Insurance brokerage services

The State of South Carolina, specifically the State Fiscal Accountability Authority's Department of Procurement Services, is soliciting proposals on behalf of Coastal Carolina University for comprehensive insurance brokerage services. The procurement seeks a single contractor to manage and procure multiple insurance lines, including cyber risk, director's and officer's (D&O), employment practices liability (EPLI), and commercial crime insurance. The resulting contract will span five years, from July 1, 2022, through June 30, 2027, with an initial one-year term and four optional one-year renewals. Offerors must demonstrate mandatory qualifications by providing evidence of prior experience in insurance brokerage services for higher education institutions within the past three years, including at least three client references. The evaluation criteria will prioritize program fulfillment (40 points), qualifications (20 points), and experience with similarly sized higher education institutions (15 points). Key dates include a pre-proposal conference on January 12, 2022, at 10:00 AM via Microsoft Teams, a deadline for questions on January 13, 2022, at 11:00 AM, and a proposal submission deadline of January 27, 2022, at 11:00 AM. The anticipated award date is March 10, 2022.

No specific set-aside designations or restrictions for disadvantaged enterprises were explicitly mentioned in the solicitation documents. The current insurance program includes cyber coverage through Resilience at an annual premium of $159,000 with 17.5% commission, executive risk coverage through Berkshire Hathaway at $126,087 with 15% commission, and crime coverage through Beazley Insurance Company at $15,475 with 15% commission. The university currently has self-insured retentions of $250,000 for cyber, $500,000 for directors and officers liability, $1,000,000 for employment practices liability, and $25,000 for crime. Cyber coverage is currently limited to $5,000,000, though the university previously carried $10,000,000. The university anticipates no charges outside of normal insurance commissions and expects the selected broker to assist with fewer than 20 certificates of insurance annually and participate in one in-person meeting per year. While specific award values are not detailed, the total annual insurance premiums across the covered lines approximate $300,562, with associated commission rates ranging from 15% to 17.5%.