RFI: PARAMETRIC INSURANCE POLICY

PARAMETRIC INSURANCE POLICY

REQUEST FOR INFORMATION

COVER PAGE......................................................................1

SECTION I: SCOPE OF WORK FOR INFORMATION..................2

SECTION II: INFORMATION REQUESTED..............................3

SECTION III: DISCLAIMER & CONFIDENTIALITY..................5

SECTION IV: INSTRUCTIONS AND ADDITIONAL INFORMATION FOR RESPONDENTS......................................7

RFI Point of Contact:

Brantly Tomlinson

Senior Consultant

South Carolina Office of Resilience

(803) 767-9218

SECTION I: SCOPE OF WORK FOR INFORMATION

Background:

Beginning in June 2026, the South Carolina Office of Resilience (SCOR), South Carolina Department of Natural Resources (SCDNR), South Carolina Department of Insurance (SCDOI), and South Carolina Emergency Management Division (SCEMD), created a working group to discuss, research and study the topic of Parametric Insurance, and define parameters based on historic storm, natural disaster, and weather-related event data in South Carolina to utilize for the Request for Information (RFI) on a Parametric Insurance Policy for the State.

The purpose of the working group is to provide a concise, decision-focused briefing that examines parametric insurance as a potential disaster relief funding tool; summarize historical storm, natural disaster, and weather-related events from 2010 to present that may serve as illustrative models for potential parametric insurance payouts; and establish recommended metrics and parameters based on historical research to support a request for proposal and policy quote development. The final work product will include both a briefing memorandum and a proposed insurance policy quote framework based upon the parameters identified by the Working Group.

South Carolina State Agencies in Working Group:

South Carolina Office of Resilience

South Carolina Department of Insurance

South Carolina Emergency Management Division

South Carolina Department of Natural Resources

Goals and Outcomes:

The Working Group is issuing this Request for Information (RFI) to seek information from insurance providers and/or other entities who work with and have expert knowledge of Parametric Insurance Policies.

This RFI seeks responses from private insurance carriers and/or providers with experience developing and underwriting policies related to Parametric Insurance; ideally with experience in issuing policies at a State or regional level.

The working group will use the information gathered through this RFI process to develop a briefing memorandum on Parametric Insurance for the South Carolina General Assembly to discuss during the upcoming legislative session beginning in January 2027.

SECTION II: INFORMATION REQUESTED

The working group appreciates any information you can provide regarding the triggers and parameters below for a parametric insurance policy quote. Please see below the defined triggers, parameters, and the projected premium payouts for the specific policy limits as defined by the working group for the RFI:

Questions and statements that the working group would like to have answered and included in the insurance policy quote:

What would be the estimated annual premium for a policy with limits for each of the defined amounts - $50,000,000, $100,000,000 and $200,000,000?

Please include a policy estimate for each of the policy limits above for each hazard defined below as Hurricane, Flood, Storm Surge, Earthquake, and Drought.

The Working Group has identified proposed trigger thresholds for each hazard and requests respondents to develop a recommended tiered percentage payout structure for each annual limit ($50M, $100M, $200M) associated with each hazard and defined trigger. For each tier, please identify the proposed trigger, the corresponding percentage of the policy limit that would be paid, and the methodology used to measure and verify the trigger.

Unless otherwise stated under the hazard, the policy should be drafted to cover the entire state of South Carolina; if a region of the state is included, please draft the policy based upon that region, if possible.

Please provide a statement on what happens when the specific monitoring device and / or gauge are not functioning at the time of the hazard event taking place.

The Working Group recognizes that respondents may have expertise and experience with alternative parametric insurance structures, trigger mechanisms, indices, or measurement methodologies that differ from those identified in this RFI. Respondents are encouraged to propose alternative triggers, parameters, indices, data sources, geographic coverage areas, or payout structures that they believe would result in a more effective, reliable, marketable, or cost-efficient parametric insurance policy for the State of South Carolina. For each alternative recommendation, respondents should provide the rationale for the recommendation, describe the advantages and potential limitations, and explain how the proposed approach would improve policy performance, market availability, pricing, or claims administration compared to the parameters identified in this RFI.

Hazards with Descriptive Parameters Requested:

Hurricane

Region of the State: State of South Carolina

Trigger: CAT 2 and above with sustained winds for 96 mph and above

Devices / Gauges to determine trigger: TBD

Flood

Region of the State: PeeDee Watershed in South Carolina

Trigger: Major Flood Event (as defined NWS River Forecast Center water gauges for the major rivers) begins the tiered payout structure.

Devices / Gauges to determine trigger: Defined U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) water gauges and NOAA Tide Gauges that have a major flood level defined by the NWS River Forecast Center

Storm Surge

Region of the State: Coastal Counties in South Carolina

Trigger: Storm Surge 6 foot in height and above normal predicted astronomical tide

Devices / Gauges to determine trigger: TBD

Earthquake

Region of the State: Charleston / Summerville Seismic Zone in South Carolina

Trigger: Modified Mercalli Intensity Scale Intensity Level VI

Devices / Gauges to determine trigger: USGS ShakeMap

Drought

Region of the State: Any County in the State of South Carolina

Trigger: Drought Intensity Map Touches Level D4 (Exceptional Drought)in any portion of a county

Devices / Gauges to determine trigger: US Drought Monitor

SECTION III: DISCLAIMER & CONFIDENTIALITY

This RFI is issued solely for information and planning purposes and does not constitute a solicitation for future business, an offer for procurement, or any other type of current or future procurement or contractual action and is only intended to gather input. The Working Group will not award a contract based on this RFI, nor will it pay for the information it receives. Responses to this notice are not offers and cannot be accepted by the Working Group to form a binding contract. No party is bound by the information provided in response to this RFI. Responding to this RFI does not provide any advantage or disadvantage to any considerations for the state to pursue a Parametric Insurance Policy.

Respondents may provide market-based pricing structures and describe potential services or solutions for planning purposes only.

Respondents are solely responsible for all expenses associated with responding to this RFI. The Working Group is not liable for any costs or fees incurred by the respondent in preparing its responses.

Confidentiality:

If any of the information in the vendor response is considered confidential, proprietary, or a trade secret, it must be clearly indicated on the appropriate page of the vendor response. Release of such materials is governed by the South Carolina Freedom of Information Law, which in pertinent part requires the requester to provide specific justification as to why disclosure of particular information in the response would cause substantial injury to the competitive position of the vendor. It is incumbent upon the vendor to specify company-specific trade secrets in need of protection where public disclosure of said trade secrets would harm the company.

Public Access to Procurement Information in South Carolina:

SECTION 11-35-410. Public access to procurement information.

A) Procurement information must be a public record to the extent required by Chapter 4, Title 30 (The Freedom of Information Act), except as otherwise provided by this code, and with the exception that commercial or financial information obtained in response to a request for proposals or any type of bid solicitation that is privileged and confidential need not be disclosed.

(B) Privileged and confidential information is information in specific detail not customarily released to the general public, the release of which might cause harm to the competitive position of the party supplying the information. Examples of this type of information include: (1) customer lists; (2) design recommendations and identification of prospective problem areas under an RFP; (3) design concepts, including methods and procedures; (4) biographical data on key employees of the bidder.

(C) The board shall promulgate regulations directing the public availability and disposition of documents submitted in response or with regard to a solicitation or other request where no award is made.

(D) For all documents submitted in response or with regard to any solicitation or other request, the person submitting the documents shall comply with instructions provided in the solicitation for marking information exempt from public disclosure. Information not marked as required by the applicable instructions may be disclosed to the public.

(E) A governmental body, with the approval of the appropriate chief procurement officer, may keep portions of a solicitation confidential and release the information to prospective offerors only upon execution of a nondisclosure agreement, provided the information is otherwise exempted from disclosure by law.

(F) If requested in writing before a final award by an actual bidder, offeror, contractor, or subcontractor with regard to a specific intended award or award of a contract, the procurement officer shall, within five days of the receipt of any such request, make documents directly connected to the procurement activity and not otherwise exempt from disclosure available for inspection at an office of the responsible procurement officer. Without otherwise limiting any other exemptions granted by law, and except as provided herein, documents of and documents incidental to proposed contractual arrangements, including those used for contract negotiations, are not exempt from disclosure after the date notice of intent to award is posted, unless the notice is subsequently canceled.

SECTION IV: INSTRUCTIONS AND ADDITIONAL INFORMATION FOR RESPONDENTS

The primary point of contact for this RFI is below:

Brantly Tomlinson

Senior Consultant

South Carolina Office of Resilience

(803) 767-9218

Questions regarding this RFI can be submitted to Brantly Tomlinson, Senior Consultant at South Carolina Office of Resilience via email at brantly.tomlinson@scor.sc.gov. The Working Group will make the best efforts to respond to questions submitted. Early submission of questions increases the chances of response. Responses to any questions by the working group will be shared with all RFI respondents. The deadline for submitting questions for the Q&A period is Friday, August 7, 2026, 12:00 pm ET.

RFI responses should be submitted electronically to Brantly Tomlinson via email to brantly.tomlinson@scor.sc.gov, in PDF format, not exceeding ten pages, 12-point font, 1-inch margins, with "SC Parametric Insurance RFI Response - [Organization Name]" in the email subject line. In addition to answers to the questions listed above, responses should include the name of the organization/respondent, organization/respondent address, primary contact person, email, and phone number.

Any person submitting information that he or she believes to be confidential and exempt by law from public disclosure should submit via email two well-marked copies: one copy of the document marked "confidential" with all information, including information believed to be confidential, and one copy of the document marked "non-confidential" with the information believed to be confidential deleted. Failure to comply with these marking requirements may result in the disclosure of unmarked information under public records requests or otherwise. The Working Group is not liable for the disclosure or use of unmarked information. Any person submitting information must adhere to all governmental privacy laws and regulations.