Professional Automobile Liability, Medical-Malpractice and Property Claims Administration Services

The County of San Mateo (the “County” or “SMC”) covers most of the San Francisco Peninsula. The region covers 744 mi² and is home to nearly 800,000 residents and 20 incorporated cities. The County provides for the health and welfare of all people within its borders and serves as the local government for the unincorporated areas. Innovation thrives here in industries including bioscience, computer software, green technology, hospitality, financial management, health care, education, and transportation. The County prides itself on how that prosperity fosters its commitment to protecting and enhancing the health, safety, welfare and natural resources of the community.

The County of San Mateo is soliciting quotes from qualified firms of third-party administration claim services to supervise and administer automobile liability, medical-malpractice, and property claims against the County of San Mateo. The County is seeking to enter into a minimum one-year term agreement, not to exceed five-years term agreement. The County’s current agreement is set to expire on December 31, 2026.

Project Details

• Reference ID: 2026-RFP-00431
• Department: Human Resources Department
• Department Head: Michelle Kuka (Director)

Important Dates

• Questions Due: 2026-05-02T00:00:00.000Z

Evaluation Criteria

• Project Approach (23 pts) —
  1. Demonstrates a clear understanding of the project/proposed services detailed in Section II - Scope of Work and the tasks to be performed.
  2. Ability of the proposed Administrator to fulfill the functionality desired by the County.
  3. Reasonableness of proposed staffing level and allocation plan
  4. Strategy for successful engagement with the County.
  5. Effective and cost saving innovations. 
• Firm Qualifications (22 pts) —
  1. Relevant expertise
  2. Results of reference checks 
• Team Qualifications (22 pts) —

  Expertise of assigned staff in the subject area and description of the tasks to be performed by each staff person.

• Fee Proposal (27 pts) —

  Fee proposal will be scored on a combination of lowest cost and best value proposals for the full 5 year contract.

  The table below explains the method by which the fee proposal is scored.  The lowest cost proposal will receive the maximum number of points assigned to the fee proposal evaluation criteria.  All other proposals will be assigned points by dividing the amount of the lowest total fee proposed by the amount of their respective total fee proposed and then multiplying the resulting number of the maximum number of points available to receive the contractor’s score.

  For example, if a total of 25 points are assigned to evaluate the fee proposal, Firm A offers the lowest fee proposal of $1000 and receives all 25 points.  Firm B is the next lowest fee proposal that offers $1200 and receives a score of 20.8 points ($1000 divided by $1200 multiplied by 25 points).  Firm C has the highest fee proposal that offers $1500 and receives a score of 16.7 ($1000 divided by $1500 multiplied by 25 points).

  Firm	Firm A	Firm B	Firm C
  Total Cost	$1000	$1200	$1500
  Calculation	-	1000 1200	1000 1500

  Points Achieved %	1.0	0.83	0.66
  Points (Max 25)	25	20.8	16.7

   

• Preferential Points (10 pts) —

  Where price is not the sole evaluation factor for a solicitation (e.g., in the case of a "best-value" solicitation), five percent (5%) of the total evaluation points awardable will be added to the proposal score for each Local Business or Local Non-Profit score for evaluation purposes. In the event of a tie between a Local Business or Local Non-Profit and another bidder, the Local Business or Non-Profit shall be awarded the Contract, assuming agreement on other contract terms.

  An additional three percent (3%) preference shall be given to a Local Business or Local Non-profit (for a total of eight percent (8%) of total points awardable) if the proposer is a Small Business or Small Non-Profit, or an additional 5 percent preference (for a total of ten percent (10%) of total points awardable) if the proposer is a Micro Business or Micro Non-Profit.

Submission Requirements

• Minimum Qualifications
• Has Proposer has been providing similar services for a minimum of four (4) years within the last seven (7) years? (required)
• Account manager has a minimum of three (3) years of experience within the last five (5) years in providing account services? (required)
• Is your firm registered with System for Award Management (SAM)? —

  SAM.gov 

• If registered, what is the registered Business Name and Unique Entity ID (UEI) No.? —
  • UEI number can be obtained by registering your business through SAM.GOV
  • Should you be in the process of obtaining your UEI number, please enter the digits ‘123’ temporarily for your response below in order to proceed with proposal. This temporary number should be replaced with the correct registration number for submission of the proposal.
• Procurement Preference for Local Businesses and Local Non-Profits
• Is the Proposer a "Local Business"? —

  Defined by Chapter 2.89.020 of the San Mateo County Ordinance Code, a “Local Business” means any for-profit business which has its principal place of business, or is headquartered, in San Mateo County. If this designation applies to the proposer, a self-attestation form must be completed and provided with this response. 

  Please download the below documents, complete, and upload. If this designation is not applicable, please leave blank. 

• Is the Proposer a Non-Profit? (required) —

  A Non-Profit is defined as a tax-exempt public charity organization (within the meaning of section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code) that is formed for purposes other than making a profit, is exempt from paying federal income taxes on the income generated for their exempt purposes. 

• Is the Proposer a "Local Non-Profit" —

  As Defined by Chapter 2.89.020 of the San Mateo County Ordinance Code, a “Local Non-Profit" means a tax-exempt public charity organization (within the meaning of section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code) that is formed for purposes other than making a profit, is exempt from paying federal income taxes on the income generated for their exempt purposes, and has its principal place of business, or is headquartered, in San Mateo County. If this designation applies to the proposer, a self-attestation form must be completed and provided with this response. 

  Please download the below documents, complete, and upload. If this designation is not applicable, please leave blank.

• Is the Proposer a Local "Small" or "Micro" Business? —

  As Defined by Chapter 2.89.020 of the San Mateo County Ordinance Code:

  “Small Business” means any business which holds a Small Business Certification awarded by the California Office of Small Business and Disabled Veteran Business Enterprise Services (OSDS).

  “Micro Business” means any Small Business certified by the OSDS which is automatically designated by the OSDS as a Micro Business due to gross annual receipts falling below the OSDS-designated dollar amount.

  If the above designations apply, please provide the OSDS provided Certification ID. 

  If this designation is not applicable, please leave blank. 

• Is the Proposer a Local "Small" or "Micro" Non-Profit? —

  As Defined by Chapter 2.89.020 of the San Mateo County Ordinance Code:

  “Small Non-Profit" means a Local Non-Profit with an annual revenue of $1,000,000 to $2,500,000 according to its most recently filed IRS Form 990.

  “Micro Non-Profit" means a Local Non-Profit with an annual revenue of less than $1,000,000, according to its most recently filed IRS Form 990.

  If the above designations apply, please provide your latest filed IRS form 990. A filing from the last two calendar years is acceptable. 

  If this designation is not applicable, please leave blank. 

• Technical Proposal
• Introduction and Executive Summary (required) —

  Submit a letter of introduction and executive summary of the proposal.  The letter must contain:

  • Name, title and contact information (email, phone, and address) for representative of proposer that is responsible for communication related to this RFP.
  • Name, title, contact information, and signature of person authorized to obligate firm to perform the commitment contained in the proposal.

  Submission of the letter will constitute a representation by proposer that it is willing and able to perform the commitments contained in the proposal and has not violated the terms of this RFP.

• Statement of Minimum Qualifications (required) —

  Describe how the proposer meets the minimum qualifications as set forth in Minimum Qualifications of this RFP.

  Submission of the Minimum Qualifications checklist is not a substitute for providing a detailed written response.

• Scope of Work (required) —

  Proposer should give a short summary describing how it will perform the relevant work, including the following:

  • Meeting claims handling requirements
  • Implementation strategy
  • Any notable innovations or improvements that you expect to provide (with respect to, for example, efficiency, technology, sustainability, etc.).
  • Suggested performance measures for tracking the quality of performance of the services contained in this RFP.
• Transition Plan (required) —

  Proposer shall outline how they will transition claims administration, reporting and processing from current TPA in a manner that will ensure continuity of uninterrupted service for the County.  The plan description should include discussion regarding the following:

  • Any previous experience taking over as Third Party Administrator
  • Transition plan timeline
  • Information you require of the County or its current Third Party Administration for transition purposes
  •  The method to be used to communicate the status of the transition plan to the County
• Firm Qualifications (required) —

  Attach information regarding background and qualifications, including the following:

  • A brief description of the proposer.
  • If subcontractors are anticipated, identify them (if known) and provide information on how they will be used.
  • Describe the proposer’s strategy for a successful engagement with the County.
• Team Qualifications (required) —

  Provide a chart identifying:

  • Claims Administration team and reporting structure
  • Project implementation team
  • Role each person will play in the project

  Provide a brief description of the experience and qualifications of the Claims Administration team members, including short resumes if desired. Proposer should describe any pertinent accreditations or licenses, and the experience of your firm in relation to the scope of work for other clients.

  Provide a definition of the Proposer's roles, responsibilities and activities and how they will integrate with the County.

  Written assurance that the key individuals listed and identified will be performing the work and will not be substituted or reassigned without the County’s prior approval.

  What is the plan of action should an adjuster leave your team or become unavailable during the contract period?

• References (required) —

  Provide three (3) references, preferably other public agencies, including for each the name, email address, and telephone number of your references. References should be recent clients (within the last 12 months).

• Fee Proposal (required) —

  Please provide a proposed annual flat fee for all services and include the following:

  1. A list of all services that will be provided within the basic annual flat fee 
  2. A list of all services that will be provided at an additional cost to the annual flat fee, and what the cost will be (e.g. one-time data conversion fee, field investigation, etc.)

  The Fee Proposal should be submitted as a separate Excel file from the Technical Proposals detailed in Required Documents.

  The County reserves the right to accept other than the lowest priced offer and to reject any proposals that are not responsive to this request.

• Agreement term (years) (required) —

  Update below if needed.

• Is there an extension to this agreement? (required) —

  Is there an extension to this agreement?

• Extension (required) —

  Modify the extension information below, if needed

• Will there be a Pre-Proposal Meeting and/or a Site Visit? (required)
• Include the information that will be covered in the site visit. (required)
• Require vendors to provide References? (required)
• References (required) —

  How many references are required by the vendor? (Number)

• Use Electronic Line Item Pricing? (required)
• Allow vendors to submit Confidential Information? (required) —

  In rare circumstances where there is an expectation that proposers will need to submit trade secrets or other confidential information in order to respond to an RFP. 

• Sample Agreement (required)