Active SLED Opportunity · GEORGIA · EFFINGHAM COUNTY
AI Summary
Effingham County seeks proposals for Benefits Brokerage & Consulting Services to optimize its employee benefits program for 555 employees. The contract includes strategic planning, negotiation, and management of medical, dental, vision, life, and wellness benefits. Proposals due August 5, 2026, with evaluation based on experience, approach, team, fees, and compliance.
This is an invitation to submit a proposal to supply Effingham County Georgia Board of Commissioners (ECBOC) for the professional services as specified herein. Sealed proposals will be received via the County's eProcurement Portal up to 2:00 pm (Eastern Time) on Wednesday, August 5th, 2026. Due to the fact that the proposals will be subject to an evaluation review, the details and particulars of the proposal documents will remain confidential until final award of the contract. Only the names of the companies who submit a proposal will be available. ECBOC will issue responses to inquiries and any other corrections or addendum it deems necessary in written form prior to the proposal due date for this RFP. ECBOC reserves the right to reject any and all proposals and will not be bound to accept any proposal should it consider that the proposal would be contrary to its best interest. ECBOC reserves the right to reject any and all proposals that are non-responsive or non-responsible. Additionally, ECBOC has the right to waive any technicalities or minor informalities. It may issue change orders (provided these changes are within the scope of the original contract) in order to address unforeseen conditions necessary for the project completion. Instructions for the preparation and submission of a proposal are contained in the request for proposals package. If you do not submit a proposal, please return the No-Bid Statement identified in Section 7.17 of the Vendor Questionnaire and state the reason. Proposals should be prepared economically, avoiding the use of elaborate promotional materials beyond those sufficient to provide a complete presentation. The cost for developing the submittal is the sole responsibility of the Offeror. Performance and Payment Bonds are not required for this RFP.
The objective of this Request for Proposals (RFP) is to obtain highly qualified and experienced Benefits Consulting and Brokerage Services firm for optimization of Effingham County GA Board of Commissioners' (ECBOC) benefits program. ECBOC is looking for continuity of services in the rapidly changing area of employee benefits and is particularly interested in a single firm that can offer creative, innovative approaches with a proven track record that allows the ECBOC to maintain quality programs and contain or reduce costs. The benefits program includes medical, dental, vision, life, and ancillary/voluntary benefits for the employees of ECBOC, as well as its wellness program. Consultants and/or Brokers will assist with strategically planning, designing, acquisition, negotiating, implementation, maintenance, communication and enhancement of the best coverage and cost for selective employee benefits program. ECBOC is constantly competing to recruit and retain the best employees possible. Our leadership is looking to ensure we have financially competitive and affordable programs to offer our employees. ECBOC workforce is comprised of approximately 555 full-time employees spread across diverse departments, including Officials/County Manager, Solicitors, Magistrate, Elections/Registrars, Tax Commissioner, E911, Fleet Maintenance/Enviro-worx, Information Technology, Prison, Sheriff's Office, EMS, Facilities Maintenance, Animal Shelter, Public Works, Extension Services, Recreation, Parks & Landscaping, Fire Department, Waste-Water Treatment Plant/Sewage, and Development Services. This RFP is not an authorization to approach insurers or other underwriting sources on behalf of the ECBOC. Furthermore, ECBOC specifically requests that no insurance market contact or solicitation be made on its behalf at this time, nor insurance market reservations or commitments be made for any purpose with regard to any insurance or reinsurance. The contract term will be set up for a one-year base period, plus five (5) additional one-year option periods. The ECBOC does not guarantee a minimum value and may terminate any resulting contract for convenience if not satisfied.
Relevant experience with public-sector employers, self-funded plans, similar workforce size, stop-loss, compliance support, and references demonstrating successful service.
Quality, practicality, and depth of the proposed approach to strategy, renewals, claims analytics, vendor management, compliance, communication, enrollment, transition, and ongoing support.
Qualifications, licensing, depth, availability, backup coverage, response standards, workload, and accountability of the proposed team.
Competitiveness, clarity, completeness, and transparency of all fees and direct or indirect compensation sources.
Completeness, organization, responsiveness to the RFP, required forms, sample materials, and clarity of exceptions or assumptions
The Vendor warrants that terms and conditions quoted in his offer will be firm for acceptance for a period of ninety (90) days from the date of proposal submittal. Fees quoted must also be firm for a ninety (90) day period.
Vendor further confirms:
By submission of this proposal, the Vendor certifies, and in the case of a joint proposal each party thereto as to its own organization, that in connection with this procurement:
The prices in this proposal have been arrived at independently, without consultation, communication, or agreement, for the purpose of restricting competition, as to any matter relating to such prices with any other Vendor or with any competitor;
Unless otherwise required by law, the prices which have been quoted in this proposal have not been knowingly disclosed by the Vendor and will not knowingly be disclosed by the Vendor prior to opening, directly or indirectly to any other competitor; and;
No attempt has been made or will be made by the Vendor to induce any other person or firm to submit or not to submit a proposal for the purpose or restricting competition.
Vendor certifies that he/she has carefully read the preceding list of instructions and all other data applicable hereto and made a part of this invitation; and, further certifies that the prices shown in his/her proposal are in accordance with all documents contained in this request for proposal package, and that any exception taken thereto may disqualify his/her proposal.
This is to certify that Vendor, have read the instructions to Vendor and agree to be bound by the provisions of the same.
Company Name, Address, Email and Phone number
Name and Title of Principal
Proposing Company Contact Information:
Company Name:
Billing Address:
Telephone:
Service Address:
Telephone:
Representative Name:
Representative Contact Address, Telephone, E-Mail:
It is agreed by the undersigned offeror that submission of this proposal represents the vendor's acceptance of all terms, conditions and requirements of specifications and, if awarded, the proposal will become part of the contract agreement between the parties.
Upload your complete Technical Proposal.
The Technical Proposal shall be limited to 25 pages. The Technical Proposal should include, at a minimum, the proposer’s qualifications, public-sector experience, self-funded health plan experience, proposed service team, technical approach, scope of work response, claims analytics/reporting capabilities, renewal and stop-loss strategy, employee communication/open enrollment support, compliance support approach, data security/confidentiality/HIPAA compliance approach, transition plan, references, and any exceptions or assumptions.
The Fee Proposal shall not be included in the Technical Proposal and shall be uploaded separately in Section 9.6.
Upload your complete Fee Proposal.
The Fee Proposal shall be submitted as a separate upload and shall not count toward the 25-page Technical Proposal limit. The Fee Proposal shall clearly identify the proposer’s proposed compensation structure, including whether services are proposed on a flat-fee, hourly, commission-based, or blended compensation basis.
At a minimum, the Fee Proposal shall disclose all proposed fees, renewal term fees, hourly rates if applicable, optional services, services not included in the proposed fee, third-party costs, pass-through costs, carrier-paid commissions, direct compensation, indirect compensation, overrides, bonuses, contingency payments, referral fees, revenue-sharing arrangements, technology/vendor payments, and any other compensation received or expected to be received in connection with the County’s benefits program.
The proposer shall also state whether any commissions or other compensation will be credited back to the County or used to offset fees.
Prepare and upload your SOQ to include the following:
Letter of Commitment
Project Approach
Qualifications/Relevant Experience
Key Staff
Specific requirements of each are detailed in Section 6.13 Statement of Qualifications
NOTE: If Commodity(s) and/or Service proposed in quote is in ANYWAY different from that contained in this proposal, the Bidder is responsible for clearly identifying all such differences in the space below. Otherwise, it will be assumed that the Bidder’s offer is in total compliance with all aspects of the proposal. This information should also be clearly stated in your uploaded technical proposal.
PLEASE LIST If there are any differences between your offer and the County’s proposal:
Bidder certifies that the provisions of Code Sections 50-24-1 through 50-24-6 of the Official Code to Georgia Annotated, related to the Drug Free Workplace have been complied with full.
1. A drug-free workplace will be provided for the employees during the performance of the contract; and;
2. Each Sub-Contractor under the direction of the Contractor shall secure the following written certification:
(Contractor) certifies to Effingham County that a drug-free workplace will be provided for the employees during the performance of this contract known as 26-RFP-126 -- Benefits Brokerage & Consulting Services pursuant to paragraph (7) of subsection (B) of Code Section 50-24-3. Also, the undersigned further certifies that he/she will not engage in the unlawful manufacture, sale, distribution, dispensation, possession, or use of a controlled substance or marijuana during the performance of the contract.
In consideration of the privilege to Bid on the following Effingham County Procurement titled 26-RFP-126 -- Benefits Brokerage & Consulting Services, Bidder hereby consent, covenant, and agree as follows:
A. No person shall be excluded from participation in, denied the benefit of, or otherwise discriminated against on the basis of race, color, national origin or gender in connection with the Bid submitted to Effingham County or the performance of the contract resulting there from;
B. That it is and shall be the policy of this Company to provide equal opportunity to all business persons seeking to contract or otherwise interested with the Company, including those companies owned and controlled by racial minorities and women; and
C. That the promises of non-discrimination as made and set forth herein shall be continuing throughout the duration of this contract with Effingham County.
D. That the promises of non-discrimination as made and set forth herein shall be and are hereby deemed to be made part of an incorporated by reference in the contract which this Company may be awarded;
E. That the failure of this Company to satisfactorily discharge any of the promises of non-discrimination as made and set forth above may constitute a material breach of contract entitling the County to declare the contract in default and to exercise appropriate remedies including but not limited to termination of the contract.
Please download the below documents, complete, and upload.
Please download the below documents, complete, and upload.
Please upload your completed W-9 form
Please download the below documents, complete, and upload, if you are using subcontractors.
If you are proposing to use subconsultants for this project, you are required to provide the following information for each Subcontractor:
1. Subconsultant/Firm Name
2. Address
3. Description of Work/Services to be Performed
4. Subcontracted Amount
In an effort to make the procurement of construction, goods and services for Effingham County as competitive as possible, we are soliciting information from contractors and or vendors who cannot Bid. Your "responsiveness" and "constructive" comments will be appreciated. Completion of this form will assist us in evaluating factors which relate to the competitiveness of our Proposals. Please check any of the boxes below which may apply.
Answer this Question If this is a Construction Project
Please Provide a Brief Description of the Project; one or two paragraphs.
Statement of Qualifications package that contains the following sections.
Letter of Commitment
Project Approach
Qualifications/Relevant Experience
Key Staff
SLED stands for State, Local, and Education. These are solicitations issued by state governments, counties, cities, school districts, utilities, and higher education institutions — as opposed to federal agencies.
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