Life and Disability Insurance | RFP - HR-25-558 | Template v11.30.23 | 1

City of

Long Beach Request for Proposals RFP - HR-25-558

Life and Disability Insurance

Life and Disability Insurance | RFP - HR-25-558 | Template v11.30.23 | 1

Overview

Summary

The City of Long Beach (City) is currently soliciting proposals from qualified Life and Disability insurance carriers to deliver and administer employer and employee-paid insurance products. Each product within the Life and Disability program plays a crucial role in ensuring the effective management and delivery to the City’s members. A successful Request for Proposal (RFP) process will lead to the selection of a vendor that will work collaboratively with the City to help drive overall better outcomes.

Key Dates

Release Date: March 20, 2025

Questions Due to the City: 11:00 AM (PST), April 3, Proposals Due: 11:00 AM (PST), April 24, 2025

The City reserves the right to modify these dates at any time, with appropriate notice to prospective Contractors.

Proposal Information

Instructions for what to include in your proposal and how to submit it are detailed in Section 4.

Proposals must be submitted electronically via

LongBeachBuys.com.

Official Contact

William Reyes rfppurchasing@longbeach.gov mailto:rfppurchasing@longbeach.gov v11.30.23 | 2

All communication with the City related to this RFP must be directed to the contact listed above.

Assistance & Resources For assistance using Long Beach Buys, please contact us directly

Customer Service Form

(562) 570-6200

Additional support available for small businesses in Long Beach

BizCare

BizCare staff connect business owners and nonprofit leaders to important resources and information, such as grants, loans, technical assistance, information on City policies, and more.

562-570-4BIZ (4249)

4Biz@longbeach.gov

Request Assistance Form file:///C:/Users/casinoh/Downloads/longbeachbuys.com https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=wxE_MWhCak-NO8fmUBg-eJhZqE0zY4JHucmtLMnWlxRUMzlJTVpROTNONUpZQ0tPMzVIQU5WQkk2Uy4u mailto:rfppurchasing@longbeach.gov https://longbeach.gov/economicdevelopment/business-development/bizcare-program/bizcare-request/ mailto:4Biz@longbeach.gov https://longbeach.gov/economicdevelopment/business-development/bizcare-program/bizcare-request/ v11.30.23 | 3

Contents

BizCare

1 The Opportunity

1.1 Project Summary

1.2 Background

1.3 OneDrive Documents: COLB Plan and Population

Attachments

1.4 Goals

1.5 Award Terms

2 Scope of Work

2.1 Description of Services

2.2 Performance Metrics & Contract Management

2.2.1 Performance Metrics

2.2.2 Contract Management

2.2.3 Contract Payment

3 How We Choose

3.1 Minimum Qualifications

3.2 Evaluation Criteria

3.3 Local Preference

4 Proposal Instructions & Content

4.1 Timelines & Instructions

4.2 Proposal Content

4.3 Narrative Proposal Template

5 Terms & Conditions

5.1 Acronyms/Definitions

5.2 Solicitation Terms & Conditions

5.3 Contract Terms & Conditions

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5.4 Additional Requirements

5.5 Protest Procedures

Life and Disability Insurance | RFP - HR-25-558 | Template v11.30.23 | 5

1 The Opportunity

1.1 Project Summary

The City of Long Beach is seeking proposals from qualified insurance providers to offer

Group Life and Disability insurance coverage for our employees. The purpose of this

Request for Proposal (RFP) is to identify a bidder that can provide comprehensive, cost-effective, and competitive insurance solutions that meet the needs for our organization and workforce. This RFP process will ensure that the City of Long Beach partners with a bidder that aligns with our commitment to employee well-being while maintaining financial sustainability.

1.2 Background

The City of Long Beach (City) is the seventh largest city of California and employs approximately 6,500 full- and part-time personnel throughout 23 departments. The

Employee Benefits Division, housed in the City’s Human Resources Department, administers competitive and comprehensive benefits that provide financial protection for

City employees, retirees, and their dependents in a cost-effective manner. In addition to the administration of benefit plans, staff in the Employee Benefits Division provide the following services:

• Benefits-related trainings to departmental staff

• Disability and Unemployment claims processing

• Citywide Benefits Education Program

• Oversight/Coordination of Retirement Counseling

Currently, there are approximately 5,067 employees currently enrolled in one or more Life and Disability products offered at the City. The 2024 total annual premium paid across all plans was approximately $2 million. Of the $2 million, approximately $1 million is paid by the City of Long Beach. The estimated monthly covered volume across all plans is approximately $580 million.

The varying products offered to City employees are informed by the City’s three salary resolution and the City’s eleven Memorandum of Understandings (MOUs) with its labor unions. Overall, the City offers the life and disability benefits to all permanent, full-time employees with some exceptions based on the previously stated governing documents. The

City does not contract with State Disability Insurance.

The City has 13 distinct products offered to their employees.

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• Basic Life (Basic Life) and Accidental Death and Dismemberment (AD&D) Employer

Paid offered to permanent full-time employees. The coverage amount is $20,000.

• Voluntary Life Employee offered to permanent full-time employees to self-elect. The coverage amount is up to $500,000 with a guarantee issue amount of the lesser amount between 3x covered annual earning or $300,000.

• Spouse Life offered to permanent full-time employees to self-elect. The coverage amount is up to $100,000, not to exceed 50% of employee amount with a guarantee issue amount of $35,000.

• Child Life offered to permanent full-time employees to self-elect. The coverage amount is up to $10,000, not to exceed 50% of employee amount with a guarantee issue amount of $10,000.

• Additional Life Employer Paid offered to select permanent full-time employees based on provisions in their MOUs. Council members also receive additional life based on the General City Salary Resolution. The coverage amount varies across labor unions. For a complete description, reference Attachment 6 - Audit Report: Life

Class Descriptions.

• City-Paid Short-Term Disability offered to permanent full-time employees. The disability benefit plan pay varies across labor unions. For a complete description, reference Attachment 7 - Audit Report: Disability Class Descriptions.

• Self-Paid Short-Term Disability offered to permanent full-time employees with distinct benefit provisions in their MOUs and unrepresented management employees. The disability benefit plan pay varies across labor unions. Fora complete description, reference Attachment 7 - Audit Report: Disability Class Descriptions.

• Buy-Up Short-Term Disability offered to permanent full-time employees in Disability

Class 4 (reference Attachment 7 - Audit Report: Disability Class Descriptions).

Employees can self-select to pay for an increased disability benefit plan that pays

66.67% of the first $3,750 of pre-disability earnings, reduce by deductible income with a maximum weekly benefit of $2,500 before reduction of deductible income.

• Voluntary Short-Term Disability is offered to a closed group of members. The disability benefit plan play 60% of pre-disability earnings, reduced by deductible income.

• City-Paid Long-Term Disability offered to permanent full-time employees.The disability benefit plan pay varies across labor unions. For a complete description, reference Attachment 7 - Audit Report: Disability Class Descriptions.

• Self-Paid Long-Term Disability offered to permanent full-time employees with distinct benefit provisions in their MOUs and unrepresented management

Life and Disability Insurance | RFP - HR-25-558 | Template v11.30.23 | 7 employees. The disability benefit plan pay varies across labor unions. For a complete description, reference Attachment 7 - Audit Report: Disability Class Descriptions.

• Buy-Up Long-Term Disability offered to permanent full-time employees in Disability

Class 4 (reference Attachment 7 - Audit Report: Disability Class Descriptions).

Employees can self-select to pay for an increased disability benefit plan that pays

66.67% of pre-disability earnings, reduced by deductible income with a maximum monthly benefit of $12,000 before reduction by deductible income.

• Voluntary Long-Term Disability is offered to a close group of members. The disability benefit plan pays 60% of pre-disability earnings, reduced by deductible income.

The City currently partners with The Standard for Life and Disability benefits administration.

To assist carriers to better understand the City’s current plan and population, the following information is provided under the Attachments section in Long Beach Buys:

1.3 OneDrive Documents: COLB Plan and Population Attachments

All available documents will be provided upon request. Requests must be made via email to rfppurchasing@longbeach.gov. In the email, please provide the email addresses for each person you would like to have access to these documents.

Documents available via OneDrive include the following:

It is important to note that the current administration of benefits for the City of Long Beach has undergone an audit, and therefore the Plan Documents may not be a fully accurate representation of the benefits and various class descriptions. Therefore, it is the expectation that

Bidders use Plan Documents as an outline of benefits, but default to the final attachment which was the result of the audit by the City HR team.

1. Employee Census Detail

2. Life Utilization and Claims Report

3. Short-Term Disability Utilization and Claim Report

4. Long-Term Disability Utilization and Claim Report

5. Plan Documents o Includes Life Insurance Short-Term Disability, and Long-Term Disability

Policies with accompanying amendments.

6. Audit Report: Life Class Descriptions

7. Audit Report: Disability Class Descriptions

8. Audit Report: Occupation Codes List http://rfppurchasing@longbeach.gov

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1.4 Goals

This RFP has the following stated goals:

• Securing Competitive Coverage - Identify the best life and disability insurance options that offer comprehensive benefits at a competitive cost.

• Optimizing Costs and Value - Balance premium costs with the quality of benefits to maximize value for both the employer and employees.

• Assessing Provider Capabilities - Evaluate insurers based on financial stability, claims processing efficiency, customer service, and value-added benefits.

• Ensuring Compliance - Verify the chosen plans align with federal and state regulations, as well as City policies and industry standards.

• Customization and Flexibility - Pursue options that allow for plan customization based on employee needs, such as future voluntary benefits, plan modifications, and proper administration of class complexities.

• Streamlining Administration - Identify a provider that offers strong administrative support, integration with HR/payroll systems (BlueZone), and ease of enrollment.

• Improving Employee Education and Engagement - Ensure the provider offers effective communication, education, and decision-support tools to help employees understand and maximize their benefits.

1.5 Award Terms

This contract will be for a period of three years with the option to renew for two additional one-year periods. The total contract term will not exceed five years.

2 Scope of Work

2.1 Description of Services

The City of Long Beach is looking to partner with a Life and Disability insurance company that will successfully administer both employee and employer-paid products, accommodate City specific customizations, and provide an outstanding member experience.

General Bidding Requirements

• Demonstrate an ability to continue the current plan designs, and where applicable, administer benefits and classes in accordance with the City’s Audit as described in

Section 1.2 Attachment 6: Life Class Descriptions and Attachment 7: Disability Class

Descriptions..

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• During the contract term, the City will have no data restrictions and may obtain and share any data with any third party.

• Upon termination, the City will have no restrictions on obtaining and sharing its data with any third party.

• Bidder agrees to allow third-party vendor relationships for any additional programs such as Employee Assistance Program (EAP) and Critical Incident Services, and Leave

Management.

• Bidder agrees to provide Life and Disability quotes for all of the City’s current products. A bidder who is only able to support some of the products currently offered will prove themselves to be unqualified to administer benefits for the City.

Administration Process Requirements

• Bidder is compliant with Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and all other required regulations including the Actively at Work clause for Life

Insurance. If you were insured under the Prior Plan on the day before the effective date of your Employer’s coverage under the Group policy, you can become insured on the effective date of your Employer’s coverage without meeting the Active Work requirement.

• Bidder will manage and support the City and its members with high-quality service and administration of benefits for each class within the suite of Life and Disability products offered.

• Bidder will manage the City’s benefit in compliance with all Federal and State laws and provisions.

• Bidder agrees to allow the City to terminate its contract without any charge, cost, termination fees, or withholding of payments due to City related transpired events falling under the Bidder’s scope of services.

• Bidder will, in the event of a future termination of relationship with the City, send data and all relevant transition files to the City’s new insurance provider post termination at no additional cost.

• Bidder agrees to produce updated contracts and amendments, as required by the

City.

• Bidder agrees to produce a full Summary Plan Description on an annual basis.

• Bidder agrees to produce Benefit Summaries on an annual basis.

Reporting and Data Requirements

• Bidder will provide access to standard management reports via the internet. Provide a username and password, and sample reporting or link to a demo site.

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• Bidder confirms capabilities to support custom/ad-hoc reporting.

• Bidder confirms that reporting will be provided for any/all metrics that are subject to guarantees committed to elsewhere in this offer.

Credits and Allowances

• Bidder agrees to a $20,000 implementation allowance to support transition expenses such as transition files, HRIS file fees, communication efforts, etc.

• Bidder will have the ability to reimburse vendors directly, where applicable and requested.

• Bidder will allow the use of outside vendors, without restriction, even if similar programs are available within the carrier’s capabilities.

Audit Requirements

• Bidder agrees to allow the client, or its third-party representative, access, and the right to audit all claims, utilization, performance guarantee provisions, provider contracts and other information relevant to account services. Additionally, the provision/access of this information will be provided at no additional cost to the City.

• Bidder confirms the City will be able to select an auditor of their choosing, without being subject to pre-selected or limited number of approved auditors by the Bidder.

• Bidder will identify any aspects of the proposed plan administration services that are not able to be audited.

• Bidder confirms any payments or credits due to the City of Long Beach are released within 30 days of analysis.

Eligibility Management

• Bidder has the capability of sending and receiving eligibility electronically. Define any limitations you have in terms of how eligibility can be received from the City.

• Bidder can support a secure environment for eligibility transmission (from the City and to City vendor partners).

• Bidder can receive weekly eligibility change files from the City.

o Explain how the City of Long Beach will receive notification of approved EOI, confirmation of eligibility, and salary/claims information.

• Bidder will accept, both future and retroactive, effective and termination dates for eligibility for all plans.

• Bidder will assign a unique identifier for eligibility and has the capability to cross reference against SSN or can use a unique identifier assigned by the Client or the

Bidder.

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• Bidder will process and load eligibility information and will inform the City regarding discrepancies within forty-eight (48) hours of receipt.

• Bidder will perform reasonability and quality assurance checks regarding eligibility updates.

• Bidder commits to test and review eligibility files for accuracy and reasonability or review protocols prior to an auto-update of eligibility files.

• Bidder agrees to a mid-contract audit of eligibility file feeds.

• Bidder agrees to provide discrepancy reports for eligibility files where issues may exist.

• Bidder offers the City a tool to view eligibility online.

• Bidder must be able to ingest non-binary gender information/codes and incorporate into enrollment and claims system.

Legislative and Legal Compliance Support

• Bidder will support the City in evaluating and determining the impact of any relevant legislative changes at the state and federal levels that may impact the City’s Life and

Disability plans.

• Bidder will promptly notify the City by email of any impact of legislative activity that directly affects the City.

• Bidder confirms that access to an in-house (or contracted) benefits attorney for compliance support is available.

Claims Processing - Life and Disability Death and Dismemberment

• Bidder agrees to process 95% of all claims decisions from receipt of all necessary information within five (5) business days for approved claims and, process 95% of all claim denial decisions from receipt of all necessary information, to include medical and/or legal reviews, within ten (10) business days. This standard is based on the overall Results of the Life Claim Department.

• Bidder agrees that 97% of Life claims benefit payments are accurate. This standard is based on the overall results of the Life Claim Department (total number of claim events with the benefit/principal amount paid the correct allocation to the correct beneficiary divided by the total number of claim events and opportunities reviewed).

Claims Processing - Short-term Disability

• Bidder agrees that 92% of short-term disability claims will be approved/denied within five (5) business days of receiving complete information.

• Bidder agrees that 95% of short-term disability claim decisions are accurate.

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Claims Processing - Long-term Disability

• Bidder agrees that 90% of long-term disability claims will be approved/denied within twenty (20) calendar days of long-term disability effective date where the carrier is also administering the short-term disability claim.

• Bidder agrees that 95% of long-term disability claim decisions are accurate.

Account Service Support

• Bidder confirms that the team responsible for servicing the City will be dedicated and designated to the plan that a live account service team member will be available 8AM to 5PM PST Monday through Friday.

• Bidder agrees to two (2) separate monthly telephonic/virtual meetings with the City of Long Beach Human Resources staff: one related to benefit administration and the other related to claims management.

• Bidder agrees to one (1) in-person meeting with the Health Insurance Advisory

Committee to discuss City plan utilization, Bidder updates, and strategic initiatives to meet the City’s objectives.

• Bidder agrees to attend two (2) in-person open-enrollment events annually for active employees.

• Bidder agrees to track open items and projects via a monthly call log and share pre-and post-scheduled monthly meetings.

• Bidder agrees to highly experienced and dedicated account management team, with bio and summary of team to be shared with City of Long Beach prior to assignment of duty.

• Bidder agrees to provide the City of Long Beach Human Resources staff training on all digital platforms available for the City for benefit administration and management upon request.

2.2 Performance Metrics & Contract Management

2.2.1 Performance Metrics

The table below highlights the targets that will be tracked and reviewed collaboratively with the Awarded Contractor during the contract. This list is an indication of the performance metrics of interest to the City, and is not exhaustive or final. As a part of a response to this

RFP, Proposers may propose additional or alternative performance metrics to be tracked on a regular basis. The final set of performance metrics and frequency of collection will be negotiated by the successful Proposer and the City prior to the finalization of an agreement between parties, and may be adjusted over time as needed.

Life and Disability Insurance | RFP - HR-25-558 | Template v11.30.23 | 13

METRIC DESCRIPTION TARGET DATA SOURCE

1. Account

Management

Satisfaction

Overall satisfaction with Account team, responsiveness, reporting, and issue resolution

To be determined by the City of Long

Beach on an ongoing basis (met

vs. not met)

City of Long Beach subjective

2. Meetings Meetings will be pre-scheduled with the client to review plan performance, service delivery, and new offerings. The frequency of the meetings will be mutually agreed upon by carrier and the client.

Monthly The frequency of the meetings will be mutually agreed upon by the carrier and client.

3. File Integration, Accuracy, and

Timeliness

Overall success of file integration and accuracy

Target above 99% accuracy

File specification

4. Call Center

Queue Time

Average time in queue of 45 seconds or less.

This standard is based on all calls coming through the

Bidder’s Customer

Contact Center service queue.

To be determined during implementation.

The carrier phone system report.

5. Administration of Benefits

Overall success of benefits administration related to different class structures and maximums

To be determined during implementation.

Benefit account, file set-up, vendor implementation, and administration.

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6. Customer

Service

Satisfaction

Survey

Survey parameters to be jointly determined by the

City of Long Beach and Bidder upon award of contract.

To be determined during implementation.

Vendor feedback specifics and measured at the account level.

7. Booklets and

Certificates

Form the date the

Bidder receives client sign-off on the approved booklet-certificate(s), the carrier will provide booklet-certificate(s) posted on the

Employer portal, within two business days, regardless of the amount of booklet-certificate(s).

The Bidder will post booklet or certificate(s), posted on the Employer portal, within two business days of employer approval.

Vendor portal

8. Annual Claim and Program

Review

Annual program review of claim utilization, claim to premiums paid stats, program trends, vendor updates, and recommendations to be produced annually post plan close in Q1.

Target 100% Data Reporting

2.2.2 Contract Management

The awarded Bidder will receive consistent support and communication from a designated

City liaison throughout the duration of the contract. This liaison will serve as the primary contact for the Bidder and will send out reminders regarding upcoming deadlines for reports, invoices, and narrative metrics. These efforts aim to provide clarity about deadlines

Life and Disability Insurance | RFP - HR-25-558 | Template v11.30.23 | 15 and address any questions or concerns to ensure that any issues can be openly shared and resolved in a timely manner.

Kickoff Meeting:

The awarded Bidder is required to participate in a project kickoff meeting, which will include the introduction of key project staff, a review of the project scope and timelines, an overview of Bidder’s invoicing and reporting requirements, and the establishment of a regular schedule for project meetings and reporting.

Milestone and Deliverables:

The awarded Bidder shall submit the following deliverables to City staff by the designated deadline and receive approval before implementation. Final deadlines shall be negotiated and agreed upon.

• Comprehensive report outlining the integration process, including timeliness, milestones, and resource requirements to ensure readiness for January 1, 2026, go-live date.

• Detailed plan outlining strategies and procedures to ensure successful transition of

Life and Disability plan coverage.

2.2.3 Contract Payment

The City of Long Beach issues payment based on terms set forth in the fully executed agreement. Preferred contract payment terms are as follows:

• Life and Disability designated to be a self-bill and the City of Long Beach will be allowed a 31 day grace period for payment of any premium or any other amounts due.

• Billing to be conducted monthly and the vendor agrees to work with the designated City of Long Beach contacts to ensure timeliness and reach-outs for premium if premium is due.

3 How We Choose

3.1 Minimum Qualifications

Proposers must meet the following requirements to be eligible:

• Qualification to conduct business in the City

• Not having been debarred by Federal, State or local government

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• Acknowledgment that their responses to this RFP are true and accurate and will in good faith uphold their commitments in a City contract, if awarded the business.

• Verifiable experience serving as a Life and Disability plan administrator for other large-scale government entities, municipalities, or public sector clients. Municipality references required in section 4.3 under References.

• Ability to provide most recent Audited Financial Statement or Corporate Annual

Report and Business Tax Return.

• Indication of the number and description of any outstanding legal actions pending against Bidder’s organization. Explain how Carrier will assure the City that these actions will not disrupt business operations.

• Acknowledgment that the City will retain control over plan design modifications, employee contribution methodology, and changes during the contract term except for required state and federal required changes where applicable.

• Bidder agrees to provide Life and Disability quotes for all of the City’s products.

Bidders who are only able to support some of the products currently offered will prove themselves to be unqualified to administer benefits for the City.

3.2 Evaluation Criteria

Proposals shall be consistently evaluated based upon the following criteria:

CRITERIA Weight

1. Organizational Capacity & Experience

• Demonstrated history of successfully implementing similar projects in comparable organizations or municipalities.

• Availability of skilled personnel with relevant expertise in Life and

Disability administration and management.

• Evidence of strong organizational infrastructure and resources to support the scale and complexity of the project.

30%

2. Method of Approach

• Responses to Method of Approach under section 4.3

• Detailed description of the proposed methodology for integrating Life and Disability plan administration services with existing systems and processes.

• Demonstrate the capacity to ensure continuity in service for the

January 1, 2026, go-live date.

• Demonstrate capacity to deliver comprehensive services outlined in

Section 2.0 Scope of Work and Section 3.1 Minimum Qualifications.

40%

3. Communications & Reporting 20%

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• Ability to participate in mandatory meetings.

• Demonstrate commitment to integrating data informed metrics to regular communications with City staff.

• Comprehensive communication plan outline regular updates, channels of communication, and escalation procedures.

• Demonstrate commitment to responsiveness and transparency in addressing City inquires, feedback, and concerns throughout the contract term.

4. Reasonableness of Cost 10%

3.3 Local Preference

• The City shall apply five extra credit percentage points to all local businesses operating a home-based, residential business.

• The City shall apply ten extra credit percentage points to all local businesses operating a non-residential, commercial, brick-and-mortar business.

• Local business shall mean a business which maintains its principal place of business in a fixed office/place of business with the City of Long Beach, possesses a current

City of Long Beach business license and sellers permit if applicable.

• For a business to be eligible to claim preference, the business MUST request the preference in the solicitation response (see Attachment C) and provide a copy of its current business license and seller’s permit if applicable.

• The local preference does not apply to solicitations for all purchases funded in full or a fraction thereof by any tidelands fund, by any grant funds, nor by any funds received from the State of California.

4 Proposal Instructions & Content

4.1 Timelines & Instructions

MILESTONE

TIME

(PACIFIC)

& DATE LOCATION / ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Release date March 20, Questions due to the

City

11:00 AM

(PST), April

3, 2025

• Submit all inquiries via email to mailto:rfppurchasing@longbeach.gov

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Posting of the Q&A April 10,

• Responses to the questions will be posted on

LongBeachBuys.com.

Proposals due 11:00 AM

(PST), April

24, 2025

• Proposals should be submitted electronically via LongBeachBuys.com.

• Late proposals, or proposals submitted through other channels will not be accepted.

• Proposers are responsible for submitting their proposals completely and on time.

o Proposers will receive an e-bid confirmation number with a time stamp from LongBeachBuys.com indicating that the proposal was submitted successfully.

The City will only receive proposals that were transmitted successfully.

o For technical support, email or call the

City during normal business hours at

LBPurchasing@longbeach.gov or (562)

570-6200.

Evaluation of Narrative

& Cost Proposals

May - June

• An Evaluation Committee will review Narrative

& Cost Proposals to select the proposal that best meets the needs of the City.

• Evaluations will be conducted using a methodology derived from the evaluation criteria listed in Section 3.2.

Interviews June 2025 • The City may interview or request demos from none, one, some or all Proposers.

Negotiation &

Contractor Selection

Summer

• Selected Contractor(s) will be notified in writing.

• Any award is contingent upon the successful negotiation of final contract terms. If contract negotiations cannot be concluded successfully, the City reserves the right to negotiate a contract with another Contractor or withdraw the RFP.

• Negotiations shall be confidential and not subject to disclosure to competing Contractors unless and until an agreement is reached.

file:///C:/Users/meid/AppData/Local/Microsoft/Windows/INetCache/Content.Outlook/X47PW9A6/LongBeachBuys.com file:///C:/Users/meid/AppData/Local/Microsoft/Windows/INetCache/Content.Outlook/X47PW9A6/LongBeachBuys.com file:///C:/Users/meid/AppData/Local/Microsoft/Windows/INetCache/Content.Outlook/X47PW9A6/LongBeachBuys.com mailto:LBPurchasing@longbeach.gov

Life and Disability Insurance | RFP - HR-25-558 | Template v11.30.23 | 19

Estimated Contract

Execution

January 1, Proposer Debrief After

Contractor is Selected

• Successful and unsuccessful Proposers are encouraged to request phone call or in person meeting with the City to discuss the strengths and weaknesses of their proposal. The intent of the debrief is to provide the Proposer with constructive feedback to equip them with information to effectively meet the City’s needs and be successful in future proposals.

4.2 Proposal Content

Complete proposals will include the following. Proposers are encouraged to use this table as a checklist to ensure all components are included in their proposal.

PROPOSAL

☐ Narrative

Proposal

The Narrative Proposal should provide a straightforward, concise delineation of capabilities to satisfy the RFP. Guidance on preparing a Narrative Proposal is detailed in Section 4.3.

☐ Cost Proposal The Cost Proposal should be prepared using Excel documents provided and in accordance with the plan documents and the

City’s Audit Report provided in the attachments. Request for pricing should be in alignment with vendor’s usual and typical proposal documents, outlining pricing, estimated volumes, and projected monthly and annual pricing by each line item. Indicate any assumptions made with your financial proposal and if your proposal will be net of commissions.

• If pricing relevant to different classes are not the same, provide a breakdown of cost for each class and/or plan design.

• If there are any plan deviations, complete and attach the following Exhibit 1: Plan Deviations Template.

The Cost Proposal can be submitted in the Bidders preferred format as a PDF document.

PROPOSAL APPENDICES

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☐ Financial

Stability

Proposers should include one or more of the following financial statements to provide the City with enough information to determine financial stability of the Proposer and subcontractor as indicated in 3.1 Minimum Qualifications.

• Financial Statement or Annual Report

• Business tax return

• Statement of income and balance sheet

☐ Other Addenda

(if applicable)

Colored displays, promotional materials, and other collateral are not necessary or desired. However, if a complete response cannot be provided without referencing supporting documentation, it may be provided as an addendum clearly cited in the Narrative or Cost Proposal.

MANDATORY ATTACHMENTS | The following are included as Attachments in Long

Beach Buys. They must be signed by the individual legally authorized to bind the

Proposer.

☐ A. Authorization & Certification

☐ B. Equal Benefits Ordinance (EBO) Form

☐ C. Local Preference Program

Attachments Which May be Submitted Upon Award | Upon award, Awarded

Contractors will be required to submit the following. We encourage you to take note of these requirements, and where possible, include available information as part of your proposal to expedite processing.

☐ D. W-9

☐ E. Business License

☐ F. Proof of Registration with the California Secretary of State

☐ G. Certificates of Insurance

☐ Contact Information | Ensure your organization’s profile is up to date in Long Beach

Buys, including an email address, phone number, and for any classifications you may qualify for.

4.3 Narrative Proposal Template

Proposers should develop a narrative proposal that includes all of the following information.

Organizational Capacity & Experience

PROPOSER CONTACT INFORMATION

Organization Company Name

Company Address

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Federal Tax ID Number

Website

Authorized

Representative

Name

Title

Email Address

Phone Number

Other Point of

Contact (if required)

Name

Title

Email Address

Phone Number

PROPOSER CAPACITY & EXPERIENCE

What type of enterprise is the organization?

☐ Non-Profit

☐ Sole Proprietorship

☐ General Partnership

☐ Corporation

State and Date of incorporation:

☐ Limited Liability Company

☐ Other _________________________________

Please describe why the organization is qualified to provide the services described in this RFP (1-2 paragraphs).

Please describe your success with similar entities in your industry and where you see your value stand out from the rest of the available vendors.

How many employees does the organization have in total and residing in Long Beach?

Where are the representative(s) that would service the City’s account located?

Please provide an organizational chart of the account management team you are proposing service the City of Long Beach account. Include name, title, responsibilities, resume either as an attachment or 1

Life and Disability Insurance | RFP - HR-25-558 | Template v11.30.23 | 22 paragraph description, tenure with your company and current number of companies that each person currently services.

Please provide your Account

Management/Service Team turnover rate.

Describe value-added programs included in your Life and Disability proposal.

REFERENCES

Reference 1

Company

Project Manager

Phone Number

Project Description

Project Start and

End Dates

Reference 2

Company

Project Manager

Phone Number

Project Description

Reference 3

Company

Project Manager

Phone Number

Project Description

SUB-CONTRACTOR CONTACT INFORMATION

Does the proposal include subcontractors?

☐ Yes

☐ No

If applicable, provide the following for all subcontractors included in this proposal.

Organization Company Name

Company Address

Authorized

Representative

Name

Title

Email Address

Phone Number

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Other Point of

Contact (if required)

Name

Title

Email Address

Phone Number

SUBCONTRACTOR CAPACITY & EXPERIENCE

What type of enterprise is the organization?

☐ Non-Profit

☐ Sole Proprietorship

☐ General Partnership

☐ Corporation

State and Date of incorporation:

☐ Limited Liability Company

☐ Other _________________________________

Which specific requirements of this RFP will the subcontractor perform?

Please describe why the organization is qualified to provide the services described in this RFP (1-2 paragraphs).

Please describe the length of time the organization has been providing the services described in this RFP (1-3 sentences).

How many employees does the organization have nationally, locally, and residing in Long

Beach?

Where are the representative(s) that would service the City’s account located?

Method of Approach

1. Provide an executive summary, it should demonstrate a clear understanding of the scope of work and contain how your organization will fulfill the requirements and the Scope of Services outlined in the RFP, including a discussion of the important features and attributes, highlighting any aspects, which separate it from its competitors.

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2. Administration

a. Describe administrative responsibilities.

b. Describe how employee inquiries to call center are addressed.

c. Provide call center specific stats such as employee turnaround time, wait time, time resolution, and scope of call center in the last twelve (12) months.

d. Describe claims process and Bidder responsiveness to employee inquiries related to Life and AD&D claims, STD claims, and LTD claims.

e. Describe the required documentation to process life insurance claim, AD&D claim, STD claim, and LTD claim.

f. Will there be a dedicated claims representative assigned to the City?

3. Accessibility

a. Describe how any website or digital content you will provide for City members is accessible to people with disabilities (including vision, hearing, motor control disabilities)

b. Provide a link to a public website you previously designed and developed that demonstrates it is accessible to people with disabilities.

4. Implementation

a. Provide detailed implementation plan, with listing of all standard communications and target release dates, structured around a January 1, 2025, launch date.

i. How many estimated City staff hours will the implementation require?

ii. Description of program management and communication strategy with the City staff for implementation.

5. Describe how the Bidder will verify and maintain membership, policy, and beneficiary records. How are changes updated and handled?

6. Indicate that you as a Bidder will honor any potential life claims for any City employee who is not Actively at Work on the plan effective date.

Customer Service

1. Are member services locations domestic United States or offshore?

2. Please list member services: Location(s)

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3. Member Services: Hours of Operation (Pacific) for live interaction and automated availability.

4. Confirm ability to comply with respondent’s average speed of answer (ASA) rate of

100% under 30 seconds for the assigned service center without intervention (IVR).

5. Describe the innovative developments to your mobile apps that have been released recently.

6. Describe the innovative developments to your web portal that have been released recently.

Communications & Reporting

1. Describe how your organization will proactively share standard and non-standard management and utilization reports. Describe the cadence of the reports and provide sample reports.

2. Describe how your organization will ensure compliance with all laws.

3. Describe how your organization will provide advice to the City of Long Beach regarding benefit design and communication to members.

4. The City requires that the Awarded Contractor provide proof of payment of any subcontractors used for this project. If the proposal includes subcontractors, please describe the plan for how the City will be notified of such payments.

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5 Terms & Conditions

5.1 Acronyms/Definitions

1. Awarded Contractor: The organization/individual that is awarded a contract with the

City of Long Beach, California for the services identified in this RFP.

2. City: The City of Long Beach and any department or agency identified herein.

3. Contractor / Proposer: Organization/individual submitting a proposal in response to this RFP.

4. Department / Division: City of Long Beach, Human Resources Employee Benefits

Division

5. Evaluation Committee: An independent committee comprised solely of representatives of the City established to review proposals submitted in response to the RFP, evaluate the proposals, and select a Contractor.

6. May: Indicates something that is not mandatory but permissible.

7. RFP: Request for Proposals.

8. Shall / Must: Indicates a mandatory requirement. Failure to meet a mandatory requirement may result in the rejection of a proposal as non-responsive.

9. Should: Indicates something that is recommended but not mandatory. If the

Proposer fails to provide recommended information, the City may, at its sole option, ask the Proposer to provide the information or evaluate the proposal without the information.

10. Subcontractor: Third party not directly employed by the Proposer who will provide services identified in this RFP.

11. ASA: Average Speed of Answer

12. AD&D: Accidental Death and Dismemberment

13. Basic Life: Basic Life Insurance

14. EOI: Evidence of Insurability

15. HIPAA: Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996

16. HR: Human Resources

17. HRIS: Human Resources Information System

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18. IVR: Intervention

19. LTD: Long-Term Disability

20. MOU: Memorandum of Understanding

21. Q1: Quarter One

22. SSN: Social Security Number

23. STD: Short-Term Disability

5.2 Solicitation Terms & Conditions

1. The City reserves the right to alter, amend, or modify any provisions of this RFP, or to withdraw this RFP, at any time prior to the award of a contract pursuant hereto, if it is in the best interest of the City to do so.

2. The City reserves the right to request clarification of any proposal term from

Proposers.

3. The City may contact the references provided; contact any Proposer to clarify any response; contact any current users of a Proposer’s services; solicit information from any available source concerning any aspect of a proposal; and seek and review any other information deemed pertinent to the evaluation process.

4. The level and term of documentation required from the Proposer to satisfy the City will be commensurate with the size and complexity of the contract and Proposers should submit accordingly. If the information submitted by the Proposer, or available from other sources, is insufficient to satisfy the City as to the Proposer’s contractual responsibility, the City may request additional information from the

Proposer or may deem the proposal non-responsive.

5. The City reserves the right to waive informalities and minor irregularities in proposals received.

6. The City reserves the right to reject any or all proposals received prior to contract award.

7. The City’s determination of the Proposer’s responsibility, for the purposes of this RFP, shall be final.

8. Unless otherwise specified, the City prefers to award to a single Contractor but reserves the right to award contracts to multiple contractors.

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9. The City shall not be obligated to accept the lowest priced proposal, but will make an award in the best interests of the City of Long Beach after all factors have been evaluated.

10. If the City receives a single responsive, responsible proposal, the City may request an extension of the proposal acceptance period and/or conduct a price or cost analysis on such proposal. The Proposer shall promptly provide all cost or pricing data, documentation and explanation requested by the City to assist such analysis. By conducting such analysis, the City shall not be obligated to accept the single proposal.

The City reserves the right to reject such proposal or any portion thereof.

11. Any irregularities or lack of clarity in the RFP should be brought to the Purchasing

Division designee’s attention as soon as possible so that corrective addenda may be furnished to Proposers.

12. Proposals must include any and all proposed terms and conditions, including, without limitation, written warranties, maintenance/service agreements, license agreements, lease purchase agreements and the Proposer’s standard contract language. The omission of these documents may render a proposal non-responsive.

13. Alterations, modifications or variations to a proposal may not be considered unless authorized by the RFP or by addendum or amendment.

14. Proposals which appear unrealistic in the terms of technical commitments, lack of technical competence, or are indicative of failure to comprehend the complexity and risk of this contract, may be rejected.

15. Proposals may be withdrawn by written notice received prior to the proposal opening time.

16. The price and amount of this proposal must have been arrived at independently and without consultation, communication, agreement or disclosure with or to any other

Contractor or prospective Contractor.

17. No attempt may be made at any time to induce any firm or person to refrain from submitting a proposal or to submit any intentionally high or noncompetitive proposal. All proposals must be made in good faith and without collusion.

18. Prices offered by Proposers in their proposals are an irrevocable offer for the term of the contract and any contract extensions. The Awarded Contractor agrees to provide the purchased services at the costs, rates and fees as set forth in their

Life and Disability Insurance | RFP - HR-25-558 | Template v11.30.23 | 29 proposal in response to this RFP. No other costs, rates or fees shall be payable to the Awarded Contractor for implementation of their proposal.

19. The City is not liable for any costs incurred by Proposers prior to entering into a formal contract. Costs of developing the proposals or any other such expenses incurred by the Proposer in responding to the RFP, are entirely the responsibility of the Proposer, and shall not be reimbursed in any manner by the City.

20. In the event a Proposer received assistance from City staff or a representative of the

City (technical assistance provider), the City is not responsible for any mistakes, inaccuracies, delays, or any other impact that the assistance provided did to impact the Proposer’s final product. Available technical assistance support services are only intended to provide advice and does not constitute a basis for any protest to this contract opportunity. It is solely the Proposer’s responsibility to prepare and submit a response to the RFP.

21. Proposal will become public record after the conclusion of the negotiation process and before final approval by the awarding body unless the proposal or specific parts of the proposal can be shown to be exempt by law. Each Proposer may clearly label all or part of a proposal as "CONFIDENTIAL" provided that the Proposer thereby agrees to indemnify and defend the City for honoring such a designation. The failure to so label any information that is released by the City shall constitute a complete waiver of any and all claims for damages caused by any release of the information.

22. A proposal submitted in response to this RFP must identify any subcontractors, and outline the contractual relationship between the Proposer and each subcontractor.

An official of each proposed subcontractor must sign, and include as part of the proposal submitted in response to this RFP, a statement to the effect that the subcontractor has read and will agree to abide by the Proposer’s obligations.

23. If the Contractor elects to use subcontractors, the City requires that the Awarded

Contractor provide proof of payment of any subcontractors used for this project.

Proposals shall include a plan by which the City will be notified of such payments.

24. Each Proposer must adhere to the City’s Vendor Code of Conduct, including, but not limited to, disclose any existing or potential conflict of interest relative to the performance of the contractual services resulting from this RFP. Any such relationship that might be perceived or represented as a conflict should be disclosed.

The City reserves the right to disqualify any Proposer on the grounds of actual or

Life and Disability Insurance | RFP - HR-25-558 | Template v11.30.23 | 30 apparent conflict of interest.