Insurance Consultant Services

The Vendor is required to provide insurance consultant to provide professional consulting services that support the administration and strategic management of its employee benefits programs.
- Strategic planning and program review
•    Plan review: review existing benefit plans, claims experience, and cost trends to assess program performance and sustainability.
•    Benchmarking: benchmark authority benefits plans against industry standards and comparable employers to evaluate competitiveness and effectiveness.
•    Program recommendations: provide recommendations regarding plan design, funding arrangements, and employer and employee contribution structures.
•    Renewal strategy: advise on annual plan renewals and assist in developing multi-year benefit strategies to support long-term cost management and program stability.
- Procurement and vendor management
•    Procurement support: assist in developing specifications and preparing request for proposals (RFPS) for insurance carriers, third- party administrators (TPAS), and other related vendors.
•    Proposal evaluation: assist in evaluating vendor proposals and provide comparative cost analysis, coverage, and service offerings.
•    Contract negotiations: support authority in contract negotiations, renewals, and related discussions with insurance carriers and benefit service providers.
•    Vendor performance review: monitor and review vendor performance and provide recommendations for improvement to ensure service quality and cost effectiveness.
- Compliance and regulatory guidance
•    Regulatory compliance: assist authority in regulatory compliance with applicable federal and state laws reporting requirements related to employee benefit programs.
•    Legislative updates: provide timely updates and guidance regarding legislative and regulatory changes that may impact authority benefit plans.
•    Plan documentation: advise authority on the development, review, and updating of plan documents and summary plan description (SPDS) to ensure accuracy and compliance with applicable regulations.
- Financial and data analysis
•    Claims and cost analysis: analyze claims utilization, cost trends, and premium performance to evaluate the effectiveness and financial sustainability of benefit programs.
•    Budget and projections: prepare annual cost projections and provide budget recommendations to assist authority in financial planning and cost management.
•    Reporting: develop reports, summaries, and presentations for authority management and the governing board to support strategic planning and decision-making.
- Employee communication and education
•    Open enrollment communications: assist in developing communication materials and resources to support the annual open enrollment process.
•    Employee education: provide guidance and support for employee benefit meetings, workshops, and educational sessions to improve employee awareness and understanding of available benefits.
•    HR support: provide assistance to authority human resources (HR) staff in responding to employee benefit inquiries, as needed.
- Ongoing support
•    Year-round consultation: provide ongoing consultation and guidance on benefit programs throughout the plan year.
•    Periodic meetings: participate in regular meetings with HR to review benefit plans, address issues, and provide recommendations.
•    Ad-hoc support: respond promptly to ad-hoc requests for benefit analysis, compliance guidance, or vendor-related issues.
•    Web-based benefits enrollment platform: provide and maintain a comprehensive, web-based benefits enrollment platform for use by authority and its employees. 
•    The platform must be fully operational for annual open enrollment, new hire enrollment, qualifying life events, and benefits changes throughout the contract term.