fires and floods, New Mexicans will need qualified, competent, licensed adjusters to handle their accident, health, sickness, and workers compensation claims. Based on information from OSI employees, overall there are on average, one thousand two hundred twenty-one (1,221) exams administered during a three-month period on all license types within New Mexico.

Failure to provide these exams will result in New Mexicans not having access to qualified, competent, licensed adjusters to handle their accident, health, sickness, and workers compensation claims nor to producers who can sell insurance coverage to protect health, life and property from the expected damages the fires and floods will cause in the coming months.

• The reason is that the competitive procurement process could not be completed before the existing contract expired.

The extreme conditions that developed in very late June and early July presented environmental hazards that are unique and a result of a combination of extreme weather and environmental conditions causing the extreme fires and floods we are currently experiencing and projected to experience in the coming months. Previously, PSI Services LLC was providing the testing services and is the incumbent contractor under a competitively awarded contract resulting from the 2024 Request for Proposal (RFP) process.

While the existing contract was approaching expiration, the extreme fire and flood conditions were not present. What has changed is the extreme combination of weather and environmental conditions causing fire and flood hazards currently and for the coming months. Because the licensing exam must be current and specific to New Mexico law and regulations, an additional delay of months would be necessary for any other company to develop the up-to date questions required for the New Mexico licensing exams resulting in an interruption in testing. Given the change in the weather conditions causing the fire and flood hazards, New Mexico no longer has the time for the procurement process because of the fires and floods that currently exist in our state.

An interruption in examination services for the competitive procurement process when we are now facing unique and dangerous weather and environmental conditions would immediately prevent qualified applicants from completing the examinations required for licensure, delaying or preventing the issuance of insurance licenses and negatively impacting New Mexicans in light of the needs that currently present and will continue to present in the coming months due to the fires and floods in New Mexico.

4 | P a g e

(OVERNIGHT/SECOND DAY MAIL ONLY)

1120 Paseo De Peralta, 4th Floor

Santa Fe, New Mexico 87501

(USPS MAIL ONLY)

P O Box 1689

Santa Fe, New Mexico 87504

Main Phone: (505) 827-4601 | Toll Free: (855) 4 - ASK - OSI www.osi.state.nm.us procurement process resulting in the selection of PSI Services LLC, but that was years ago and at a time when the current fire and flood hazards were not as extreme as they currently present.

Following the contract award, the OSI invested substantial time and resources implementing NM`s examination program. The implementation process required more than seven months of collaborative work between OSI and PSI, including:

• Development, review, and validation of New Mexico specific licensing examination questions for multiple licenses types;

• Review and implementation of state examination content outlines;

• Coordination with State Based Systems (SBS), the National Association of Insurance

Commissioners (NAIC), and other system partners to transition examination services;

• System programming, coding, and interface modifications necessary to integrate examination reporting with New Mexico’s licensing system;

• Testing and validation of examination delivery and reporting processes; and

• Implementation of candidate scheduling, examination administration, scoring, and reporting specific to New Mexico’s licensing program.

Unlike standardized national examinations, NM`s insurance licensing examinations are customized to

New Mexico statutes, rules, and licensing requirements. Transitioning to another examination vendor would require redevelopment and validation of examination content, new systems integration, programming changes, testing, and implementation before examination services could resume. Such a transition cannot reasonably be completed without disrupting examination services to applicants seeking licensure.

The requested emergency procurement is therefore not intended to establish a new vendor relationship but rather to maintain uninterrupted examination services with the incumbent contractor while the Department completes the appropriate procurement process for a long term agreement.

Statutory requirement for examinations

59A-11-6: Examination of Applicant

This statute requires that when an examination is required for licensure:

• examinations must be made available to applicants at least once each month at locations designated by the Superintendent;

• examinations must be administered fairly and impartially; and

• applicants must pass the required examination before licensure where an examination is required.

OSI would also like to explain that, originally, the procurement process provided a competitive

5 | P a g e

(OVERNIGHT/SECOND DAY MAIL ONLY)

1120 Paseo De Peralta, 4th Floor

Santa Fe, New Mexico 87501

(USPS MAIL ONLY)

P O Box 1689

Santa Fe, New Mexico 87504

Main Phone: (505) 827-4601 | Toll Free: (855) 4 - ASK - OSI www.osi.state.nm.us

This statute specifically requires adjuster applicants to pass a written examination before licensure and expressly authorizes the Superintendent to contract with an outside testing service to administer examinations.

13.4.2.11 NMAC – Examination of Applicants

The Department’s rule identifies the resident license types requiring examinations, including:

• Insurance Producers

• Independent, Public, and Staff Adjusters

• Insurance Consultants

• Viatical Brokers

• Surplus Lines Brokers

• Title Insurance Producers

• The reason normal procurement methods were not available under these circumstances.

Normal procurement methods are not available because we are currently in the fire and flood events and

New Mexicans who have sustained loss recently currently need access to qualified adjusters to properly and competently handle their claims. New Mexicans who have not yet sustained loss need access to competent and qualified insurance producers from whom they may timely purchase the necessary insurance coverage to protect them from loss in the coming months. Because we anticipate the normal procurement process can take up to six (6) months, if we proceed with the normal procurement process, New Mexican’s will lose the opportunity to purchase the necessary insurance coverage for losses that will result in the next six months and New Mexicans who have already suffered a loss will have to wait for competent and qualified adjusting of their claims; including claims for loss of homes which will result in

New Mexicans having real property / home losses that are not timely handled.

• The competitive efforts undertaken to the extent practicable, including whether other qualified vendors were considered and the basis for selecting PSI Services.

The extreme weather and environmental conditions that developed in very late June and early July presented environmental hazards that are unique and a result of a combination of extreme weather and environmental conditions causing the extreme fires and floods we are currently experiencing and projected to experience in the coming months. Previously, PSI Services LLC was providing the testing services and is the incumbent contractor under a competitively awarded contract resulting from the 2024 Request for

59A-13-3.1: Examination for Adjuster License

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(OVERNIGHT/SECOND DAY MAIL ONLY)

1120 Paseo De Peralta, 4th Floor

Santa Fe, New Mexico 87501

(USPS MAIL ONLY)

P O Box 1689

Santa Fe, New Mexico 87504

Main Phone: (505) 827-4601 | Toll Free: (855) 4 - ASK - OSI www.osi.state.nm.us end date. As a result of the present fire and flood hazards endangering the health, safety and property of

New Mexicans, a temporary emergency procurement is necessary.

The basis for selecting PSI Services is that the licensing exam must be current and specific to New Mexico law and regulations. PSI Services, in working with the OSI, is the only testing company that is in possession of the current up-to-date exam questions that accurately reflect the New Mexico law and regulatory requirements for testing competency. An additional delay of months would be necessary for any other company to develop the up-to date questions required for the New Mexico licensing exams resulting in an interruption in testing.

Prior to contracting with PSI Services LLC, the OSI utilized Prometric as its insurance licensing examination vendor. During that contract, OSI experienced recurring operational challenges that affected applicants and the Department’s ability to effectively administer the licensing examination program.

These challenges included inconsistent communication and responsiveness from the vendor, examination appointments being cancelled or rescheduled without sufficient explanation, customer service performance that did not consistently meet the Department’s service expectations, and an inability to maintain an adequate physical testing presence within New Mexico.

These issues resulted in applicant complaints, examination delays, limited testing accessibility, and additional staff time required to address problems and assist affected applicants. The lack of a reliable physical testing presence in NM was particularly concerning because it limited access for applicants who could not reasonably travel long distances or rely solely on remote examination options.

As a result of these challenges, OSI conducted a competitive procurement through the 2024 Request for

Proposal process. PSI Services LLC was selected because it demonstrated the operational capacity, customer service capabilities, testing infrastructure, physical testing availability, and implementation approach necessary to support NM`s insurance licensing program.

Following the contract award, OSI and PSI completed an extensive implementation process lasting more than seven months. This work included developing, reviewing, and validating New Mexico specific examination questions; updating and implementing state examination content outlines; coordinating with the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, State Based Systems, and other technology partners; completing programming, coding, and interface changes necessary for examination reporting and licensing integration; conducting testing and quality assurance; and establishing examination scheduling, scoring, reporting, and administrative processes specific to New Mexico.

The Department invested hundreds of staff hours and significant state resources in developing, validating, and implementing the current examination program with PSI. Replacing the incumbent vendor on short notice would require duplicating much of that work, including redevelopment and validation of examination content, new systems integration, programming changes, testing, and implementation. That

Proposal (RFP) process. While the existing contract was approaching expiration, the extreme fire and flood conditions were not present, a successor agreement could not be fully executed before the contract

7 | P a g e

(OVERNIGHT/SECOND DAY MAIL ONLY)

1120 Paseo De Peralta, 4th Floor

Santa Fe, New Mexico 87501

(USPS MAIL ONLY)

P O Box 1689

Santa Fe, New Mexico 87504

Main Phone: (505) 827-4601 | Toll Free: (855) 4 - ASK - OSI www.osi.state.nm.us licensing requirements, which means they cannot be transferred to another vendor without substantial redevelopment and implementation work.

An interruption in examination services would immediately prevent qualified applicants from completing the examinations required for licensure, delaying or preventing the issuance of insurance licenses and negatively impacting New Mexicans in light of the needs that currently present and will continue to present in the coming months due to the fires and floods in New Mexico.

• Confirmation that the requested six-month term is limited solely to the time necessary to complete a competitive procurement and award a successor contract.

The New Mexico Office of Superintendent of Insurance confirms that the requested six-month terms is limited solely to the time necessary to complete a competitive procurement and award a successor contract.

The OSI is already moving forward on the initial stages of an RFP in an effort to address the time issue. We have already submitted determination requests to SPD and Horizons. Once the RFP is fully developed, we intend to advertise the RFP solicitation for 30-days. OSI anticipates an award of the RFP within six months.

Thank you for considering this additional information.

Respectfully, Timothy Vigil, Deputy Superintendent

New Mexico Office of Superintendent of Insurance

Michelle Montoya, Chief Procurement Officer

New Mexico Office of Superintendent of Insurance process would take several months and would likely result in an interruption of examination services.

NM`s insurance licensing examinations are customized to the state’s statutes, administrative rules, and

Emergency Determination Form_Equintana_7.17.2026.pdf
07.22.2026. Addendum.pdf

File details come from the government source that posted it. Updated .