Employee Benefits Consultant

The Town of Fairfield, Connecticut is soliciting proposals for an Employee Benefits Consultant through RFP #2026-13, seeking a qualified firm to provide comprehensive insurance and benefits consulting services for its Human Resources Department. The contract will cover approximately 600 benefit-eligible employees across seven union groups and 40 non-represented employees, with a focus on health insurance and ancillary insurance benefits including Life, Death and Dismemberment, Long-Term Disability, and Voluntary Life and Long-Term Disability coverage. Key deliverables include day-to-day benefit consulting, renewal offer reviews, cost containment strategies, budget recommendations, and administrative support for insurance services. The Town anticipates awarding a three-year contract with potential two-year extension options, commencing January 1, 2026, with Cigna currently serving as the health and dental insurance provider. Proposal evaluation criteria will assess the consultant's qualifications, relevant experience, claims history, innovation, and cost reasonableness, with the submission deadline set for October 21, 2025. The Town requires a flat-fee pricing structure and expects the selected consultant to support renewal negotiations, strategic benefit planning, and compliance with state and federal regulations.

No specific set-aside designations or restrictions on respondent types were explicitly mentioned in the procurement documents. The current gross health insurance budget is approximately $13.5 million, covering expected claims, administrative fees, network access, stop-loss insurance, and Health Savings Account contributions. The Town currently offers two health plan options and a payment-in-lieu-of-health-insurance alternative for employees with alternative coverage. Insurance requirements are comprehensive, with the successful vendor needing to provide a Certificate of Liability Insurance that includes commercial general liability ($1,000,000 per occurrence), automobile liability, umbrella liability, and professional liability (errors and omissions) insurance of $5,000,000 per occurrence. The Town reserves the right to reject any proposal that does not demonstrate sufficient expertise and capability to perform the required services. Bidders must complete an Exceptions to Solicitation form to transparently disclose any identified discrepancies in the contract documents.