27-002 - RFP for Health Insurance Broker

CITY OF CLIFTON
REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL
27-002 -HEALTH INSURANCE BROKERS
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NOTICE OF REQUEST FOR FAIR AND OPEN PROPOSAL
Pursuant to N.J.S.A. 19:44A-20.4 et seq., the City of Clifton is soliciting Fair and Open
Proposals for Health Insurance Broker for a contract period of one (1) year from date of
contract award or start of the year. Proposals shall be endorsed "Health Insurance Broker"
and delivered to Purchasing Agent Amisha Jariwala, City of Clifton, 900 Clifton Avenue,
Clifton, New Jersey 07013.
Due Date: October 1,2026, at 11:00 AM
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CITY OF CLIFTON
REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS
HEALTH INSURANCE BROKER SERVICES FOR THE CITY OF CLIFTON
The City of Clifton is soliciting a Request for Proposal ("RFP") to provide Health Insurance
Broker Services to the City, as directed by the Municipal Attorney or designee thereof, for
a contract period of one (1) year from date of contract award or Start of the Year. All
candidates are required to comply with N.J.S.A. 10:5-31, et seq. and N.J.A.C. 17:27 as
amended (Affirmative Action).
I - GENERAL
All questions relating to the RFP shall be submitted in writing to City of Clifton Purchasing
Agent, Amisha Jariwala, via email to: ajariwala@cliftonnj.org, no later than 3:00 PM on
September 22,2026. Any questions, which in the opinion of the City warrant a return reply
or an amendment to the RFP, will be furnished to all parties not less than seven (7) business
days prior to receipt of Proposals.
Proposals shall be received no later than 11:00 AM on October 1,2026 and must be made
on the basis that they either meet or exceed the requirements contained herein.
II - SCOPE OF SERVICES
1.Purpose
The City of Clifton is soliciting proposals from licensed insurance brokers in New Jersey to perform
insurance brokerage services and to represent the City as Broker of Record for the City's Self-Insured
Employee Health, Prescription and Dental Benefits. The Broker of Record shall demonstrate prior
experience in the brokerage of public employee insurance, specifically self-funded benefits.
2.Duties and Responsibilities
The Broker of Record (hereinafter the "Broker") shall:
Procure Health and Dental Insurance Coverage
The Broker will be responsible for analyzing and recommending any and all health, prescription and dental
insurance coverage for the City of Clifton. The Broker of Record, when requested, is to market and provide
competitive proposals for City review, evaluation, and consideration. The Broker is to review present
policies and plans for accuracy, compliance, and financial prudency and make any recommendations to the
City.
The Broker is to identify all issues and exposures as it pertains to health, prescription and dental benefits
and to inform the City of the latest developments affecting the insurance.
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The Broker is to provide any recommendations upon completion of reviews that would be a cost benefit
savings to the City will be in compliance with the Collective Bargaining Contracts.
The Broker is to provide assistance to the City in the budget planning process, including the evaluation and
impact of rate changes to health prescriptions and dental benefit costs. Broker should be able to provide the
City with reasons for projected renewal figures during the budget process.
b. Familiarize with City's Collective Bargaining Agreements
The Broker is required to familiarize themselves with the present health insurance, prescription insurance
and dental insurance coverages and present Collective Bargaining Agreements of the City to allow for
comprehensive comparison and analysis of submitted proposals as to ensure equal or better coverage to the
existing plan.
c. Monitor Federal and State Law & Code
The Broker is required to be knowledgeable of all Federal and State Law & Regulations as it pertains to
health, prescription and dental benefits coverage to provide the latest updates to the city, especially to the
City Attorney and Human Resources Coordinator. The Broker is to provide all assistance in implementing
any or all Federal and State Law & Regulations as it pertains to health, prescription, and dental benefits.
d. Liaison and Intermediary for City
The Broker will serve as a liaison and intermediary with all insurance carriers or Third-Party
Administrators, on the City's behalf in resolving any or all concerns, complaints, or disputes with health,
prescription and dental insurance coverages.
e. Broker Availability
The Broker of Record and/or their professional staff shall be available to City officials during work hours
for telecommunications and/or electronic communication support and available for staff and council
meetings as needed.
f. Broker Assistance to Retirees
When requested by the City, the Broker shall provide the City any guidance as it pertains to health benefit
plans to City retirees.
g. Monitor Carrier Compliance/Claims Services:
Broker will monitor and ensure carrier compliance with all plans, commitments and facilitate working
relationships with the carrier and the City. Broker is responsible for quarterly review and analysis of claims
and financial data, including identifying allowable and unallowable claim costs, and relevant discounts,
rebates, and credits for the City.
h. Managing Health Benefits Program: The Broker will assist the Health Benefits Coordinator in
managing all aspects of the health benefits programs, including enrollment activities.
Broker shall assist the district in evaluating and settling employee grievances relating to health benefit
issues.
i. Broker must be qualified and authorized to be recognized as broker of record for all prospective
insurance carriers and companies for the City.
j. Reviewing policies and endorsements for accuracy and conformity to specifications and negotiated
coverage.
k. Reviewing all correspondence referred to by the City, and preparation of correspondence on behalf of
the City, if requested.
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III - MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE
Proposer for the position of Broker of Record must meet the following minimum qualifications:
a.) The Broker must maintain its principal business office within the State of New Jersey.
b.) The Broker shall be able to designate a dedicated account manager to handle the services required by
the City.
c.) Must have five (5) years' experience as a Broker of Record for a public agency.
d.) Must be responsive to telephone calls and inquiries.
e.) The Broker must be actively licensed as a New Jersey insurance Broker for a minimum of five (5) years.
f.) Broker must demonstrate knowledge of insurance brokerage issues pursuant to the applicable laws and
regulations of the State of New Jersey.
g.) Broker must list past and present public entities represented.
h.) Broker must have sufficient staff to perform the services set forth in the Scope of Services in the RFP.
i.) Must demonstrate ability to provide the services in a timely fashion (including staffing, familiarity and
location of key staff).
IV - PROFESSIONAL INFORMATION REQUIREMENTS
The Respondent:
1. Shall provide Name, Federal I.D. number, address, phone and fax numbers of the firm
submitting the proposal and a brief description of background such as years in business, size
of staff and any affiliations.
2. Shall provide Name, title and address of principal/individual preparing this response and the
contact person for the RFP.
3. Shall describe the professional achievements of the firm and the principal who would be
assigned to the City of Clifton as its account manager such as educational background,
licenses, number of clients handled and number of years of experience. Resumes or
summarized credentials are to be attached.
4. Shall provide a list of New Jersey public sector entities for which the firm has provided
similar services to those contained herein, including the name, title and phone number of the
appropriate contact person within the entity.
5. All respondents must be partners, owners, employees of the firm.
6. The Respondent may submit any supplemental information it deems important to the
evaluation of this proposal and the reason why it should be considered in the overall
evaluation of the proposal.
7. Shall supply at least four (4) references, three (3) of which must have knowledge of your
service to public entities.
8. Shall supply Business Registration Certificate (prior to contract award);
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V - COMPENSATION
1. Respondent shall sign, complete and submit the attached proposal form.
VI - CONTRACT TERMS AND CONDITIONS
1. The term of this agreement shall be for one year.
2. Respondent's proposal shall remain valid for a period of ninety (90) days after submission
and will be considered as a binding offer to perform the required services.
3. Respondents shall comply with all Local, State and Federal directives, orders, and laws as
applicable to this proposal.
4. The successful Respondent shall not assign or transfer this agreement to any other person or
company without prior consent and approval in writing from the City of Clifton.
5. Only one (1) proposal from the same Firm will be considered. A Respondent submitting
more than one (1) proposal will cause the rejection of all the proposals of said consultant. If
there is a reason for believing that collusion exists among Respondents, those proposals
shall be rejected.
6. All proposals and documents submitted to the City of Clifton in response to this RFP shall
become the property of the City of Clifton and are subject to the Open Public Records Act
of the State of New Jersey, after the contract is awarded.
7. The City of Clifton may secure background information based upon the references provided
in this RFP.
VII - SELECTION CRITERIA
The City reserves the right to award a contract to the vendor as determined to be in the best interest of the
City based upon the selection criteria.
The selection criteria used in the awarding contract as described herein shall include:
1.) Qualifications of the individuals who will perform the tasks and the degree of their respective
participation.
2.) Experience and References
3.) Ability to perform the task in a timely fashion, including staffing and familiarity with the subject matter.
4.) Cost competitiveness
5.) Minimum of 5 years of successful experience in providing similar services to municipalities the size of
the City of Clifton.
6.) Senior staff members must be available for emergencies after regular business hours.
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7.) Other factors the Mayor & Council deem to be in the best interest of the City of Clifton and its
taxpayers.
A final award shall be made by resolution adopted by a majority of the Mayor and Council based upon the
proposal made to the City that has been determined to be the most advantageous to the City, price and
all other factors considered. The City further reserves the right to conduct an interview or interviews with
the prospective proposer to discuss the scope of the services as outlined in the proposer's proposal. All
awards are and shall be subject to the availability of funds.
The City of Clifton in its sole discretion and reserves the right to reject any or all proposals and to waive
any or all irregularities as are in the best interest of the City.
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PACKET C
1. That The Following Required Documents are properly executed and included as directed.
Seller
DOCUMENT CHECKLIST
Initials
Vendor Information Form
Fee Proposal / Required - sign
Corporate Disclosure
Business Registration Certificate - please provide a photocopy
Disclosure Statement - sign
Stockholder Disclosure Certification (Ownership Statement) - sign
Non-Collusion Affidavit Form - sign and notarize
Affirmative Action (copy of organization's Employee Information Certificate)
Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 Language - read and sign
Disclosure of Investment Activities in Iran, Russia, and Belarus - sign and return
NOTICE: Pursuant to N.J.A.C. 17:44-2.2 the Vendor shall maintain all documentation related to products,
transactions or services under this contract for a period of five (5) years from the date of final payment.
Such records shall be made available to the New Jersey Office of the State Comptroller upon request
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CITY OF CLIFTON
NEW/UPDATED VENDOR FORM
REQUIRED WHEN DOING BUSINESS WITH THE CITY
NAME OF COMPANY: _____________________________________________________________
MAILING ADDRESS: ______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
PHONE /FAX NUMBER: ____________________________________________________________
1) FOR PURCHASE ORDERS:
CONTACT PERSON: _______________________________________________________________
EMAIL ADDRESS: _________________________________________________________________
2) FOR PAYMENT/REMIT-TO:
ADDRESS: ____________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
REMIT-TO CONTACT PERSON: _____________________________________________________
REMIT-TO EMAIL ADDRESS: _______________________________________________________
TAX IDENTIFICATION NUMBER (W-9): _____________________________________________
NOTE: MUST SUBMIT COPY OF W-9, BUSINESS REGISTRATION CERTIFICATE, AND
ACH INFO TO:
AMISHA J. JARIWALA, PURCHASING AGENT
DIVISION OF PURCHASING
900 CLIFTON AVENUE,
CLIFTON, NJ 07013
973-470-5754 (p)
973-470-9456 (f)
ajariwala@cliftonnj.org (e)
Re 11_2023
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PROPOSAL FEE PAGE
The undersigned has completed the required forms herein and promises to provide the services and
ancillary activities as proposed with associated costs delineated in the appropriate spaces below.
The proposer must identify if fee is to be paid by Carrier (indicate C) or by the Municipality (indicate M).
1) Medical - _________% commission or flat fee of $___________________ to be paid by _____ (C or M)
2) Prescription - ______% commission or Flat Fee of $__________________ to be paid by ____ (C or M)
3) Dental - %________ of the first $____________ in Premium, %__________ of the next $________ in premium,
and %_________ thereafter, all commissions to paid by _____ (C or M)
4) Stop Loss - ______% commission |or| Flat Fee of $ __________________ to be paid by ____ (C or M)
5) Administrative Fees (If any) $___________________________ to be paid by _____ (C or M)
6) In lieu of a percentage or flat fee for Medical, Prescription and Stop Loss, propose a Per Employee Per Month
fee of _______ paid by the Carrier to the Broker.
7) The City of Clifton is currently self-insured. Where percentages are proposed, you must indicate below
specifically what the proposed percentage commission is based upon in each instance for which a percentage
is proposed. Also, provide details and fee structures for any additional items in the spaces below:
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
COMPANY NAME__________________________________________________________________
ADDRESS_________________________________________________________________________
CITY ______________________________________ STATE _______ ZIP _____________________
SIGNATURE_____________________________________________ DATE____________________
PRINT NAME_____________________________________ TITLE___________________________
TELEPHONE #____________________________ FAX #________________________________
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