From
Lisa Norris, Human Resources Director
Title
Four-year agreement for Life and Long Term Disability insurance through Dearborn National, effective January 1, 2015 through December 31, 2018, with renewal options, at an annual estimated cost of $421,000 for Life Insurance and $80,000 for Long Term Disability Insurance, for a total four-year contract amount of $2,004,000; and authorize the City Manager to renew this contract for additional one-year periods beyond the original contract period if such cost is appropriated in the annual budget and does not increase by more than 25% or $50,000, over all renewal years combined
Presenter
Lisa Norris, Human Resources Director
Recommend Action
Approve
Analysis
The city's current agreement with Reliance Standard for Life Insurance and Long Term Disability benefits began on January 1, 2011 and expires December 31, 2014. Current benefits offered include:
- city-provided basic life insurance up to two-times the employee's annual base salary
- optional employee life insurance for an additional 1x, 2x, or 3x their annual base salary
- optional employee Accidental Death and Dismemberment Insurance equal to 1x, 2x, 3x, 4x, or 5x their annual base salary
- spouse life insurance
- child life insurance
- and Spouse Accidental Death and Dismemberment coverage.
The City also offers Long-term Disability coverage to employees at no cost to the employee. Coverage includes benefit eligibility after 180 days off work, and up to 50% of their pre-disability earnings.
The City issued a Request for Proposal (RFP) in May 2014 for competitive quotes on these benefits effective January 2015. Carriers were notified of the RFP via normal purchasing processes. Seven carriers proposed on Life Insurance and six carriers proposed on Long Term Disability benefits for city analysis. A summary of the carrier responses, fees and scored analysis by City staff is attached.
Each proposer was ranked on 3 primary factors through weighted percentages: 1) Services offered (ability to match existing benefits and plan design) received 40% weighting, 2) References received 20% weighting, and 3) Fees/Renewals received 40% weighting. Based on the analysis, Dearborn National received the highest ranking and is selected as the carrier of choice for both Life and Long Term Disability Insurance. Our current carrier failed to submit a quote for consideration.
The Dearborn National proposal includes the following key changes/provisions effective January 1, 2015:
1. Decrease in city-paid Basic Life Insurance premiums from .12/$1,000 to .07/$1,000 of base salary,
2. Decrease in city-paid Long Term Disability premiums from .125/$100 of base salary to .123/$100 of base salary;
3. Decrease in Employee Optional Life fees which are fully employee-paid;
4. Decrease in Spouse Life fees which are fully employee-paid;
5. Decrease in Voluntary AD&D fees which are fully employee-paid.
Dearborn National has provided a 4-year rate guarantee on all products, with the option to renew beyond the initial contract period if the city and carrier can reach written agreement within city provisions/thresholds.
This information will be reviewed before the Finance and Government Committee for their consideration prior to Council consideration on the same night.
Financial Consideration
City-paid Life insurance premiums are currently budgeted at $574,523 which is more than the $421,000 per year projected new fees beginning in January 2015. Long Term Disability premiums are budgeted at $84,507 for fiscal year 2015, and the projected annual cost for this new contract is $80,000 per year. In both cases, we are beneath the budgeted amount, so no additional funding is necessary.