Broker/Agent Services for Health Related Employee Benefits

The City of Sarasota, Florida, is requesting proposals from experienced and qualified individuals/firms with expertise in Agent/Broker Services regarding the evaluation and obtaining of insurance coverage and management of a self-funded medical, pharmacy and dental plans as well as supplemental insurance. Firms and/or persons responding to this Request for Proposal shall be able to demonstrate that they will have the continuing capabilities to perform these services and possess the necessary license and/or certification to do so. Minimum requirements and specifications have been developed and are included herein.

The initial contract period shall be for three (3) years. The contract agreement may be renewed at the same terms and conditions, by mutual agreement and subject to budgetary constraints, for two (2) additional one (1) year extension periods.

Background

The City offers a comprehensive self-funded group insurance program, in addition to an Employee Health Center and numerous supplemental insurance offerings to its employees, retirees, Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act) (COBRA) participants and dependents. There are approximately 804 full time employees and approximately 642 retirees enrolled in benefits. Approximately 271 of those retirees remain enrolled on the self-insured medical plans. The City also offers a fully insured Medicare Advantage Plan to retirees which has approximately 221 Medicare eligible pre-1993 retirees enrolled. The City has 2 COBRA participants covered under the City's program currently. Overall, there are approximately 1782 total lives including dependents enrolled in the medical plans. The City currently offers the following benefit options to all active employees and retirees, and all plans are renewed with an effective date of January 1. The City's plan year is January 1 through December 31. The City has three unions with which benefits are negotiated. The City currently uses Workday for benefits enrollment.

Project Details

• Reference ID: 26-23HR
• Department: Procurement
• Department Head: Renee Hayes (General Manager, Procurement Official)

Important Dates

• Questions Due: 2026-03-31T20:00:00.000Z
• Answers Posted By: 2026-04-06T20:00:00.000Z

Meetings & Milestones

Addenda

• Addendum #1 (released 2026-03-11T14:43:37.904Z) —

  Please use the See What Changed link to view all the changes made by this addendum.

• Addendum #2 (released 2026-04-20T17:23:09.997Z) —

  Due Date Extended to April 28, 2026 @ 2:30 PM

Evaluation Criteria

• Qualifications of Company (15 pts) —

  Includes company qualification and company information.

  Company Introduction and Executive Summary.

• Personnel (15 pts) —

  Personnel qualifications.

• Services/References (15 pts) —

  Services (past projects) and references that support your comments on the products or services you provide. Past customers related experience with your company.

• Proposal Requirements (20 pts) —

  Details on how you plan to provide your products or services based on the specifications or scope of work provided in this solicitation or proposal request

• Local Preference (10 pts) —

  Calculation of points base on the local preference described in the Terms and Conditions. Scored by Purchasing.

• Pricing (Non-CCNA) (25 pts) —

  Cost of product or services as calculated using formula. Calculated by Purchasing.

  The Proposer with the lowest Price Proposal will be awarded the maximum score of listed above. All other proposals will be scored according to the following formula: (Lowest Price Proposal/ Proposer’s Price Proposal) x Maximum points. Score For example, the maximum score available for price is 25.

  Ex. If the lowest proposed Price Proposal is $150,000.00 that Proposer will receive the full 25 points. Another Proposer with a Price Proposal of-

  $160,000.00 will receive points calculated as follows:

  $ 150,000.00/ $160,000.00 = .9375

  .9375 x 25 = 23.4375 23.44 Points Awarded

• Interviews (1 pts) —

  Top-ranked consultants may be shortlisted for interviews. If interviews are requested the interview stage and final ranking are conducted in the second phase of the process.

Submission Requirements

• Respondent Submittals (without Cost) (required) —

  Please Upload your COMPLETE response, including any and all required forms listed in the solicitation and the corresponding attachments.

  (Do not upload cost information in here)

• Separate Cost Proposal (required) —

  Confirm that your fee proposal is not attached in your Proposal and is attached separately here.

• I certify that I have read, understood and agree to the terms in this solicitation, and that I am authorized to submit this response on behalf of my company. (required)
• How would you prefer to receive vendor pricing? (required)
• Evaluation Committee? (required) —

  Will there be an evaluation committee to review the proposals and score them based on weights and multiple criteria?

• Procurement and/or Project Contact —

  Select the information you would like display.

Questions & Answers