Broker/Agent Services for Health Related Employee Benefits

The City of Sarasota, Florida, issued a Request for Proposal (Solicitation #26-23HR) for Broker/Agent Services for Health Related Employee Benefits on February 27, 2026, with a response deadline of April 20, 2026, at 2:30 pm. The procurement is open to experienced and qualified individuals or firms to provide comprehensive broker and agent services for evaluating and obtaining insurance coverage and managing the City's self-funded medical, pharmacy, and dental plans, as well as supplemental insurance products. The City currently serves approximately 804 full-time employees, 642 retirees (271 on self-insured medical plans), 2 COBRA participants, and approximately 1,782 total lives including dependents across multiple benefit options. Respondents must demonstrate a minimum of ten years of experience providing broker/agent services for health-related employee benefits in Florida with 500+ member groups, hold a valid Florida insurance license, and designate an approved principal with at least ten years of experience; key personnel must have a minimum of five years of experience as an agent/broker with knowledge of IRS regulations, Medicare plans, and GASB regulations. Required deliverables include initial plan audits, market analyses, quarterly invoice audits, annual renewal projections presented 120 days before renewal, stop loss coverage analyses at least 60 days prior to plan year start, benefits administration support with no fewer than 30 hours of annual free training, open enrollment project management and facilitation, and regular reporting and analysis on plan performance and market trends. The evaluation process consists of two phases, with Phase 1 scoring proposals based on company qualifications (15%), personnel qualifications (15%), services and references (15%), proposal requirements (20%), local preference (10%), and pricing (25%), with the lowest-priced proposal receiving the maximum 25 points and other proposals scored proportionally, while Phase 2 may include interviews for top-ranked consultants. The initial contract period is three years with optional renewal for two additional one-year extension periods by mutual agreement and subject to budgetary constraints, and questions regarding the solicitation must be submitted by March 31, 2026, at 4:00 pm, with responses provided by April 6, 2026.

The solicitation includes local preference provisions under which local city businesses receive ten additional points and local county businesses receive five additional points, with a local business defined as having a valid Local Business Tax Receipt issued by the City at least one year prior to bid submission and a physical non-residential business address within city limits with full-time employees receiving regular paychecks with employment-related payroll tax deductions. All respondents must complete mandatory forms addressing public entity crime convictions, drug-free workplace certification, scrutinized company status, conflict of interest disclosures, local vendor and employee certifications, and insurance documentation. Proposals must be submitted electronically in PDF format through the OpenGov Procurement portal at https://procurement.opengov.com/portal/sarasotafl, limited to a maximum of 150 single-sided pages with a Table of Contents, with a separate cost proposal submitted using the City's Price Proposal Form. Compensation shall be structured as an annual fixed-price fee covering all overhead, profit, miscellaneous expenses, and travel, paid on a quarterly basis, with specific pricing amounts to be proposed by respondents for Year 1, Year 2, and Year 3; the RFP does not specify a maximum budget or award value. No incumbent vendor or current contractor is identified in the solicitation materials, and no existing technology or infrastructure integration requirements are noted.