NFIP_Direct_-_RFI_-_70FA6019I00000010_-_Q&A_-_Government_Response.pdf

Page Section Item Question Government Response

General Questions

What is the time frame for FEMA to respond to the questions submitted by prospective vendors as part of the RFI?

FEMA will address as many questions as possible via this posting, and at the industry day scheduled for September 16. However, as mentioned in the RFI, there is no guarantee that FEMA will respond to all questions.

General Questions

Given the changes with PIVOT, Risk Rating 2.0, and the policy form changes, more clarity around the pricing model would be appreciated. It is unclear exactly what this question references. If it pertains to potential pricing models and considerations for the NFIP Direct contract, that information and other directions will be included with a Request for Proposal (RFP). If it refers to impacts on premiums and other matters relating to Risk Rating 2.0 ‐ FEMA will be sharing information on those efforts via seperate channels, and not through this market research or RFP effort.

Draft

PWS

Page Section Item Question Response

2 2 Organizational Health

How does FEMA define "organizational health?" Organizational Health refers to how FEMA aligns itself and its staff to sustainably achieve performance aspirations.

3 2 Survivor Programs

Does FEMA have a forum (meetings, teams, etc.) that allows for communication, discussion and interaction with various FEMA survivor programs? FEMA survivor programs include but are not limited to

Individual Assistance (IA), Individual Housing Program (IHP) and similiar and the NFIP Direct would work with these programs in support of the Group Flood Insurance Program (GFIP). There are also other FEMA survivor programs that would include mitigation activities which would support the Severe Repetitive Loss (SRL) Program.

Both GFIP and SRL are unique to the NFIP Direct and coordinated efforts with FEMA would be required.

3 2 Test Laboratory

Will all test laboratory activities supported by technology have to be hosted with the same IT solution requirements?

Not necessarily. Technology that supports lab efforts may be a part of the NFIP Direct or other FEMA system.

All technology must be within an Authorized to Operate (ATO) environment, and all cybersecurity and privacy regulations and procedures apply.

4 2 Universal Assumptions

Please describe what types of incentives FEMA intends to put in place to strengthen and expand partnerships.

FEMA intends to provide monetary incentives in support of performance and innovation of ideas but there may be opportunity for others types of incentives as well.

FEMA welcomes ideas around incentives.

4 2 Universal Assumptions

Please confirm that the term "agents" at the contact center refers to licensed insurance agents. It does not. This reference was intended to desribe customer service agents. An Offeror could propose to use licensed insurance agents to support the contract center if they desired.

RFI ‐ 70FA6019I00000010 ‐ Sources Sought Q&A ‐ Government Response

5 4 Period of Performance

The PWS indicates that the period of performance will be 12 months, with four (4) twelve (12) month option periods. Will the initial 12 month period begin upon completion of the transition period for the book of business?

This will be officially determined in the RFP. It is currently envisioned that the base period will start immediately upon contract award, but that is subject to change and will be defined in the RFP.

5 5 Place of Performance

There is a new requirement that the place of performance of the services has to be within 50 miles of FEMA headquarters. What is the objective or advantage to FEMA of this proximity requirement? This location is known to have substantially higher than average costs of doing business, including office space and wage rates. In addition, there may be a substantially smaller labor pool for qualified and experienced staffing. Would FEMA consider removing this requirement or supporting alternatives to meet this requirement, such as having the place of performance be in close proximity to FEMA regional locations?

The draft PWS did not require that all services must be within 50 miles of FEMA HQ, but rather an office must

be. Primary operations can be located anywhere in the continental United States. The NFIP Direct is primarily administered at FEMA HQ, and thus the requirement for some presence near FEMA HQ.

6 6 GFE

How many GFE laptops are currently provisioned for the NFIP Direct contractor for System Administrators, privileged users and FICO kits? How does FEMA define "privileged users?"

There are currently 4 GFE laptops, but that number can be increased or decreased to meet operational needs and the solution proposed by Offerors. A privileged user is someone who manages the IT components for the Contractor’s System.

6 6 GFE

Where do the Cisco routers presently reside? Are they in a government‐controlled environment? Can you provide more details about DHS OneNet? Yes, they are in a government controlled environment.

DHS OneNet is a trusted internet connection leveraged by FEMA systems and managed by DHS. More information is available at https://www.dhs.gov/cisa/trusted‐internet‐connections.

7 7 7.2.5; 7.2.8

The insurance industry, and business world in general, is moving to a digitally distributed environment to improve the customer experience. Is FEMA going to follow suit with the primary use of electronic/digital communication of policy‐related documents to the policyholders and other applicable stakeholders (agent, mortgagee, adjusters, etc.)?

FEMA is working towards technology advancements within the NFIP, including in FEMA systems and the NFIP Direct. The NFIP Direct will play a role in helping FEMA utilize these advancements and innovations.

8 7 7.2.10

Can FEMA provide clarification on what type of direction or coordination is expected with Federal, State, Local, and Tribal governments and communities?

There may be instances whereby discussions may be required but not limited to FEMA direction with Federal, State, Local and Tribal governments and communities in regards to mitigation efforts in support of Severe Repetitive Loss (SRL) properties; the continued maintainenance of insurance for Group Flood Insurance Policies (GFIP) or during peak catastrophe coordination efforts, may be needed with those governmental entities. Also, NFIP Direct intends on collaborating with other FEMA components (i.e‐Individual Assistance) to ensure that Federal, State, Local and Tribal governments and communities receive consistent messaging, customer service, information, etc.

10 7 7.4.7

What are the expectations of the contractor to proactively campaign to communities? Can FEMA provide the current number of SRL policies, as well as the number of communities with SRL policies? FEMA expects the NFIP Direct contractor to work with communities officials and FEMA with mitigation efforts on SRL properties to obtain the goal of successfully moving them out of the program. FEMA will explore providing SRL information in the bidder's library.

10 7 7.5.2 Can FEMA provide an estimate of the number of policyholders that have email addresses on file for providing electronic communication?

FEMA will explore providing an estimate in the bidder's library.

12 7 7.6.4.1

Can FEMA clarify if the NFIP Direct contractor will have access to the IQ and FID SharePoint correspondence tracker, or will they need to maintain their own tracking system for UCC?

The NFIP Direct contractor will not have access to the FEMA sites: IQ and FID SharePoint as these sites are for correspondence received directly by FEMA. The contractor is expected to maintain their own tracking system for uncontrolled correspondence (UCC).

13 7 7.7.3 Will FICO kits be provided to the new contractor, or will the new contractor be expected to assemble new FICO kits? Can you provide an inventory of the existing FICO kits?

FICO kits will be provided by FEMA.

13 7 7.7.8

Will FEMA provide incentives, or flex the adjuster fee schedule, to retain adjusters in multi‐peril, multi‐ location, and multi‐event conditions?

FEMA's adjuster fee schedule is overarching for the Program and is not handled seperately for the NFIP Direct. Any adjustments to the schedule will be published via formal communications, and apply program‐wide.

13; 14 7 7.7.10.1; 7.7.16

As noted above, the insurance industry, and business world in general, is moving to a digitally distributed environment. Is FEMA going to follow suit by primarily using electronic/digital communication to deliver NFIP informational materials to adjusters and policyholders to assist policyholders and expedite the claims process? Will FEMA primarily use electronic/digital forms and materials in connection with claims processing?

Same answer as above.

14 7 7.7.15 Will FEMA provide access to a database of adjusters with current FCN and the claim types they are authorized to handle?

No

14 7 7.7.17 With Pivot becoming the SOR on 10/1/19, with a daily submission requirement, will daily claim polling be eliminated?

FEMA will no longer require daily claims polling at the start of the new NFIP Direct contract.

14 7 7.7.27

Will the reinspections be done in accordance with the Binomial chart in the Financial Control plan or will a different standard be developed?

Reinspections may be completed according to the Financial Control Plan and also on an as needed basis.

All claim files may be subject to a reinspection.

17 7 7.10.6 Will this email system be hosted and administered by FEMA? Yes

17 7 7.10.8

Will the IT solution for agents writing and servicing NFIP Direct flood policies require multi‐factor authentication and/or PIV? If not, please describe where multi‐factor authentication and/or PIV is required.

Independent agents writing and servicing flood policies do not require multi‐factor authentication and/or PIV.

Multi‐factor authentication and/or PIV is required for all Contractor personnel who require access to DHS or FEMA information systems, routine access to DHS or FEMA facilities, or access to sensitive information.

18 7 7.10.13

With Pivot becoming the SOR on 10/1/19 and TRRP being replaced by CAP, will this item be updated? CAP will run the process starting on 10/1/19. The TRRP is referenced in 44 CFR, thus it is referenced in the draft PWS as well for consistency sake. We will aim to update the language here to clarify this distinction.

21 7 7.13.2

The paragraph discusses "testing new initiatives of the NFIP." Are these initiatives already defined? Will FEMA be looking to the contractor for initiatives for the test laboratory, or will the contractor only be expected to participate in the implementation of these initiatives?

FEMA looks to partner with the NFIP Direct contractor on various initiatives. These initiatives could take the form of FEMA directed or as innovation suggestions from the contractor.

25 7 7.16.12.6 Under what circumstances would the incumbent contractor need to accommodate an incoming successor by installing hardware or software? None

26 7 7.17.3

Does the mobile application need to be a device specific application (iOS/Android), or can it be a mobile enabled responsive design website?

Mobile applications do not need to be device specific, and can be a mobile enabled responive design, so long as any application developed and used complies with DHS cybersecurity and privacy standards.

26 7 7.17.4

Will the Agent Referral Database have contact information for only those agents associated and enrolled with NFIP Direct, or will program‐wide agency information be made available through the Database?

Under the NFIP Direct contract, FEMA looks for the contractor to provide an Agent Referral Database based on NFIP Direct Independent Agents.

26 7 7.17.6

As noted above, as the insurance industry, and business world in general, moves to a digitally distributed environment is FEMA going to follow suit by primarily using electronic/digital insurance cards that can be maintained on mobile devices?

Same answer as above.

28 8 8.7.1

What is the typical turnaround time for FEMA to complete the background investigation process for contractor staff?

Dependend upon the type of investigation and individual circumstances the process usually takes between 30 to 120 days.

46 12 12.1.3

Can FEMA provide the roles subject to a full background investigation? As stated in the PWS, Contractor personnel who require access to DHS or FEMA information systems, routine access to DHS or FEMA facilities, or access to sensitive information, will be subject to a full background investigation commensurate with the level of the risk associated with the job function or work being performed.

46 12 12.1.7 Can FEMA provide the roles subject to security clearance? Same as 12.1.3 You’ve provided specific questions and page limits for the responses you are seeking. Are we to include our general comments about the DRAFT PWS within the limitations of your questions? If not, how would you like to receive our input?

We are updating the directions to allow for 10 pages for the general questions section, inclusive of feedback about the PWS and the other questions asked in that section.