Third Party Claims Administrator Services

Overview

Financial, Legal, HR & Staffing

Everett, Washington, United StatesPosted 2 months agoDeadline: March 25th, 2026

Fit Score

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SUMMARY

The city is seeking a third party administrator to manage and resolve various liability claims, including public entity, automobile, and employment practices, for a three-year contract.

KEY REQUIREMENTS

Provide high-quality liability claims-adjusting services with qualified adjusters experienced in public-entity claims adjusting
Coordinate claims handling activities with the City's Risk Manager
Set up a claim file within 24 business hours of receipt of the claim
Send an acknowledgment letter for all new files opened
Review claims to verify compliance with Washington state filing requirements
Issue appropriate letters and notices to the claimant with prior approval from the City's Risk Manager
Maintain a complete electronic claim file for each reported claim, available for city review
Establish claims calendar diaries for review at a minimum of every thirty (30) calendar days
Document all correspondence relating to the claim, including phone conversations, in-person meetings, and electronic communication
Assign an initial reserve within 15 calendar days of claims assignment and provide periodic updates
Establish and document initial direction on claims handling and investigation within five (5) working days
Coordinate investigations of litigated claims with city-approved attorneys and excess insurance carrier adjusters/attorneys
Review all claimed damages for causal relationship and reasonableness of charges
Provide prompt resolution of non-contested claims
Gather damages documentation and negotiate reasonable settlements with prior written approval
All claim settlements require city approval, with those exceeding $20,000 requiring city council approval
Maintain current knowledge of city liability coverage and reporting requirements for excess insurance carrier(s)
Provide a written report for proposed claims settlement or recommended claims denial
Respond promptly and courteously to inquiries from claimants, claimant representatives, and city staff
Consult and cooperate with the city and its employees to achieve a successful program, including full cooperation with claims audits
Assign specific dedicated claim staff to the city's account and communicate changes in advance
Assertively investigate each claim using competent and qualified personnel
Contact all witnesses promptly after receipt of the claim and document attempts
Ensure city department and designated employees have submitted statements before determining liability
Promptly assess and identify claims exposure that may exceed $50,000 and notify the city
Investigate potential subrogation and third-party liability situations and pursue recovery with city approval
Identify all subrogation claims and initiate a written report on potential success and costs
Assist in the preparation of litigated cases and participate in hearings and settlement actions as needed
Prepare and provide legal counsel with a complete electronic claim file copy within five (5) working days of notice of litigation
Maintain all records electronically
Provide narrative or analytical reports of litigated cases whenever requested by the city
Act as the city's Reporting Agent in compliance with Medicare Secondary Payer requirements (CMS Section 111)
Review inactive files with the city within sixty (60) calendar days of last activity
Inform city staff of any changes to current laws impacting the city's liability claims program
Advise city staff of any claim trends and provide monthly data and analytics
Provide ad hoc reports upon request
Provide monthly statistical reports depicting claims opened/closed, payments, and current reserves
Respond to inquiries from the city's excess carrier and provide requested reports
Retain and store all claims records in an electronic format accessible to the city, remaining the exclusive property of the city
Protect audit information and audit tools from unauthorized access, modification, and deletion
Retain audit records for a minimum of 1 year, with 3 months immediately available for analysis
Use File Integrity Monitor (FIM) to monitor logs to ensure existing logs cannot be changed without generating an alert
Define and document critical system files, configuration files, or content files and add them to FIM
Prohibit or restrict the use of ports, protocols, and services to only those justified and required for operation
Install only justified, documented, and authorized software
Document inventory of information system components, including system boundary, hardware, software, and network details
Explicitly note and review licensing for open-source software to ensure compliance
Prohibit user installation of software without explicit privileged status
Prevent the installation of applications without verification that the component has been digitally signed using a Port-approved certificate
Implement only one primary function per server to prevent functions with different security levels from co-existing
Remove all unnecessary functionality, such as scripts, drivers, features, subsystems, file systems, and web servers
Reference the Open Web Application Security Project (OWASP) Development Guide during application development
Demonstrate mitigation against the OWASP Top 10 most critical web application security risks
Conduct backups of system-level information consistent with recovery time and recovery point objectives
Encrypt backup storage
Uniquely identify and authenticate users
Implement multifactor/two-factor authentication for network access to privileged accounts
Incorporate two-factor authentication for remote network access originating from outside the network
Change default, factory, and vendor-supplied authentication credentials prior to information system installation
Remove or disable unnecessary/unneeded accounts
Disable or remove generic user IDs
Do not hardcode authentication credentials into code or software
Enforce a minimum password complexity of 8 characters, a mix of upper-case letters, lower-case letters, numbers, and special characters
Store and transmit only encrypted representations of passwords
Enforce password minimum and maximum lifetime restrictions (1 day minimum, 90 days maximum)
Prohibit password reuse for 15 generations
Allow the use of a temporary password for system logons with an immediate change to a semi-permanent password
Unencrypted static authenticators will not be embedded in applications or access scripts or stored on function keys
Obscure/mask authenticator feedback during authentication (e.g., display asterisks or dots)
Change all wireless vendor defaults at installation
Reasonably support automated scans for vulnerabilities in the information system and hosted applications
Prevent the presentation of information system management-related functionality at an interface for non-privileged users
No external facing access from the system to the display system is allowed
Use strong cryptography and security protocols (e.g., SSL/TLS, IPSEC, SSH) to safeguard sensitive data during transmission over open, public networks
Prohibit remote activation of collaborative computing devices
Encrypt all non-console administrative access using strong cryptography (e.g., SSH, VPN, SSL/TLS)
Use strong cryptography and security protocols to safeguard authentication credentials (e.g., passwords) during transmission
All system communication (including intersystem communication) shall use Kerberos authentication and TLS encryption
All natively run Microsoft Windows laptops will implement Bitlocker as their full disk encryption solution
Install security-relevant software and firmware updates within 30 days of release
Install malicious code protection on all systems
Update malicious code protection mechanisms automatically or whenever new releases are available, no less than weekly
Complete periodic scans of the information system at least weekly and real-time scans of files from external sources
Malicious code protection mechanisms will generate audit logs and cannot be disabled by users
Do not store the full contents of any payment card track data, card verification codes (CVV2, CVC2, CID, CAV2), or personal identification numbers (PIN) or encrypted PIN blocks
Restrict access to cryptographic keys to the fewest number of custodians necessary
Document and demonstrate how security engineering principles are applied when developing new information systems or undergoing major upgrades
All terminals that will accept credit/debit cards must be EMV (Europay, MasterCard and Visa) Level 1 (hardware) & 2 (software) certified

BUDGET

Estimate

$300,000 – $1,500,000

CONTRACT DURATION

36 months

TIMELINE

Issue Date: February 26th, 2026

Deadline for Final Questions: March 15th, 2026

Proposal Due Date: March 25th, 2026

Anticipated Award: May 2026

Anticipated Contract Start Date: June 2026

Anticipated Contract Term: 3 years with continuous two (2) year extension options

QUESTION DEADLINE

March 16th, 2026

Issuing Agency

City of Everett

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DESCRIPTION

The city seeks a qualified vendor to provide third party claims administrator services for public entity liability, automobile liability, and employment practices liability. The scope of work includes routine claim processing functions such as receiving accident information, coordinating with external insurance agencies or individuals, managing claim subrogation, adjusting claims, negotiating settlements, and maintaining records of accident and claim expenses.

The selected firm is expected to deliver high-quality liability claims-adjusting services with personnel who are experienced in public-entity claims adjusting. Responsibilities also include verifying claims comply with state requirements, prompt resolution of non-contested claims, and thorough review of all claimed damages for causation and charge reasonableness. Assertive investigation of each claim, including contacting witnesses and evaluating liability and damages, is required.

The vendor must investigate subrogation and third-party liability situations, pursuing recovery from third parties with the city's approval. Additionally, the firm will advise city staff on any claims trends impacting the program and provide monthly data and analytics to the risk manager. The contract term will be three years.

Source attribution

This Settle analysis is based on the issuing organization’s public RFP listing.