Group Life Insurance

The State of New Hampshire Department of Administrative Services, Division of Risk and Benefits, is soliciting proposals for group life insurance coverage through Request for Proposal (RFP) 492-27. The procurement seeks fully insured, non-participating, prospectively rated group term life and accidental death and dismemberment (AD&D) insurance for approximately 10,050 eligible full-time state employees. Coverage offerings include one state-paid basic life plan of $50,000 and six employee-paid options encompassing supplemental basic life, basic AD&D, supplemental life with AD&D for employees and spouses, and child life coverage up to $3,000 per child. Bidders must be New Hampshire-licensed insurance producers or entities with financial stability demonstrated through audited reports, a minimum of five years of public sector experience with at least three clients, and cybersecurity insurance coverage of at least $10 million per annual aggregate. The evaluation criteria allocate 50 of 100 points to financial factors, including employer-paid premium (20 points), employee-paid premium (15 points), and total paid premium (15 points), with the lowest cost bidder receiving full points and others scored on a sliding scale with a two-point reduction per percentage point above the lowest bid; bidders exceeding 25 percent above the lowest total premium are excluded. The remaining 50 points address technical and non-financial factors including questionnaire responses (40 points), firm background and experience (5 points), administration and account management (10 points), implementation and communications (10 points), claims administration (7.5 points), reporting (7.5 points), and performance guarantees (10 points). Critical deadlines include bidder inquiries due May 13, 2026 at 3:00 PM Eastern Time, proposal submission deadline of May 29, 2026 at 2:00 PM Eastern Time, with bidders able to attend proposal closing via Microsoft Teams.

The contract term runs five years from January 1, 2027 through December 31, 2031, with options to extend for up to two additional years upon mutual agreement and Governor and Executive Council approval, with implementation commencing within seven days of approval or September 1, 2026, whichever is later. The incumbent vendor is Voya Financial (ReliaStar Life Insurance Company), which has provided coverage since 2021. All quoted rates must be without commissions, and bidders must place at least 10 percent of annual premium at risk through performance guarantees covering implementation, customer service call center performance, claims processing, interface file processing, reporting, and client satisfaction. No specific set-aside designations or restrictions limiting participation by disadvantaged enterprises are indicated in the available documentation. The RFP does not disclose specific budget ranges or award values; however, the financial scoring structure suggests the State will evaluate competitive pricing across all premium categories as primary decision factors in contract award.