REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL INSURANCE AGENT SERVICES FOR PROPERTY AND CASUALTY INSURANCE MARCH 2013 WEST TEXAS OPPORTUNITIES, INC. 603 NORTH 4 TH STREET PO BOX 1308 LAMESA, TEXAS 79331
Table of Contents I. INVITATION... 3 II. REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL (RFP) TIME LINE & EVENTS... 4 III. Overview... 5 IV. GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS... 6 A. Pre-Proposal Conference... 6 B. Submittal Procedure... 6 C. Proposal Opening... 7 D. Non-Discrimination Policy Statement... 7 E. Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986... 7 F. Form W-9... 7 G. Proposal Guarantee/Award Procedure... 7 H. Permits... 8 I. Price Adjustments... 8 V. PROPOSAL STIPULATIONS... 8 A. Modification or Withdrawal of Proposals... 8 B. Offer and Acceptance Period... 8 C. Late Proposals... 8 D. Irregularities in Proposals... 8 E. Oral Presentations... 9 F. Amendments to the Proposal... 9 G. Incurred Expenses... 9 H. Subcontractors... 9 I. Term of Contract... 9 J. Representation... 9 VI. INSURANCE AGENT PROPOSAL REQUIREMENTS... 10 A. Insurance Agent General Information... 10 B. References (Minimum of Two References for Each Type)... 10 C. Agency History... 10 D. Experience... 11 E. Service... 11 Page 1 of 17
F. Claims Handling... 11 G. Value-Added Benefits... 11 H. In-Kind Services... 11 I. Agency Philosophy... 11 J. Market Representation... 12 K. Process... 12 VII. SIGNATURE PAGE... 13 VIII. EVALUATION SCORING... 14 IX. SAMPLE CONTRACT... 15 Page 2 of 17
I. INVITATION West Texas Opportunities, Inc. is accepting Proposals from vendors experienced in providing Insurance Agent Services for Property and Casualty Insurance. West Texas Opportunities, Inc. invites your firm to submit a Proposal. If you are interested in submitting a Proposal, please adhere to the General Instructions and Requirements as outlined in the enclosed Request for Proposal. Vendors shall pay particular attention to all Instructions, Requirements and Deadlines indicated in the attached documents and should govern themselves accordingly. In accepting Proposals West Texas Opportunities, Inc. reserves the right to reject any and all Proposals and to waive any requirements in order to take the action, which is deemd to be in the best interest of West Texas Opportunities, Inc. At the time and place established for receipt of the Proposal, West Texas Opportunities, Inc. will only release the names of the vendors that have responded to the Proposal. No other information will be released until after West Texas Opportunities, Inc. has evaluated the Proposals, and an award has been made and Approved by the West Texas Opportunities, Inc. Board of Directors. We look forward to reviewing your submission. Jenny Gibson Executive Director West Texas Opportunities, Inc. Page 3 of 17
II. REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL (RFP) TIME LINE & EVENTS RFP Issue Date...Monday, March 18, 2013 Pre-Proposal Conference...Monday, April 1, 2013, 2:00 p.m. Deadline to Submit Proposal Questions...Monday, April 8, 2013, 5:00 p.m. Deadline for Response to Proposal Questions...Monday, April 15, 2013, 5:00 p.m. Deadline for Submission of Proposal...Monday, April 22, 2013, 2:00 p.m. Proposal Opening...Monday, April 22, 2013, 2:15 p.m. 603 North 4 th Street Lamesa, Texas Anticipated Award... Wednesday, May 1, 2013 Page 4 of 17
III. Overview West Texas Opportunities, Inc. (WTO,I) is a private nonprofit Community Action Agency located in Lamesa, Texas providing Transportation, Head Start and Social Services to 22 counties located on the South Plains and Permian Basin. West Texas Opportunities, Inc. seeks to purchase property and casualty insurance protection. The agent selected by WTO,I will be qualified to assist WTO,I in analysis, selection and purchase of such policies and will receive a commission for such services from the insurance companies represented. Current premium volume is $275,000. The agent will be exclusively authorized to represent West Texas Opportunities, Inc. for a designated period of time. The selected agent will be expected to represent WTO,I diligently and professionally and to bring to WTO,I the benefit of his/her experience and knowledge of property and casualty insurance. Current coverage includes Property, General Liability, Directors and Officers Liability, Auto, Crime and Student Accident. The Contract period is anticipated to begin no later than June 1, 2013 and will be for twelve months. The provider selected for the provision of services outlined in the Request for Proposal will be considered for subsequent renewals for four consecutive twelve month periods based upon satisfactory performance and service. Page 5 of 17
IV. GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS A. Pre Proposal Conference The Pre-Proposal Conference is to be held Monday, April 1, 2013, 2:00 p.m. at 603 North 4 th Street, Lamesa, Texas. Deadline for questions from Vendors: Monday, April 8, 2013, 5:00 p.m. Deadline for response to Questions: Monday, April 15, 2013, 5:00 p.m. All questions concerning the Proposal specifications must be submitted in writing and faxed or emailed to: Jenny Gibson, Executive Director Office: (806)872-8354 Fax: (806)872-5816 Email: jenny.gibson.wto@gmail.com B. Submittal Procedure The Proposal, subject to all conditions and specifications attached hereto, must be signed in ink by a person or officer of the company submitting the Proposal that is authorized to enter in contractual agreements on behalf of the company. Proposals received unsigned will be deemed non-responsive and therefore; will not be accepted. Deadline to submit Proposal is Monday, April 22, 2013. The Proposal should be submitted in a Sealed Envelope and delivered to: Envelope must be clearly marked: Courier West Texas Opportunities, Inc. 603 North 4 th Street Lamesa, Texas 79331 U.S. Post Office West Texas Opportunities, Inc. PO Box 1308 Lamesa, Texas 79331 PROPOSAL INSURANCE AGENT SERVICES FOR PROPERTY AND CASUALTY DO NOT OPEN UNTIL MONDAY, APRIL 22, 2013 AT 2:15 P.M. Page 6 of 17
No proposal will be accepted after the stated deadline. Respondents may mail their proposal to one of the addresses listed or personally deliver their Proposals to the West Texas Opportunities, Inc. Office at 603 North 4 th Street, Lamesa, Texas. West Texas Opportunities, Inc. will not be responsible for any Proposal that is lost in the mail or not delivered to the WTO,I office by the stated deadline for any reason. Proposals shall include all documentation as requested in the Request for Proposal. C. Proposal Opening A Public Proposal Opening will be held at 2:15 p.m. immediately following receipt of Proposals on Monday April 22, 2013 at 603 North 4 th Street, Lamesa, Texas 79331. D. Non Discrimination Policy Statement West Texas Opportunities, Inc. does not discriminate against any individual or vendor with respect to his/her compensation, terms, conditions, or award of contract because of race, creed, religion, handicap, political affiliation or belief, color, national origin, sex, age or genetics. E. Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 By submitting their proposals, vendors certify that they do not and will not during the performance of this contract employ illegal alien workers or otherwise violate the provisions of the federal Immigration Reform and Control act of 1986. F. Form W 9 Participants are to complete form W-9 and submit with their Proposal documents. G. Proposal Guarantee/Award Procedure It is anticipated that a recommendation for award for this RFP will be made no more than thirty (30) days after the RFP due date. All interested parties are required to guarantee their fees/pricing as an irrevocable offer valid for one hundred twenty (120) days after the RFP due date. West Texas Opportunities, Inc. in its sole and absolute discretion shall have the right to make an award for any and all items/services listed in each RFP, shall Page 7 of 17
have the right to reject any and all RFP documents as it deems to be in its best interest and to waive formalities and reasonable irregularities in submitted documents. H. Permits Any and all permits as required by authorities having jurisdiction; local, state, county, and/or federal are the total responsibility of the interested parties/vendor. I. Price Adjustments Vendor will be required to honor their proposed prices for the term of the contract period. V. PROPOSAL STIPULATIONS A. Modification or Withdrawal of Proposals Any Proposal may be modified or withdrawn prior to the deadline, provided such modification or withdrawal is submitted prior to the deadline. Any modifications received after the deadline shall be deemed late and will not be considered. B. Offer and Acceptance Period All proposals must be an irrevocable offer valid for one hundred twenty (120) days after the Proposal opening. C. Late Proposals Proposals received after the stated deadline shall be deemed late and will not be considered. D. Irregularities in Proposals Except as otherwise stated in this Request for Proposal, evaluation of all Proposals will be based solely upon information contained in the vendors response to this Proposal. WTO,I shall not be held responsible for errors, omissions or oversight in any vendor s response to this Proposal. WTO,I may waive technical irregularities, which do not alter the price or quality of the services. Page 8 of 17
WTO,I shall have the right to reject Proposals containing a statement, representation, warranty or certification which is determined by WTO,I and its counsel to be materially false, incorrect, misleading or incomplete. Additionally, any errors, omissions, or oversights of a material nature may constitute grounds for rejection of any Proposal. The inability of a vendor to provide one or more of the required components or specified features or capabilities required by this Proposal does not, in an of itself, preclude acceptance by WTO,I of the Proposal. All proposals will be evaluated as a whole in the best interest of WTO,I. E. Oral Presentations Any vendor that submits a Proposal in response to this request may be required to make an oral presentation for further clarification upon WTO,I s request. F. Amendments to the Proposal If it becomes necessary to revise any part of this Proposal package or if additional information is necessary to clarify any provision, the revision and/or additional information will be provided to each vendor via faxed amendment or email. G. Incurred Expenses West Texas Opportunities, Inc. shall not be responsible for expenses incurred by a vendor in the preparation and submission of a Proposal. This provision also includes any costs involved in providing an oral presentation of the Proposal. H. Subcontractors All provisions and/or stipulations within this Request for Proposal also apply to any authorized subcontractors. I. Term of Contract The intent of the RFP is to award an initial period of performance beginning May 1, 2013 with four (4) one-year renewal options at the sole discretion of MHMRA based upon satisfactory performance, which will be reviewed on an annual basis. J. Representation Page 9 of 17
Current premium volume is approximately $275,000. The agent will be exclusively authorized to represent West Texas Opportunities, Inc. for a designated period of time. VI. INSURANCE AGENT PROPOSAL REQUIREMENTS Your proposal shall include responses to the following statements. Proposals shall follow the outline provided and contain a response to each item contained in the outline. A. Insurance Agent General Information 1. Company Name 2. Producers Name 3. Agency License Number 4. Physical and Mailing Address 5. Size and Sales Staff 6. Telephone Number 7. Fax Number 8. Email Address 9. Professional Membership 10. Insurance Coverage (i) E&O Carrier (ii) Limits of Liability (iii)previous Claims (iv) General Liability Carrier (v) Limits of Liability B. References (Minimum of Two References for Each Type) 1. Financial 2. Business 3. Customer C. Agency History 1. Please provide relevant historical information about your insurance agency. Data should include the number of years in business, the agency principals, the agency producers, additional details on size of the agency, organization of the agency, branch office locations, etc. 2. Please attach any marketing material, brochures, etc. on your agency. 3. Please state the number, description, and outcome of any errors and omissions claims filed against your agency. 4. Please state if your agency is a qualified DBE. Page 10 of 17
5. Please state if your agency is a minority-owned business (at least 51%) owned, controlled, minority or ethnic group or female. 6. Please state if your agency is a small business as defined by the SBA (Small Business Administration. D. Experience 1. Please provide a brief biographical sketch on pertinent principals, producers and support staff. 2. Please describe your agency s experience in handling non-profit social service organizations. 3. Please describe your agency s experience in handling Community Action Agencies/Head Starts. 4. Please describe various coverage differences that you typically encounter in CAP quotes. 5. Please describe your agency s experience in handling organizations that receive governmental funding from one or more sources 6. Please describe your agency s experience in working with governmental agencies with respect to the impact of rules/regulations on insurance. 7. Please describe any special coverage that you will be able to offer. E. Service 1. Please describe your agency s ability to promptly respond to our insurance needs. F. Claims Handling 1. Please describe your process for reporting and handling claims. 2. Please describe the criteria for using in-house adjusters versus independent adjusters versus company field adjusters. G. Value Added Benefits 1. Please describe any other services or benefits that your agency can provide. Please indicate the cost of these services. H. In Kind Services 1. Please list any in-kind services that you provide. For each service, show the monetary value. I. Agency Philosophy 1. Please briefly state your agency s philosophy with respect to determining our insurance needs and satisfying those needs. Page 11 of 17
J. Market Representation 1. Please provide information on the company(ies) that you represent. K. Process 1. Please describe the process that you will use to obtain quotes from the insurance companies. 2. Please describe how this process will insure that the quotes you obtain and provide to WTO,I are obtained in a manner that provides for open competition between the insurance companies. Page 12 of 17
VII. SIGNATURE PAGE West Texas Opportunities, Inc. in its sole and absolute discretion shall have the right to award contracts for any or all materials and/or services listed in each proposal, shall have the right to reject any and all proposals, shall not be bound to accept the lowest proposal and shall be allowed to accept the total proposal of any one contractor. This submission is guaranteed as an irrevocable offer valid for one hundred twenty (120) days after the proposal opening date. Authorized Signature Vendors Name Typed or Printed Name Street Address Title City, State, Zip Code Telephone Number Fax Number Email Address This Signature Page Must Be Signed and Included with the Proposal Page 13 of 17
VIII. EVALUATION SCORING Not all evaluation factors are equal in importance and each factor is weighted in accordance with its importance to West Texas Opportunities, Inc. Each item has been assessed a maximum possible score. A total score of 125 will be considered a perfect score. CRITERIA CATEGORY MAXIMUM POINTS 1. References 05 points 2. Agency History 05 points 3. Experience 30 points 4. Service 25 points 5. Claims Handling 05 points 6. Value-Added Benefits 10 points 7. In-Kind Services 05 points 8. Market Representation 15 points 9. Process 25 points TOTAL 125points Page 14 of 17
IX. SAMPLE CONTRACT WEST TEXAS OPPORTUNITIES, INC. Lamesa, Texas INSURANCE AGENT PROFESSIONAL SERVICES CONTRACT STATE OF TEXAS COUNTY OF DAWSON This agreement is made this day of, 2013, of and between West Texas Opportunities, Inc., hereinafter known as WTO,I. and hereinafter known as Contractor. WITNESSETH THAT: WHEREAS: WHEREAS: WTO,I is interested in obtaining professional Insurance Agent Services. Contractor represents that he is an independent contractor with professional skills in providing Insurance Agent Services: I. INDEPENDENT CONTRACTOR RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PARTIES The relationship between the independent contractor and WTO,I shall be that of an independent contractor. It is agreed that Contractor and Contractor s personnel will not be considered an employee, agent, partner, joint venturer of the agency II. CONTRACTOR AGREES: A. Qualifications. Contractor will comply with relevant rules and community standards, certifications, accreditations, and licenses and any other professional and educational qualifications. B. WTO,I Approval of Contractor Personnel. Contractor agrees not to contract any services until approval of such subcontractor is obtained from WTO,I. C. Representations. Contractor represents and warrants that is not currently an employee of WTO,I. D. Receipts and Records. Contractor agrees to provide WTO,I, upon request, with original receipts for the purchase of all goods and services involving the use of Agency funds as well all other financial and supporting documents and statistical records. E. Disclosure. Contractor declares that neither Contractor nor any of its subcontractors or employees rendering services pursuant to this Agreement is held in abeyance or barred from Page 15 of 17
the award of a federal or state contract at the time of executing this Agreement; and Contractor will give immediate notification to the Agency if such occurs anytime during the term of this agreement. F. Required Reporting Regarding Licensure. Contractor shall report to WTO,I any allegations that a professional licensed or certified by the State of Texas and employed by the Contractor has committed an action that constitutes grounds for the denial or revocation of the certification or license. Contractor will further report to WTO,I if any professional has had his/her professional license revoked. If Contractors employee has such a denial or revocation, and contractor fails to remove such employee, then this agreement may be terminated without prior notice. G. To comply with Executive Order 11246, entitled Equal Employment Opportunity, as amended by Executive Order 11375, and as supplemented in Department of Labor Regulation (41 CFR Part 60); H. To comply with the Copeland anti-kickback Act (18 USD 874) as supplemented in the Department of Labor Regulations (29 CFR Part 3) and to report any such violations immediately to the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs in Austin, Texas; I. To the extent permitted under the laws of the State of Texas, Contractor hereby agrees to hold harmless the Agency and all of its directors, officers, employees and agents from all suits, actions, claims, or cost of any character, type, or description brought or made on account of any injuries, death, or damage received or sustained by any person or persons or property, including but not limited to clients, arising out of or occasioned by any negligent acts of Contractor or contractor s personnel, if any, or its agents or employees whether occurring during the performance of the services hereunder or in the execution of the performance of any of its duties under this Agreement. J. That if this contract is terminated for any administrative, contractual, or legal reason, (1) the county of venue shall be Dawson, and (2) any partial or incomplete work shall be completed before termination of contract. II. WTO,I AGREES: A. Employees, officers, and/or agents shall neither solicit nor accept gratuities, favors, or anything of monetary value from the Contractor. B. To pay the Contractor the agreed cost for any services provided under this contract within thirty (30) days. C. That no funds under this contract are used in any way to attempt to influence in any manner a member of Congress to favor or oppose any legislation or appropriations by Congress, or for lobbying with State Legislators or local elected officials. III. WTO,I AND CONTRACTOR AGREE: A. that this contract will be payable in Dawson County, Texas, and that said county will be the proper county of venue for all purposes herein; B. that this contract can be terminated for no cause, by a letter giving thirty (30) days notice of desire to terminate contract by either WTO,I or the Contractor, provided Page 16 of 17
the Contractor has completed any work that is in progress; C. that this contract can be terminated immediately by WTO,I at any time that the Contractor is in non-compliance with performance of this contract, and; D. that neither it nor any member of its governing bodies presently have any interest or shall acquire any interest, direct or indirect, which would conflict in any manner or degree with the performance of this contract, and that in the performance of this contract no person having such interest shall be employed or appointed by WTO,I or the Contractor; E. that WTO,I Contractor possess the legal authority pursuant to official motion, resolution or action passed or taken, giving WTO,I and the Contractor legal authority to enter into this contract; F. the persons signing this contract on behalf of WTO,I and the Contractor hereby warrant that they have been fully authorized by WTO,I and the Contractor to execute this contract on behalf of WTO,I and the Contractor and to validly and legally bind WTO,I and the Contractor to all terms, performances, and provisions herein set forth; G. No person(s) shall on the grounds of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, handicap, political affiliation or belief be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or subjected to discrimination under any program or activity funded in whole or in part with funds made available under this contract, no discrimination on the basis of age under the Age Discrimination Act of 1975 or with respect to otherwise qualified handicapped individuals as provided in section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973; H. Any alterations, additions, or deletions to the terms of this contract which are required by changes in federal law or regulations are automatically incorporated into this contract without written amendment hereto, and shall become effective on the date designated by such law or regulation. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, we have executed this CONTRACT AGREEMENT the date and date written above. This contract shall terminate on unless otherwise extended by WTO,I. BY: BY: For West Texas Opportunities, Inc. For Vendor Date: Date: Page 17 of 17