Request for Proposals to Underwrite and Administer Group Term Life Insurance and Accidental Death and Dismemberment Insurance Services under the Texas Employees Group Benefits Program

The Employees Retirement System of Texas (ERS) is soliciting proposals through RFP No. 25-14331-001 to procure underwriting and administrative services for Group Term Life Insurance and Accidental Death and Dismemberment (AD&D) Insurance coverage for the Texas Employees Group Benefits Program. The selected contractor will provide comprehensive insurance and operational services to active employees, retirees, and dependents in accordance with Chapter 1551 of the Texas Insurance Code. Key deliverables and service requirements include evidence of insurability determinations, enrollment processing, claims administration, premium waiver processing, beneficiary management, customer service representative support with live chat capabilities, website hosting with plan-specific information, operational recordkeeping functions including claims documentation and policy administration records, and performance guarantee reporting. The contractor must meet all minimum requirements outlined in the Minimum Requirements Questionnaire (Appendix G) and comply with performance guarantees detailed in Appendices F-1 and F-2, which address both the implementation period and the contract service period. Evaluation criteria include pricing on a relative basis, with the lowest Projected Total Cost receiving all 45 allocated price points and other proposals receiving proportional points based on cost comparison. Prospective bidders must submit questions through the Euna Procurement portal (erstexas.bonfirehub.com) by February 23, 2026 at 4:00 p.m. Central Time, with answers posted thereafter. Proposals must be submitted no later than April 2, 2026 at 10:00 a.m. Central Time, with the contract anticipated for execution in December 2026 and extending through August 31, 2033.

The RFP documents do not specify set-aside designations or restrictions limiting participation to disadvantaged enterprises or other specific organizational categories. Prospective respondents must execute a Confidentiality and Nondisclosure Agreement (Appendix D) via DocuSign to gain access to confidential appendices containing historical financial and claims data necessary for proposal development. The current vendor information and estimated contract value can be obtained through the Texas Legislative Budget Board contracts database using contract number 18-9529-001, though specific budget or award values are not disclosed in the published notices. All services must be performed in the United States in accordance with RFP sections VI.C.10 through VI.C.11.b, VI.E.5, and VIII.A.7.a, as well as requirements outlined in the Contractual Agreement and Data Security and Business Network Agreements. Respondents are expected to propose value-added benefits beyond those specifically required by ERS, and all pricing proposals must be based on complete and accurate claims experience data provided in the RFP appendices. The ERS reserves the right to reject non-compliant proposals, rebid the RFP if deemed in its best interests, and will not reimburse respondents for proposal preparation costs.