00002 Attachment 1 - SOO 02.06.24.pdf

NATIONAL FLOOD INSURANCE PROGRAM

NFIP DIRECT 2024

Statement of Objectives

Dated 2/6/2024

Acquisition Sensitive

Attachment 1

Table of Contents

1.0 Purpose

2.0 Background

3.0 Scope

4.0 Performance Objectives and Requirements

4.1 Transition In

4.1.1 General Transition-in Activities

4.1.2 Operations Transition-In Activities

4.1.3 IT Transition-In Activities

4.2 Management

4.3 NFIP Direct Operations

4.3.1 NFIP Direct Standard Services

4.3.1.1 NFIP Policy Servicing

4.3.1.2 Group Flood Insurance Policy Servicing

4.3.1.3 Severe Repetitive Loss Target Group (SRL TG)

4.3.1.4 NFIP Contact Center

4.3.2 NFIP Direct Program Support

4.3.2.1 Customer Service

4.3.2.2 Correspondence

4.3.2.3 Statutory/Regulatory Compliance

4.3.2.4 Program Enhancements

4.3.2.5 NFIP Data Reporting

4.3.2.6 NFIP Direct Financial Management

4.3.2.7 Policy Appeals

4.3.2.8 Claims Appeals

4.3.2.9 Litigation Support

4.3.2.10 NFIP Direct Marketing

4.4 Information Technology (IT) Solutions

4.4.1 Security and Privacy Compliance

4.5 Write Your Own Company Assumptions

4.6 Flood Disaster Services

4.6.1 Standard Flood Disaster Services

4.6.1.1 Flood Insurance Claim Office (FICO) Operations

4.6.1.2 Post-Flood Event Analyses

4.7 Print, Storage, and Postage

4.8 Customer Experience (CX) Labs

4.9 NFIP Direct to Customer (D2C) Support

4.10 Transition Out

5.0 Performance Requirements

6.0 Deliverables

6.1 Business Continuity Plan

6.2 Deliverables Chart

7.0 Personnel

7.1 Personnel Requirements

7.2 Key Personnel

8.0 Government Furnished Equipment

9.0 Contract Information

9.1 Contract Type

9.2 Period of Performance

9.3 Place of Performance

10.0 Constraints, Assumptions, and Required Standards

10.1 Transition-In

10.2 Group Flood Insurance Policies (GFIP)

10.3 Customer Service/Contact Center

10.4 Claims

10.5 Data Analytics and Reporting

10.6 Transition-Out

10.7 Statutes, Regulations, Policies, Guidelines, and Specifications

10.8 Data Rights

10.9 Section 504

10.10 Addenda

I. Standard Language for Unclassified Contracts (August 2021) II. Records Management Obligations III. 3052.204-72 Safeguarding of Controlled Unclassified Information. (JUL 2023) - Alternate I (JUL 2023) ... 68

IV. INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY SECURITY AWARENESS TRAINING (JULY 2023)

V. Information Sharing VI. Section 508 Requirements VII. OCIO CISO Cyber-Supply Chain Risk Management (C-SCRM) SOW Language VIII. DHS Enterprise Architecture Compliance IX. FedRAMP Certified Language

1.0 Purpose

The purpose of this Statement of Objectives (SOO) is to obtain insurance industry leading and innovative contractor support for National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) Direct services that meet the objectives described herein in a manner that aligns with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) Strategic Plan, Resilience’s guiding principles and values and the Federal Insurance Directorate’s (FID) Strategy.

2.0 Background

FEMA’s mission is helping people before, during, and after disasters. FEMA accomplishes this mission through the development and execution of the FEMA Strategic Plan.

FEMA’s Strategic Goals are:

• Instill equity as a foundation of emergency management

• Lead whole of community in climate resilience

• Promote and sustain a ready FEMA and prepared nation

FEMA focuses on building and developing a culture of preparedness across the country and unifying all levels of community and government into an integrated approach to emergency management. As part of FEMA, Resilience concentrates on increasing the capabilities necessary to reduce loss of life and property by lessening the impact of disasters. Resilience has developed guiding principles that drive decision making.

Resilience’s guiding principles are:

• A prepared and resilient nation

• Reduce disaster suffering

• Build a world class organization by focusing on customer satisfaction and empowering people to drive action together

Resilience manages the NFIP. Congress created the NFIP through passage of the National Flood Insurance Act (NFIA) of 1968, and over the last 50 years, Congress has updated and added new requirements through various other legislation. Through passage of these acts, Congress authorized FEMA to institute regulations that govern the NFIP and the delivery of flood insurance to policyholders in eligible communities using Title 44 Code of Federal Regulations (44 CFR) parts 59 through 62. To emphasize the importance of the information, FEMA incorporated the entirety of the Standard Flood Insurance Policy (SFIP) into 44 CFR. FEMA also issues further guidance to external partners to aid in the issuance of policies and adjusting of claims, such as the Flood Insurance Manual (FIM), the National Flood Insurance Claims Manual, and various FEMA Bulletins.

Under Resilience, FID’s mission is to provide customer focused flood insurance to help survivors and their communities effectively recover from flood events.

As part of the NFIP, the NFIP Direct facilitates the issuance and administration of flood insurance policies on behalf of the Government. As such, positive public perception of the NFIP Direct and its handling of policy administration are important to FEMA. FEMA requires the NFIP Direct to fully comply with all statutes and demonstrate working knowledge and understanding of applicable regulations, policies, guidelines, and specifications that affect the NFIP, RESILIENCE, FEMA, and DHS.

The NFIP Direct is positioned to set the standard for the entire NFIP by embodying Resilience’s guiding principles and FEMA’s strategic goals. FEMA envisions the NFIP Direct as the example and insurance industry leader for the entire NFIP and expects NFIP Direct employees to be familiar with all FEMA survivor programs to facilitate seamless service to survivors. FEMA also requires the NFIP Direct to function as a test laboratory for program innovation and initiatives that further Resilience’s guiding principles and the FEMA mission. To meet this vision, Resilience requires the contractor to continuously review, improve and innovate processes and tools as the environmental, technological, and political considerations impacting the NFIP evolve.

FID oversees a portfolio of contracts to support delivery of the NFIP. NFIP contracts support the direct sale and servicing of NFIP policies (addressed by this NFIP Direct SOO); communications; operations, maintenance, and development for NFIP technology; standard business operations; and program management. Universal objectives, assumptions, and constraints applicable to all NFIP contracts are provided below.

Resilience is transforming the NFIP to update the products, processes, and procedures that support the program. The new risk rating system has been redesigned to leverage industry best practices and current technology to deliver rates that are fairer, easier to understand, and better reflect a property’s unique flood risk. FEMA calls this effort Risk Rating 2.0 and will include updates to rates for all NFIP-insured properties over the next several years. Through these efforts, FEMA’s goal is to make flood insurance significantly easier for agents to price and sell policies, and in turn, help customers better understand their flood risk and the importance of flood insurance.

As FEMA strives to increase climate resilience, ensure equitable access and outcomes for all citizens, and promote and sustain a ready FEMA and nation, it is imperative that FEMA enable the digital sale and servicing of flood insurance to increase the number of people covered. FEMA calls this initiative “Direct to Customer” or “D2C”. The D2C Initiative is intended to supplement policy sales made through Write Your Own (WYO) partnerships and NFIP Direct agents and not replace them. This initiative is in its early planning stages, therefore FEMA is not sure when, how, or if this capability will be developed, delivered, and maintained. References to D2C in this SOO are notional, optional, and subject to change.

Universal Program Objective 1: The NFIP is growing. As the program works to close the nation’s insurance gap, support services must scale to meet the workload expected to deliver world-class operations, inclusive of day-to-day, response, and recovery activities.

Universal Program Objective 2: The NFIP must make it easier to sign up and maintain flood insurance.

From forms, to rating, to the claims process, the NFIP must continue to evolve how it delivers the program to help close the insurance gap and make it easier for citizens and communities to invest in hazard mitigation activities. All providers must directly contribute to improving the customer experience.

Universal Program Objective 3: FEMA must reduce the complexity of the NFIP and increase the program’s transparency. Leveraging process changes, improved communications, and new technology, FEMA must ensure that homeowners have insight, education, and confidence in the entire insurance lifecycle.

Universal Program Objective 4: To ready the nation for catastrophic disaster, FEMA must build and sustain long-lasting and mutually beneficial partnerships and coalitions with public and private organizations to leverage capabilities and influence, extending the reach of the NFIP’s mission.

Universal Program Objective 5: The NFIP must plan for and implement changes stemming from the reauthorization and other legislative and regulatory changes.

Universal Program Assumptions and Constraints

• All activities will align to DHS/FEMA/RESILIENCE/FID strategies and intents.

• Pivot is the NFIP’s System of Record (SOR).

• FEMA is updating policy forms, and while some will be finalized, not all will be completely in place at the time of contract award.

• Updated rates will be implemented in a phased approach, with new rates going into effect over the next several years.

• The NFIP will continue to operate according to the current authorization and regulations but must ensure flexibility for changes.

• The NFIP will embrace data and fraud analytics to drive better operations through improved oversight, speed, quality, and customer service.

• The NFIP will leverage data analytics and behavioral science to better inform decisions and improve the program’s marketing approach.

• The NFIP will embrace industry-standard customer experience models (online sales, mobile claims through smartphone applications, agents at the contact center, etc.).

• The NFIP will strengthen and expand partnerships—including through incentives.

• Outreach activities are coordinated, integrated, and consistent with NFIP messaging.

• The NFIP intends to enable policyholders to pay for their policies either annually or through installment payments. The Contractor shall provide support and service the policies accordingly.

• Data security and privacy issues are major focus of the federal Government’s information technology efforts. All program activities must be compliant with the Government Information Security Reform Act, Office of Management and Budget (OMB) policies, DHS, and FEMA requirements.

• Solutions must include transition plans detailing how continuity of services will be maintained (e.g., operations of IT systems in various states of health and development, ongoing marketing and sales efforts, program management, etc.).

3.0 Scope

The Contractor shall perform all actions necessary to, or incidental to, policy administration services for flood insurance policies in support of the NFIP Direct. The Contractor shall have responsibility for management, operation, maintenance, and quality assurance for the services. The Contractor shall provide IT solutions to accomplish the full scope of this requirement. The actual number of policies administered by the NFIP Direct and percentage of NFIP Direct policies within the entire NFIP varies daily. Because of this, the Government does not guarantee the number of policies to be serviced by the NFIP Direct. The Government, through this contract, reserves the right to establish unique operations, standards and reporting requirements specific to the NFIP Direct and unique policies to be issued solely by the NFIP Direct. Should the situation arise, the contractor shall also assume the policies of WYO companies that withdraw or that FEMA terminates from the NFIP.

Furthermore, the Contractor will act as a laboratory for testing Government initiatives that aim to enhance customer experience and better align the NFIP Direct with FEMA’s Strategic Plan, Resilience’s guiding principles, and RESILIENCE’s values.

The Contractor may be tasked to support the D2C Initiative for scope elements that align closely with this requirement.

4.0 Performance Objectives and Requirements

The Contractor shall provide solutions, which are able to be implemented in the public sector, that are innovative, flexible, reflect subject matter expertise, and increase efficiency and effectiveness, taking into consideration the Government’s continuing resource constraints.

The contractor shall deliver customer-focused, secure, quality, scalable NFIP Direct service operations in a cost-effective and timely manner, while testing new initiatives of the NFIP in accordance with the following objectives and requirements as set forth in task orders. Using terms such as universal, overarching, overall objectives can be interpreted in different ways.

4.1 Transition In

For contract transitions, four transition plans are developed:

1. Incumbent contractor’s IT transition-out plan;

2. Incumbent contractor’s operations transition-out plan;

3. Successor Contractor’s IT transition-in plan; and

4. Successor Contractor’s operations transition-in plan.

The incumbent contractor and the successor Contractor shall participate in a reconciliation of the IT transition plans and milestones and the operations transition plans and milestones. The reconciliation will result in all four plans being combined into a Master Transition Plan which is adopted by all parties.

• The reconciliation process may be led or facilitated by FEMA or its Program Management support contractor.

• FEMA will manage the Master Transition Plan. The Contractors shall provide information and updates as necessary. Weekly progress meetings may be needed.

The Contractor shall lead transaction-in activities (with support from the incumbent contractor) and be ultimately accountable for successful transition-in with minimal stakeholder disruption. The Contractor is responsible for timely notification to the COR whenever successful transition is jeopardized.

• The Contractor shall conduct a kick-off meeting within ten business days of award.

o Meeting minutes are due two business days after the kick-off meeting.

• Program Management Plan and Quality Management Plan o The Contractor shall submit a program management plan within 30 days of award.

o The Contractor shall submit a quality management plan within 30 days of award.

The quality management plan may be addressed in the program management plan or as a stand-alone document.

o At its discretion, the Contractor may submit IDIQ-level Program Management and Quality Management Plan(s) with the transition task order that can be updated as appropriate within 30 days of award for each subsequent task order in lieu of Plans for each task order.

• The Contractor shall facilitate quarterly in-progress review meetings to enable planning and tracking of service and delivery milestones.

• The Contractor shall maintain a spreadsheet to track submittal and acceptance of deliverables and work products.

o The final version is due at the end of the period of performance.

o Interim versions may be requested no more frequently than monthly.

o Interim versions shall be submitted in conjunction with the Monthly Technical Progress

Narrative and Monthly Contract Status Reports

• FID utilizes digital platforms (including JIRA, SharePoint, Microsoft Teams) for collaborative work including the Integrated Master Schedule, Performance Management Dashboard, and Risk Register.

o The Contractor shall coordinate with FEMA and/or its Program Management Contractor as requested to inform inputs into these platforms.

• The Contractor shall submit a Monthly Contract Status Report (MCSR) every month.

o The reporting period shall match the invoice period.

o The MCSR shall be submitted with or before the corresponding invoice.

o At a minimum, the MCSR shall include:

Relevant contract information;

Costs invoiced for the relevant period;

Costs invoiced to date;

Accomplishments/status/updates;

Deliverables/work products submitted;

Identified risks and proposed mitigation;

Activities planned for the next reporting period;

Projected costs for the next reporting period:

Project health; and With alignment to contract objectives.

o At the Contractor’s discretion, MCSRs for all active task orders may be combined into a single IDIQ MCSR.

Any combined report must maintain alignment to individual task orders and invoices.

o At the Contractor’s recommendation, and coordinated with the FEMA Program

Manager and COR, monthly recurring reports with similar due dates may be submitted as addenda to the MCSR.

• If requested by the COR or Program Manager, the Contractor shall facilitate a weekly program management meeting with the COR, Program Manager, and control account managers.

o The intention of the program management meeting is to discuss the business and administration of the contract rather than to be another touchpoint for programmatic issues.

o The agenda is due by 2:00 PM EST the day before the scheduled meeting.

4.1.1 General Transition-in Activities

• Operations Transition-in Project Plan – The Contractor shall develop and provide a complete project plan with a comprehensive timeline for transition and migration that will see the Contractor reach full performance at the end of the transition period. The Operations Transition In Plan must include, at the very least, the following elements:

o Objectives o Roles & Responsibilities o Key Milestones, Deliverables, and Due Dates o Comprehensive timeline o Risk identification and management strategies

The Contractor shall:

• Transfer files and records from the incumbent contractor and maintain the information in accordance with FEMA Manual 141-1-1, Records Management— Files Maintenance and Disposition. Record keeping systems must comply with the Federal Records Act, National Archives and Records Administration regulations, and FEMA Records Officer requirements.

Manage any physical and virtual storage and warehousing needed to carry out contract operations.

• Anticipate and mitigate potential problems or impediments that may hinder transition or migration and notify the COR immediately.

• Support reconciliation of its transition-in project plan with the incumbent contractor’s transition-out project plan.

• Coordinate and perform parallel testing of systems with FEMA, the incumbent, and other relevant government contractors.

• Coordinate with FEMA, and the incumbent when necessary, and perform pre- transition tests on FEMA-owned phone numbers and URLs.

• Provide a list of names, titles, contact information for all individuals that need Government laptops within 30 days of calendar award. For additional laptops, an advance noticed of 15 business days is required for processing, delivery and IT set up.

• Create a template to report weekly transition activities and submit to FEMA and the COR for review and approval.

4.1.2 Operations Transition-In Activities

• Knowledge Transfer (KT) Sessions – The Contractor shall facilitate knowledge transfer sessions with FEMA and the incumbent contractor for various subject matters and business operations as identified by FEMA and/or the Contractor, including, but not limited to underwriting, claims, contact center, finance, correspondence, and data submission requirements.

Knowledge Transfer Session Requirements:

o The Contractor must request KT sessions at least 15 business days in advance to the COR. The request must include the subject area and list of potential attendees.

o Within 10 business days before the start of the scheduled KT session, the Contractor must submit a list of questions to the COR. The questions will be reviewed by FEMA and/or the incumbent. Due to time constraints, the Contractor is limited to twenty questions per KT session. Additional questions may be asked in subsequent KT sessions.

There is no limit on KT sessions.

o The Contractor must be available to take notes and create a KT session Summary form.

The form must include discussions, lessons learned, documents shared, etc. during each KT sessions.

o After completion of the KT session, the Contractor has 10 business days to create, sign and submit the Summary Form to FEMA for review and acceptance.

• Establish tailored system roles for FEMA Stakeholders, based on FEMA requirements, within applicable IT solution(s) prior to the transition of operations from the incumbent to the contractor.

o The Contractor has 45 calendar days to meet with FEMA to gather requirements for the following areas:

Direct Service Branch Role Access Other FEMA Role Access o The Contractor has an additional 120 calendar days to implement the requirements in the system and provide a full and complete demonstration to FEMA.

o If additional time is needed, the Contractor must provide a justification in writing to the COR for approval.

• Coordinate with FEMA to establish and implement reoccurring reports and business intelligence solution(s) prior to the transition of operations from the incumbent contractor.

• Contact Center o Provide FEMA with an accurate representation of contact center workflow that reflects how contacts will be handled, and escalated, if necessary, for each of the various channels.

This workflow shall reflect operations as of the first day post-transition from the incumbent.

o Provide knowledgeable staffing to address Contact Center inquiries.

o Ensure adequate staffing to address English and Spanish speaking inquiries in each of the contact center departments.

A third-party translation service is not allowed.

• Finance o Establish and maintain at least one bank account in a minority owned bank within 90 calendar days of the award o Establish internal controls and submit document of internal controls to FEMA for approval within 90 calendar days of contract award.

4.1.3 IT Transition-In Activities

The contractor shall describe its detailed transition-in strategy and schedule of activities comprising the transition-in plan.

• The strategy shall delineate additional requirements expected of the government beyond the GFI/GFE identified herein.

• The strategy will be evaluated for realism and expectations.

• The strategy shall be the foundation of a formal deliverable Transition-In Plan 30 days after contract award.

• The strategy will include a plan for the migration of data from the previous Vendor to their system.

• The Contractor shall develop and provide a complete ATO Project plan with a comprehensive timeline for ATO activities and migration. The ATO Project Plan shall also align with the Transition-In Project Plan. At a minimum, the ATO Project Plan shall include the following elements:

o Objectives o Roles and Responsibilities o Key Deliverables & Due Dates o Comprehensive Timeline o Constraints and Assumptions o Risks and Countermeasures o Final ATO package Submission Date o Migration Plans o Go-Live Date

• The Contractor shall maintain the ATO Project Plan with updates included for ATO renewals.

Government Furnished Information (GFI) The Government may provide data and equipment to support the contract in accordance with the following schedule:

GFI Description Schedule Detailed Description of NFIP Direct Data Specified within 30 to 60 days after award Snapshot of Structured Data Specified within 30 to 60 days after award Snapshot of Unstructured Data Specified within 30 to 60 days after award All Policies and Claims Specified within 30 to 60 days after award Final Delta of Structure Data Specified within 30 to 60 days after award Final Delta of Unstructured data Specified within 30 to 60 days after award NARA Compliant Archives Specified within 30 to 60 days after award

4.2 Management

The following activities are expected to continue after transition has been complete.

• The Contractor shall submit or update deliverables as stated in the Deliverables Chart.

• The Contractor shall provide staffing as necessary. Key Personnel must meet the requirements stated below in the SOO.

• The Contractor shall facilitate quarterly in-progress review meetings to enable planning and tracking of service and delivery milestones.

• The Contractor shall maintain a spreadsheet to track submittal and acceptance of deliverables and work products.

o The final version is due at the end of the period of performance.

o Interim versions may be requested no more frequently than monthly.

o Interim versions shall be submitted in conjunction with the Monthly Technical Progress

Narrative.

• FID utilizes digital platforms (including JIRA, SharePoint, Microsoft Teams) for collaborative work including the Integrated Master Schedule, Performance Management Dashboard, and Risk Register.

o The Contractor shall coordinate with FEMA and/or its Program Management Contractor as requested to inform inputs into these platforms.

• The Contractor shall submit a Monthly Contract Status Report (MCSR) every month.

o The reporting period shall match the invoice period.

o The MCSR shall be submitted with or before the corresponding invoice.

o At a minimum, the MCSR shall include:

Relevant contract information;

Costs invoiced for the relevant period;

Costs invoiced to date;

Accomplishments/status/updates;

Deliverables/work products submitted;

Identified risks and proposed mitigation;

Activities planned for the next reporting period;

Projected costs for the next reporting period:

Project health; and With alignment to contract objectives.

o At the Contractor’s discretion, MCSRs for all active task orders may be combined into a single IDIQ MCSR.

Any combined report must maintain alignment to individual task orders and invoices.

o At the Contractor’s recommendation, and coordinated with the FEMA Program

Manager and COR, monthly recurring reports with similar due dates may be submitted as addenda to the MCSR.

• If requested by the COR or Program Manager, the Contractor shall facilitate a weekly program management meeting with the COR, Program Manager, and control account managers.

o The intention of the program management meeting is to discuss the business and administration of the contract rather than to be another touchpoint for programmatic issues.

o The agenda is due by 2:00 PM EST the day before the scheduled meeting.

• Per FEMA direction, the Contractor must submit an agenda for meetings with the minimum requirements:

o Attendees o Key Action Items and Due Dates o Questions o Risks/Issues

• Per FEMA direction, the Contractor must provide meeting minutes for meetings within 2 business days.

4.3 NFIP Direct Operations

The Contractor shall issue and administer accurate and timely NFIP products, including NFIP Direct-only products, to further FEMA’s mission and maximize stakeholder confidence in the NFIP.

4.3.1 NFIP Direct Standard Services

The following provides details on the NFIP policy types.

Standard Flood Insurance Policy (SFIP) means the flood insurance policy issued by the Federal Insurance Administrator or an insurer pursuant to an arrangement with the Federal Insurance Administrator pursuant to Federal statutes and regulations. (44 CFR § 59.1)

A Group Flood Insurance Policy (GFIP) is a policy covering all individuals named by a State as recipients under Section 408 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (Stafford Act)

(42 U.S. Code [U.S.C.] 5174) of an Individuals and Households Program (IHP) award for flood damage as a result of major disaster declaration by the President. (44 CFR § 61.17)

Severe Repetitive Loss Target Group (SRL TG):

FEMA designates as Severe Repetitive Loss (SRL) any NFIP-insured single-family or multi-family residential building:

1. That has incurred flood-related damage for which four or more separate claims payments have been made, with the amount of each claim (including building and contents payments) exceeding $5,000, and with the cumulative amount of such claims payments exceeding $20,000;

or

2. For which at least two separate claims payments (building payments only) have been made under such coverage, with the cumulative amount of such claims exceeding the market value of the building. In both instances, at least two of the claims must be within 10 years of each other, and claims made within 10 days of each other will be counted as one claim.

In determining SRL status, FEMA considers the loss history since 1978, or from the building’s construction if it was built after 1978, regardless of any changes in the ownership of the building.

The term “SRL property” refers to either an SRL building or the contents within an SRL building, or both. (Biggert-Waters Flood Insurance Reform Act of 2012)

Only policies designated with a unique SRL number are eligible for billing/inclusion according to this definition/contract. For example, condominiums in the same building share the same street address (number) but they do not all have a unique SRL number designation. Therefore, only the individual units and policies designated with and that have unique SRL numbers are eligible for SRL billing/inclusion in the target group.

Individual policies may only be billed as a single policy type.

4.3.1.1 NFIP Policy Servicing

The requirements below are applicable to all NFIP policies (SFIP, GFIP, and SRL TG policies).

The Contractor is shall:

• Readily furnish, and make electronically available, when applicable, insurance policy forms and

NFIP print materials to stakeholders.

• Accept and process flood insurance applications within the timeframes referenced in applicable

NFIP rules and regulations, as well as those set forth in the Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan (QASP). This should include the acceptance of both electronic and hardcopy submissions.

• Underwrite and validate application information to accurately rate the policy or obtain an accurate premium quote and properly cover the policyholder’s property to mitigate policyholder risk.

• Collect and process premiums (initial, renewals, installments, and endorsements). Payments may be made by electronic credit card submission, paper check, wire transfer or money order.

Cash will not be accepted.

• The NFIP intends to enable policyholders to pay for their policies either annually or through installment payments. The Contractor shall provide support and service the policies accordingly.

• Generate and provide the policy declaration page and a copy of the policy to policyholders and any applicable stakeholders within the timeframes referenced in applicable NFIP rules and regulations, as well as those set forth in the QASP.

• Proactively troubleshoot and resolve issues with policyholder agent and other stakeholders when additional information is needed to process applications, execute renewals, or administer policies.

• Generate and furnish renewal notices to policyholders and any applicable stakeholders within the timeframes referenced in applicable NFIP rules and regulations, as well as those set forth in the QASP.

• Mail Renewal Encouragement Letter to new policyholders 90 days before the end of the first policy term.

• Process renewals/endorsements and furnish updated declaration pages to policyholders and any applicable stakeholders within the timeframes referenced in applicable NFIP rules and regulations, as well as those set forth in the QASP. This should include the acceptance of both electronic and hardcopy submissions.

• Process policy cancellations, validating the reason for cancellation, and issuing refunds (if applicable) within the timeframes referenced in applicable NFIP rules and regulations, as well as those set forth in the QASP. This should include the acceptance of both electronic and hardcopy submissions and should impose minimal requirements on the policyholder.

• At the direction of the Government, coordinate with Federal, State, Local, and Tribal governments and communities regarding policy and policyholder information, community standards, and mandatory purchase requirement instructions.

• Provide FEMA access to all necessary information to conduct operation reviews, audits, and other surveillance of NFIP Direct Underwriting policy records.

• Respond to findings and recommendations of any reviews, audits, and surveillance in a timely manner.

• Carry out the policies, operations, standards and reporting for unique, requirements such as GFIP, SRL policies, Flood Insurance Reform Act (FIRA) of 2004 Section 207, and financial reporting.

4.3.1.2 Group Flood Insurance Policy Servicing

The additional requirements below are applicable to GFIP.

Group Flood Insurance Policy Certificates

The Contractor shall:

• At the direction of the Government, coordinate with FEMA’s IHP and personnel from State Other Needs and Assistance (ONA) program, when necessary.

• Review list of recipients provided by FEMA IHP or the State’s ONA program, confirming the property is eligible and returning ineligible and duplicative recipients. Notify FEMA of any discrepancies.

• Coordinate and resolve any processing issues with FEMA‘s Individuals and Households Program.

• Process Premiums and return funds for ineligible or duplicative certificates.

• Issue master policy and subsequent certificates after observing any required waiting periods in accordance with applicable NFIP rules and regulations, and those set forth in the QASP.

• Furnish certificate, Summary of Coverage Brochure, and a copy of the master policy to recipient within 10 days of receipt of accurate documentation from Individuals Household Branch or ONA.

• Maintain records at both the master policy and recipient certificate level within any proposed IT solution(s). The solution(s) should have the capability to track any policy or certificate to a specific disaster declaration and individual certificate coverage dates.

• Process new owner/tenant notifications.

• Reconcile the List of Recipients with Premiums Received, notifying FEMA when there are discrepancies.

• Update GFIP Coverage limits in any proposed IT solution(s) and within any GFIP related materials annually, or at any time as requested by FEMA.

• Maintain all necessary GFIP policy administration guidelines, form letters, and procedures.

These items shall be subject to FEMA approval.

• Furnish anniversary and termination of coverage notice letters, to include respective GFIP

Buckslip inserts, to recipients, within the timeframes referenced in applicable NFIP rules and regulations. The letters shall include the master policy expiration date and the Terms and Conditions of the GFIP Certificate of Flood Insurance. The contractor must be able to generate these letters in English and Spanish.

• Assist FEMA in targeting GFIP certificate recipients for retention through the sale of a SFIP.

• Cancel the policy for any recipient that elects to purchase an SFIP during the term of the GFIP.

4.3.1.3 Severe Repetitive Loss Target Group (SRL TG)

The additional requirements below are applicable to SRL TG.

Special Direct Facility (SDF)

The Contractor shall:

• Operate the SDF and seamlessness transition policy administration of SRL policies with minimal policyholder disruption.

• Generate and furnish notification letters to policyholders, agents, and lenders once a policy has been identified as an SRL property.

• Provide information to the insured and their agent on how to appeal an SRL designation and in the event of an appeal, follow established NFIP appeal procedures.

• Generate and furnish pre-renewal letters to the SRL policyholders informing them of the special renewal process.

• Re-underwrite all SRL policies, transferred by the WYOs or NFIP Direct to the SDF, at their first renewal in the SDF with respect to rating factors to determine a correct premium quote, community/zone information and loss history. Maintain the SRL file with any changes. Provide audit trail that the policy has been re-underwritten.

• Provide status reporting that details re-underwritten SRL policies and review the SRL book of business per FEMA requirements.

• Coordinate and collaborate with FEMA and other stakeholders to vigorously target SRL properties for FEMA-approved mitigation projects that will remove them from the SRL program and makes them eligible for standard policies.

• Proactively campaign to communities to encourage FRED (Flood Proof, Relocate, Elevate, or Demolish) Mitigation of SRL properties.

• Track and report to FEMA the status of SRL policies, including but not limited to: removals from the SRL program, ongoing efforts to target SRL properties for mitigation, and campaign efforts to the community to encourage mitigation.

• Develop and provide guidance to current and potential policy holders to highlight potential mitigation actions to improve structure Resilience and potential decreased flood insurance premiums.

o This action may require close coordination with other stakeholders at the direction of the Program Manager and the COR.

4.3.1.4 NFIP Contact Center

• Develop and operate a contact center to interact with NFIP stakeholders and address inquiries through various channels (phone calls, chat/instant messaging, emails, etc.) with scalable staffing levels between normal and surge periods based on demand.

• Maintain core operating hours Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Eastern Standard/Daylight Saving Time. Operating hours may be extended up to 24 hours per day during surge level demand associated with disaster events, as needed per the direction of the Government.

o All federal holiday observances should follow the Government schedule. The Government does not expect for operations to take place during observed federal holidays. However, during disaster surge, the Contractor may be required to operate on observed federal holidays per direction of the Contracting Officer Representative (COR).

• The proposed contact center solution shall include ways for stakeholders to submit inquiries both during (phone calls, chat/instant messaging, emails, etc.) and outside (voicemail, emails, etc.) of operating hours.

• Assume operation of the FEMA-owned NFIP Direct Customer Support national toll-free telephone line (1-800-638-6620) and claims number (1-800-767-4341) as part of the contact center solution.

• Ensure adequate staffing to address English and Spanish speaking inquiries in each of the contact center departments. A third-party translation service is not allowed.

• At a minimum, staff shall be able to:

o Change or correct the insured’s name o Add an additional insured’s name o Remove an insured’s name with supporting documentation o Change or correct the insured’s mailing address o Add or remove a lender from the policy o Make minor corrections to submitted new business applications if money has not been applied o Approve primary residence for the Present Term o Approve endorsements to change residency status to non-primary o Approve Renewal Instruction applications to apply primary residence or non-primary residence o Acknowledge receipt of documentation o Staff and operate Section 508 Compliant Contact Center Phones and IT Systems.

o Supply knowledgeable staff capable of addressing, at a minimum, Agency Services, Underwriting, and Claims interactions and inquiries.

• The proposed contact center solution shall include real-time visibility into relevant information, including, but not limited to call wait times, contact center personnel status, and number of pending inquiries by outreach channels.

• IT components of the proposed contact center solution shall be remotely- accessible and subject to all IT related requirements, objectives, and constraints described herein.

• Maintain, and provide to FEMA, a contingency plan for when the Contact Center solution is unable to connect with stakeholders (i.e. unexpected office closure, full utilization of contact center staff, etc.)

• Provide FEMA full access to recorded calls and transcripts of written interactions (i.e. emails and live chats) between the contractor & NFIP stakeholders for quality assurance purposes.

• Respond to voicemails and written inquiries, not covered under correspondence guidelines, within the timeframes referenced in applicable NFIP rules and regulations and those set forth in the QASP.

• Provide FEMA, and once approved, implement, a plan for receipt and handling of return mail.

• Provide FEMA access to conduct surveillance of live customer calls, remotely and in- person, and visit Contact Center location(s) after advanced COR notification to the contractor for quality assurance purposes.

• Identify and provide timely feedback to FEMA on common themes (both positive and negative) that arise through stakeholder interaction.

4.3.2 NFIP Direct Program Support

4.3.2.1 Customer Service

The Contractor shall:

• Positively and professionally represent FEMA to the public throughout all aspects of services provided on FEMA’s behalf.

• Deliver robust and dynamic customer service processes, tools, and reporting that leverage industry best practices, support the needs of the NFIP, and align with RESILIENCE’s guiding principles.

• Support FEMA’s attendance at conferences such as National Flood Conference, the Association of State Floodplain Managers and other appropriate national, regional, and state insurance and related industry conferences, conventions, and meetings upon consultation with the government.

4.3.2.2 Correspondence

Controlled correspondence is considered VIP (Congressional), White House, and DHS correspondence.

Controlled correspondence is processed by FEMA’s Intranet Quorum (IQ) system. Only select FEMA personnel have access to the IQ system, and currently all controlled correspondence status reporting is conducted through the FEMA IQ system. FID’s Correspondence Tracker application supports controlled correspondence processes provide templates and tracks status that is reconciled with FEMA’s IQ system on a regular basis.

Uncontrolled correspondence (UCC) is defined as General correspondence. General correspondence is received by postal mail, and hard copies are scanned into a web-based document library, such as SharePoint. Email correspondence is also classified as uncontrolled correspondence. Uncontrolled correspondence is not handled by the IQ system; however, FID’s SharePoint Correspondence Tracker supports UCC workflows and reporting to assess workloads and performance by federal and contracted support personnel.

The Contractor shall:

• Establish and maintain detailed written procedures for handling correspondence. Procedures shall be subject to FEMA approval and shall, at a minimum, demonstrate an ability to effectively control incoming and outgoing correspondence; perform a high level of quality assurance; and handle all correspondence tasks in a timely manner.

• Respond to all correspondence (controlled and uncontrolled) in accordance with the timelines and reporting requirements set forth in applicable NFIP rules and regulations, as well as those set forth in the QASP and the Contractor’s written procedures.

• Support correspondence activities in accordance with the timelines and reporting requirements set forth in applicable NFIP rules and regulations, as well as those set forth in the QASP.

• Develop, operate, and maintain a remotely accessible IT solution(s) for tracking and maintaining records of all correspondence.

• IT components of the proposed correspondence solution shall include, at a minimum, automated controls and routing for approvals based on type of correspondence; the ability to search correspondence by various data points (i.e. topic, received date, sender, etc.); the ability to calculate correspondence related selected service performance area (SSPA) metrics; and a copy of the correspondence.

• Provide FEMA full access to the proposed IT solution for visibility into current and past correspondence.

• IT components of the proposed correspondence solution shall be subject to all IT related requirements, objectives, and constraints described herein.

4.3.2.3 Statutory/Regulatory Compliance

• Identify innovative ways to develop and implement strategies and technologies that significantly improve the Flood Insurance Reform Act of 2004 (FIRA) Compliance percentages, with the goal of having all NFIP Direct agents with active policies be fully compliant.

• Manage communication and produce reporting of agency compliance with flood insurance training requirements.

• Recommend ways to improve NFIP Direct and agency participation in training “refreshers”, advanced training or other training as deemed appropriate by the DSA.

• Provide other services as set forth in applicable rules and regulations of the NFIP, including, but not limited to, 44 CFR, the FIM, the SFIP, and FEMA Bulletins.

4.3.2.4 Program Enhancements

• Continuously review and improve existing processes and tools as the environmental, technological, and political considerations impacting the NFIP evolve.

• As a NFIP Subject Matter Expert (SME), provide FEMA with timely feedback, from all levels of the NFIP Direct staff, aimed to improve the NFIP and its products and services. This includes, but is not limited to:

o Identify and report common themes of inquiries or complaints from all stakeholders.

o Suggest ways to simplify and improve ease of use of NFIP products and services.

o Suggest process or tool improvements that positively affect the stakeholder perception of/trust in the NFIP and/or that are in the spirit of RESILIENCE’s guiding principles.

o Develop and execute marketing initiatives and communications products to support the increase of NFIP Direct policies.

o Provide timely feedback on clarity of FEMA communications, making suggestions for improvement where applicable.

o Provide timely feedback on how FEMA may improve to better work with the NFIP

Direct, WYO Companies, and other stakeholders.

o Develop and institute mechanism(s) for collecting both unsolicited and solicited stakeholder feedback while adhering to all applicable rules and regulations on data collection.

o Provide FEMA access to data collected or calls recorded for purposes of better understanding the current customer experience.

o Recommend ways to improve NFIP Direct agent and agency participation in training “refreshers”, advanced training or other training as deemed appropriate by the NFIP Direct.

o Agent Referral Database –Enable potential policyholders to locate agents to obtain quotes and/or new policies through the NFIP Direct.

o NFIP Direct Agent Snapshot – Enable the Government to readily access and download agent activity.

o Insurance Cards – Produce and distribute water-proof wallet size insurance cards to policyholders. The card should contain the policy declaration information including:

policy number, effective dates, name, address, coverages, deductibles, agent information and claim reporting information.

o NFIP Direct Portal – host a robust secured and user-friendly portal for the Government to be able to readily query NFIP Direct data and reports.

The following activities will require a separate task order. The Contractor shall work with FEMA to submit a technical and business proposal and receive approval before proceeding.

• Design a mobile application that enables a current or potential policyholder to obtain a quote, locate an agent, submit a claim, check the status of their policy or claim, and submit payments.

o Support FEMA review and approval, including cybersecurity and privacy approvals, the application will be deployed on a pilot basis.

o Incorporate lessons learned and make necessary improvements discovered during the pilot launch and implement a broadly available application.

• Propose a digital quoting tool that provides a user-friendly experience for a customer to obtain a flood quote and directly purchase a policy through the NFIP Direct. The solution shall:

o Propose a design that is configurable and approved by the NFIP staff;

o Publicly available/accessible;

o Integrate with all required NFIP systems;

o Be 99.9% available;

o Must be able to handle 35,000 of transactions simultaneously; and o Comply with DHS/FEMA security and privacy standards.

4.3.2.5 NFIP Data Reporting

The Contractor shall:

• Ensure FEMA data are not intermingled with other data unless approved by FEMA.

• Ensure the protection of FEMA intellectual property (IP) and data ownership rights and those of any licensors.

• Provide FEMA subject matter experts access to all raw data collected or stored in the proposed

IT solution(s).

• Deliver and provide FEMA access to all recurring reports required in a timely manner, including, but not limited to those listed in the Deliverables section of the SOO.

• Provide data visualization to FEMA personnel in a timely manner for information related to topics of regular inquiry.

• Fulfill time-sensitive ad-hoc data and reporting requests.

• Deliver meaningful Customer Experience reporting metrics such that quality, effectiveness, and efficiency of the customer experience can be assessed. Customer Experience includes service, product features and brand image.

• Manage communication and produce reporting of agency compliance with flood insurance training requirements.

• Perform quality control on all data, reports, and visualizations prior to submission to FEMA.

• Ensure all reports are professionally formatted for distribution and printing with the source of data cited and assumptions/parameters/criteria footnoted on the report.

• Provide regular and ad-hoc submissions of data as required by FEMA, including but not limited to, Pivot daily and monthly submission and informal claims polling.

• Comply with the information and reporting requirements, including the statistical and other requirements, of the PUP, as modified to accept GFIP data.

• Perform proactive data quality checks to maximize accuracy of information within the IT solution(s) and limit errors within Pivot submissions.

• Leverage subjective and objective data from the provider’s reports, and other FEMA sources, to…