The Baylor College of Medicine Children’s Foundation – Lesotho (BCMCFL)
REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS
RFP #: BAYLOR-COE RFP-2026-04
PROVISION OF INSURANCE BROKERAGE, INSURANCE ADVISORY, RISK MANAGEMENT, POLICY ADMINISTRATION AND CLAIMS MANAGEMENT SERVICES
Background
The Baylor College of Medicine Children’s Foundation – Lesotho (BCMCFL) also referred to as Baylor Foundation Lesotho is the result of a partnership between Baylor International Paediatric Aids Initiative (BIPAI) and the Government of Lesotho, and is a legal, non-profit/tax-exempted organization in Lesotho. BCMCFL provides free paediatric and family-centred HIV and tuberculosis prevention, care, treatment and support, serving thousands of children and families affected by HIV, TB, or other child health conditions.
Requirements
BCMCFL requires an insurance program that provides appropriate protection for its motor vehicles, buildings, contents, employees and other identified operational risks. BCMCFL seeks to engage through a competition bidding process, an experienced insurance broker capable of providing the Foundation with comprehensive, cost-effective and appropriate insurance solutions, while ensuring that the Foundation receives professional advice, competitive insurance terms, effective claims support and ongoing portfolio management.
BCMCFL therefore invites suitably qualified, experienced and duly licensed insurance brokerage firms operating in Lesotho to submit proposals for the provision of insurance brokerage, insurance advisory, risk management, policy administration and claims management services as per below scope of work.
Scope of Work (SOW)
The appointed broker shall provide comprehensive insurance brokerage and advisory services including but not limited to (the detailed scope of work under Terms of Reference attached as Annex 1):
- Motor Vehicle Insurance;
- Buildings Insurance;
- Buildings and Contents Insurance;
- Office Equipment and Assets;
- Public Liability;
- Business Interruption, where appropriate;
- Stated Benefits;
- Employee-related insurance benefits, where applicable; and
- Any other insurance cover recommended following a professional risk assessment.
The successful broker will be expected to undertake a detailed review of the Foundation’s insurance requirements and recommend appropriate levels of cover, limits of indemnity, sums insured, excesses, extensions and exclusions.
Deliverables
The successful Service Provider shall provide the following deliverables (clear deliverables under Terms of Reference attached as Annex 1):
- Insurance Risk Assessment Report
- Insurance Programme Recommendation
- Quotation and Market Comparison
- Policy Documentation
- Portfolio Management Report
- Claims Report
- Annual Insurance Review
Compliance to Conditions/Submission Requirements
To ensure fair and transparent evaluation, bidders shall structure their proposals in accordance with the requirements below.
Proposals shall be:
- Prepared in English;
- Submitted electronically in PDF format unless otherwise instructed;
- Clear and concise;
- Fully responsive to this TOR; and
- Structured in the order prescribed below
The proposal shall consist of:
- Mandatory Pre-Qualification Documents;
- Technical Proposal
- Pitch Presentation (upon request); and
- Financial Proposal, when requested.
- Mandatory Pre-Qualification Documents
| No. | Requirement | Evidence Required |
| 1 | Regulatory Authorization | Valid insurance brokerage license/registration |
| 2 | Legal Registration | Certificate of incorporation/Company extract Valid relevant trading license |
| 3 | Tax Compliance | Valid Relevant Tax Clearance Certificate |
| 4 | Letter of Introduction | Signed by authorized representative |
| 5 | Professional Indemnity | Valid Professional Indemnity Insurance certificate |
| 6 | Workmen’s Compensation | Valid certificate/policy where applicable |
| 7 | Company Profile | Current company profile |
| 8 | Bid Validity | Minimum 90 days |
| 9 | Conflict of Interest Declaration | Signed declaration (Attached as Annex 2) |
| 10 | Physical Presence in Lesotho | Evidence of Lesotho-based operations |
- Technical Proposal
The Technical Proposal shall contain the following sections.
2A. Letter of Introduction
A one-page letter signed by an authorized representative including:
- Company name;
- Physical and postal address;
- Contact details;
- Name of authorized signatory;
- Designation;
- Confirmation of authority to submit the proposal; and
- Confirmation of willingness to undertake the assignment.
2B. Company Profile
The bidder shall provide:
- Company background;
- Ownership structure;
- Years of operation;
- Office locations;
- Regulatory status;
- Organizational structure;
- Number of employees;
- Relevant areas of expertise; and
- Details of insurance brokerage capabilities.
2C. Understanding of the Foundation’s Requirements
The bidder shall demonstrate an understanding of:
- The Foundation’s insurance requirements;
- Motor insurance risks;
- Building and property risks;
- Liability risks;
- Stated benefits;
- Employee-related risks;
- Claims risks; and
- Other relevant operational exposures.
The bidder shall identify any additional risks it considers important.
2D. Approach and Methodology
The bidder shall provide a detailed methodology covering:
- Risk assessment;
- Identification of coverage gaps;
- Determination of appropriate sums insured;
- Insurance programme design;
- Market testing;
- Insurer negotiations;
- Policy placement;
- Renewal management;
- Claims management;
- Claims escalation;
- Claims trend analysis;
- Risk mitigation;
- Regulatory compliance;
- Portfolio administration; and
- Management reporting.
2E. Market Access and Insurer Relationships
The bidder shall provide:
- List/categories of insurers accessed;
- Description of insurer relationships;
- Market negotiation capability;
- Specialist market access;
- Claims service capability;
- Methodology for assessing insurers;
- Disclosure of preferred insurer arrangements; and
- Confirmation of independence and objective advice.
F. Reporting and Analytics Capability
The bidder shall demonstrate its ability to provide:
- Claims reports;
- Claims trend analysis;
- Portfolio reports;
- Renewal reports;
- Market comparison reports;
- Risk assessment reports;
- Premium analysis;
- Management dashboards; and
- Other relevant analytical reports.
Sample reports may be included.
2G. Value-Added Services
Bidders are encouraged to propose additional services, including:
- Employee insurance awareness;
- Insurance literacy sessions;
- Claims awareness sessions;
- Policy orientation;
- Risk management workshops;
- Digital claims tracking;
- Online policy administration;
- Training for Baylor College of Medicine Children’s Foundation Lesotho staff;
- Annual risk reviews; and
- Other innovative services.
2H. Service Levels and Performance Commitments
The bidder shall provide proposed SLAs covering:
- General enquiries;
- Policy amendments;
- Claims notification;
- Claims support;
- Claims escalation;
- Policy placement;
- Renewals;
- Reporting;
- Meetings; and
- Emergency support.
The bidder shall clearly state its proposed turnaround times.
2I. Implementation and Transition Plan
The bidder shall provide a detailed implementation plan. The implementation should address:
- Initial onboarding;
- Collection of existing policy information;
- Review of existing insurance;
- Risk assessment;
- Engagement with insurers;
- Transition from an existing broker, where applicable;
- Transfer of policy and claims records;
- Identification of outstanding claims;
- Renewal planning;
- Stakeholder engagement; and
- Measures to ensure continuity of cover.
The proposed implementation should preferably be completed within thirty (30) days of contract award, unless otherwise agreed.
2J. Company Experience and Track Record
The bidder shall demonstrate relevant experience in:
- Motor insurance;
- Property/buildings insurance;
- Contents insurance;
- Liability insurance;
- Stated benefits;
- Employee benefits;
- Claims management;
- Portfolio management; and
- Risk advisory services.
Bidders should provide details of comparable assignments undertaken within the last five (5) years.
At least three reference letters should be provided, including:
- Client name;
- Contact person;
- Telephone number;
- Email address;
- Nature of services provided; and
- Duration of engagement.
2K. Project Team
The bidder shall provide details of the proposed account team.
The submission should include:
- Organisational structure;
- Reporting lines;
- Relationship manager;
- Claims specialist;
- Technical support personnel;
- Roles and responsibilities;
- Qualifications;
- Professional memberships; and
- Relevant experience.
CVs of key personnel should be included and should preferably not exceed three pages per CV.
2L. Compliance and Risk Management
The bidder shall provide:
- Evidence of regulatory compliance;
- Conflict of interest declaration;
- Data protection measures;
- Confidentiality policies;
- Information security controls;
- Records management procedures;
- Business continuity arrangements;
- Internal governance procedures; and
- Quality assurance measures.
- Pitch Presentation
Only bidders meeting the minimum technical threshold may be invited to deliver a presentation to the Foundation.
The presentation may be used to:
- Validate the written proposal;
- Assess the bidder’s practical understanding;
- Assess the proposed team;
- Assess the proposed service model;
- Clarify the insurance programme;
- Evaluate claims management capability; and
- Assess the feasibility of the proposed approach.
- Financial Proposal
Financial proposals shall only be requested from bidders that successfully meet the technical requirements.
The bidder shall provide evidence demonstrating its financial and operational capacity to provide the services throughout the contract period.
This should include:
- Audited financial statements (past 3 recent years);
- 6 months of recent bank statements;
- Details of professional indemnity cover;
- Details of operational resources; and
- Any other information relevant to financial capacity.
The Financial Proposal shall clearly state:
- Brokerage/commission by insurance class;
- Advisory fees, if applicable;
- Administration/service fees;
All costs must be expressed in Lesotho Loti (LSL) and must clearly indicate VAT and other applicable taxes.
All commissions, fees, incentives and remuneration arrangements must be fully disclosed
N/B: Failure to comply with any of the conditions in “E” above and/or submit any of the requirements in “E” above shall lead to automatic disqualification for further evaluation due to non-compliance.
Bid Evaluation
The evaluation of Proposal shall be based on Compliance to the RFP Conditions per the evaluation criteria below:
| Criteria | Submission/Evaluation Requirements | Points |
| Mandatory Pre-Qualification Documents | -All documents as listed in E (1) above. Note: Only bidders that satisfy the mandatory requirements shall proceed to technical evaluation | Pass/Fail |
| Technical Proposal | -Approach and Methodology -Market Access and Insurer Relationships -Reporting and Analytics Capability -Value-Added Services -Service Level Agreements and Performance Commitments -Implementation Plan and Timeline -Company Experience and Track Record -Project Team Composition -Compliance and Risk Management Note: Bidders must obtain a minimum technical score of 70% to qualify for the pitch presentation stage | 20 10 10 8 8 10 12 10 12 |
| Pitch Presentation | -Clarity and quality of presentation – Understanding of the Foundation’s requirements – Proposed insurance and risk-management solution – Consistency with written proposal | 30 40 20 10 |
The final technical score shall be calculated as follows:
Written Technical Proposal: 80%
Pitch Presentation: 20%
Therefore:
Final Technical Score = (Written Technical Score × 80%) + (Pitch Score × 20%)
Only bidders achieving a minimum combined Technical Score of 70% shall proceed to Financial Evaluation.
- Financial Evaluation
Only technically qualified bidders shall be invited to submit Financial Proposals.
Financial proposals shall be evaluated based on:
- Financial and Operational Capability
- Total cost of brokerage services;
- Transparency of pricing;
- Brokerage/commission structure;
- Advisory fees;
- Administration fees;
- Additional charges;
- Disclosure of commissions and incentives; and
- Overall value for money
Contract Award
This Contract shall be awarded by the Baylor College of Medicine Children’s Foundation Lesotho to a proposal that would be deemed compliant with requirements and has been determined to be substantially responsive to the technical solution and is considered to offer the most economically advantageous evaluated price with all logistics taken into consideration including but not limited to:
- Due diligence;
- Verification of submitted information;
- Successful contract negotiations;
- Internal approvals; and
- Compliance with Baylor College of Medicine Children’s Foundation Lesotho procurement requirements.
Contract Duration and Time Frame
The successful bidder’s appointment will commence as soon as the contract has been signed and implementation should preferably be completed within thirty (30) days. The contract period is twelve (12) months, renewable subject to performance andagreement.
Submission Deadline and Format
Proposals must be submitted by e-mail as pdf document to [email protected] on or before 7 October 2026 at 5:00pm with RFP #: BAYLOR-COE RFP-2026-04 as the subject line.
Proposals received after the stated deadline may not be considered.
The Foundation shall not be responsible for delays arising from transmission failures, technical difficulties or other circumstances affecting submission
Clarifications
All requests for clarification regarding this RFP must be sent by email not later than 30 September 2026 to [email protected]
Conflict of Interest
Service providers are required to declare any conflict of interest they may have in the transaction for which the proposal is submitted or any potential conflict of interest. Conflict of interest form is attached to this document as Annex 2.
Cost of Responding
All costs associated with the preparation and submission of a proposal shall be borne by the bidder. These costs may include:
- Preparation of technical proposals;
- Preparation of financial proposals;
- Meetings;
- Presentations;
- Site visits;
- Clarifications; and
- Any other activities associated with responding to this procurement.
BCMCFL shall not be liable for any such costs regardless of the outcome of the procurement process.
No payment shall be made for work undertaken before formal appointment and execution of the contract
Disclaimer
- BCMCFL is not bound to award the contract to a Proposal with the lowest or any evaluated cost.
- Depending on the quality of the services rendered, BCMCFL reserves the right to limit the scope of/or terminate the agreement at any stage.
- BCMCFL reserves the right not to consider further any proposal where a conflict of interest exists or where potential conflict of interest may arise.
- BCMCFL reserves the right not to accept any proposal which does not comply with the TERMS OF REFERENCE and conditions set out in the proposal document.
- BCMCFL reserves the right to cancel the tender process, extend the proposals submission date, and accept/reject any or all proposals at any time at its sole discretion without assigning any reasons thereof.