Questions & Answers Version 2 (10/11/2014)

Transcription

1 Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency Erasmus+ Sport, Youth, and EU Aid Volunteers OPEN CALL FOR TENDERS Reference N EACEA/2014/09 Insurance for European Voluntary Service participants under the Erasmus+ Programme Questions & Answers Version 2 (10/11/2014)

2 Questions and answers 1. Is there information available concerning the insurance services provided for EVS volunteers within the Youth in Action Programme? In order to submit an offer we need that you provide us with the statistical overview for the last five years mentioning: Number of damages Amounts paid Amounts delivered Type and cause of the damage We are referring you to the statistics published together with the present document on the call for tenders dedicated webpage. These statistics have been extracted from the reports detailing the services provided and submitted annually to the Agency by the current contractor. Whilst respecting data protection rights, the information provided covers the last 5 years, as requested. Please note that these details are published solely for information purposes and are not provided as estimates of future outcomes with respect to the current call for tenders. 2. What is the maximum duration for the voluntary service of individuals to be insured under Key Action 2 (section 3.1 of the tender specifications)? EVS activities within Key Action 2 follow the same rules as applied to European Voluntary Service Key Action 1, hence the maximum duration for the voluntary service of individuals to be insured under Key Action 2 is 12 months. 3. Is it possible for have figures, for the last 5 years, of the previous insurance scheme for EVS volunteers within the Youth in Action Programme (number and sex of volunteers by country of sending and hosting, their dates and periods of mobility, their age country of origin, and details of the sending and hosting organisations? How many volunteers will take part in the different Key Actions and for how long? We are referring you to the statistics published together with the present document on the call for tenders dedicated webpage. These statistics have been extracted from the reports detailing the services provided and submitted annually to the Agency by the current contractor. The information provided covers the last 5 years, and covers the information which is available to the Agency whilst respecting data protection rights. For these reasons it is not possible to provide all of the details requested. Please note that these details are published solely for information purposes and are not provided as estimates of future outcomes with respect to the current call for tenders. By far the largest number of volunteers will participate in European Voluntary Service Key Action 1. An indication of the weighting can be identified though the Annual Workprogramme of DG Education and Culture for the implementation of Erasmus+, ( which specifies the budget available for each of the Key Actions. It is not possible to estimate the length of service for future volunteers. The information published alongside these FAQs provides details of the average length of service of volunteers under the Youth in Action Programme.

3 4. What levels of total and complementary insurance coverage are expected? There are no estimates regarding future coverage. For information purposes we are publishing, together with the present document, details of the levels of coverage concerning the insurance services provided for EVS volunteers under the previous Youth in Action Programme. Please note that these details are published solely for information purposes and are not provided as estimates of future outcomes with respect to the current call for tenders as it is not possible to predict future demand for the types of insurance coverage. 5. Is it possible for have figures, for the last 5 years, of the previous insurance scheme for EVS volunteers within the Youth in Action Programme (number of persons insured by country, nationality, and host country, the number of insured covered by full and complementary insurance, the length of missions, details of payments according the different insurance categories? We are referring you to the statistics published together with the present document on the call for tenders dedicated webpage. These statistics have been extracted from the reports detailing the services provided and submitted annually to the Agency by the current contractor. Whilst respecting data protection rights, the information provided covers the last 5 years, as requested. Please note that these details are published solely for information purposes and are not provided as estimates of future outcomes with respect to the current call for tenders. 6. Could you clarify the modes of payment of the premium? Do we understand correctly that for the first year of the contract: - No pre-financing - Interim payment equivalent to 30% of total contract amount (We assume that the total amount of the contract for the first year is the maximum number of insured in the first year multiplied by the flat-rate per volunteer) in the course of the first year of coverage only; - Payment of the balance at year-end on the final report. The balance will be calculated based on the actual number of young volunteers insured for that year multiplied by the flat-rate per head. The following implementing contract years - No pre-financing - No interim payment - Payment of the balance at year-end on the final report. The balance will be calculated based on the actual number of young volunteers insured for that year multiplied by the flat-rate per capita. The interim payment for the first year of the contract will be 30% of the value of the contract for the first 12 months based upon the estimated maximum number of insured for the first year multiplied by the flat-rate premium. Payment of the balance will be based upon the actual number of young volunteers insured for that year (as reflected in the final progress report) multiplied by the flat-rate per head, less the 30% interim payment. Payment of the balance in the following implementing contract years will be carried out as stated above. Payment details are set out in section 3.12 of the tender specification and in Article I.4 of the model contract (annex 1 to the tender specifications).

4 7. Please explain the following sentence in the tender specifications: 'the renewal is subject to budget availability' (section 1.3 of the tender specifications). The European Commission publishes annual budget proposals which have to be agreed by the Budgetary Authority (European Parliament and Council of the European Union). In the event that a future proposed annual budget is not given approval then the insurance contract could end up not being renewed and, hence, being terminated due to lack of budget. 8. The indicative forecast of the total number of volunteers is stated on page 8 of the tender specifications. Is it possible to provide us with the estimated periods of stay and the origin of the volunteers (EU or non EU) as well? There are no estimates regarding future coverage. For information purposes we are publishing, together with the present document, details of the levels of coverage concerning the insurance services provided for EVS volunteers under the previous Youth in Action Programme. Please note that these details are published solely for information purposes and are not provided as estimates of future outcomes with respect to the current call for tenders as it is not possible to predict future demand for the types of insurance coverage. 9. Could you indicate what kind of activities the volunteers are going to do? It is not possible, due to its potential breadth, to list or specify the kind of activities volunteers will be engaged in. The following statement, from the Erasmus+ programme guide provides the context within which volunteering will take place: "EVS allows young people aged to express their personal commitment through unpaid and full-time voluntary service for up to 12 months in another country within or outside the European Union. Young volunteers are given the opportunity to contribute to the daily work of organisations dealing with youth information and policies, young people's personal and socio-educational development, civic engagement, social care, inclusion of disadvantaged, environment, non-formal education programmes, ICTs and media literacy, culture and creativity, development cooperation, etc." 8. What if the insurance company does not wish to insure risks in countries where economic sanctions or trade embargos apply? Does the Agency take account of this? The full list of countries specified in the tender specifications is not subject to modification by tenderers. The selected contractor will have to cover risks in all countries eligible to participate in the identified Erasmus+ Key actions and activities (section 3.3 of the tender specifications). Prospective tenderers should note that the list of eligible countries under the Erasmus + Programme can be modified during the validity of the Programme. These changes will be notified to the contractor and will be taken into account by amending the contract. 9. The initial contract will be awarded for a duration of 12 months. The first interim payment of 30% of the total initial contract amount will be made no later than 6 months after the contract s entry into force. If the 30% payment is made to party A, and the subsequent contract is awarded to party B for 2016, how will the payment of balance be corrected?

5 This situation will not arise. The contract can be renewed only with the contractor who will be awarded the initial contract. There is no possibility to have a contractor A in 2015 and a contractor B in How long is the voluntary service for Key Action 2? Could we have approximate figures concerning the repartition of the 90,000 volunteers between Key Action 1 decentralised, Key Action 1 centralised and Key Action 2? If not, could we approximately have the average length of a voluntary service? See questions 2 and 3 above. It is not possible to predict the future average length of voluntary service. 11. Is it possible to propose prior agreement procedures for certain types of planned healthcare (certain categories of healthcare and/or healthcare provided outside the countries respectively of origin and assignment)? Do we have to stick our proposal to the current situation or are we allowed to make innovative proposals? It is for tenderers to propose procedures that meet the overall technical specifications which may include prior agreement procedures. These may be different from the current situation that concerns the youth in Action Programme. Having stated this, the management of the cover, i.e. enrolment, reimbursement, assistance, should be efficient, simple and clearly explained to the specific target group of the Erasmus+ Programme (see section of the tender specifications, page 16). 12. Could we have approximate figures concerning the repartition of volunteers between those covered from the first euro of healthcare expenses and those covered in complement to a national health insurance system? We perfectly understand this figure cannot be planned for the period , but would it be possible to have an estimate for the last few years? See question 5 above. 13. Is it possible to propose ceilings for certain types of healthcare? Yes, see section 3.6 of the tender specifications (page 17): "The insurance contract must provide the coverage and services listed in points A-F below for all volunteers taking part in the Erasmus+ Programme. Where ceilings are to be applied, the tender must indicate these for each item or sub-item." 14. Life Insurance: what minimum levels of benefits are expected? Permanent Disability: what minimum level of benefits is expected? Third Party Liability: what minimum level of benefits is expected? Loss or theft of documents and travel ticket: what minimum level of benefits is expected? It is up to tenderers to decide what levels of benefit will apply to the insurance scheme they submit. 15. In which languages the devoted website should be proposed?

6 As a minimum requirement it is expected that the specific website will be made available in English. However as explained in the tender specification (see section 3.5.2, page 16), the insurer has to be able to give assistance to the participants in any of the official languages of the European Union plus Icelandic, Norwegian and Turkish. The list of languages required for assistance purposes can be modified during the validity of the Programme. These changes will be notified to the contractor and will be taken into account by amending the contract. The general and the specific conditions of the insurance must be translated by the insurer for the use of the volunteers into all the official languages of the European Union plus Icelandic, Norwegian and Turkish (see section 3.8 of the tender specifications, page 20). 16. Could you confirm the Price per Volunteer that has to be proposed is independent from the length of the voluntary service? Yes this is confirmed. 17. The indicative budget available for the whole contractual duration including renewals is EUR Could you confirm us this 28 million euros sum shall cover the whole period? In other words, that the indicative budget for one single volunteer is approximately (28,000,000/90,000 =) 311? The indicative budget specified in the tender specifications is for the period Could you confirm that the national agencies are in charge of the volunteers enrolment through the required user-friendly website? The Erasmus+ project coordinating organisation, in cooperation with the sending and receiving organisations, is responsible for the enrolment of the volunteer(s). This enrolment must be done before the departure of the volunteer(s) and cover the duration of the EVS activity. 19. What is the current table of benefits? Details of the insurance scheme for EVS volunteers under the Youth in Action Programme may be found on the contractor's website: Could we have statistics concerning the different levels of benefits paid over the last few years? See question 1 above. 21. For our current clients, we are able to provide statistics concerning the languages routinely used by their insured persons when they contact us for assistance, information or advice. Could we have statistics of that type from your current claims manager (languages used and % represented by each of them)? Indeed we would need this kind of information since we propose for each client a devoted client services team made of linguistically specialized client services officers.

7 We are referring you to the statistics published together with the present document on the call for tenders dedicated webpage. These statistics have been extracted from the reports detailing the services provided and submitted annually to the Agency by the current contractor for the Youth in Action Programme EVS insurance scheme. The information provided covers the last 5 years, and covers the information which is available to the Agency whilst respecting data protection rights. Please note that these details are published solely for information purposes and are not provided as estimates of future outcomes with respect to the current call for tenders. The Agency does not have information about the languages used by the individuals insured under the Youth in Action Programme. 22. Do you have percentages concerning the volunteers countries of assignment? Or at least a general tendency a- concerning the regional areas (EU, Eastern Europe, North America, etc.) and/or b concerning the countries where health care are the most expensive (USA in particular)? See question 3 above. 23. Do you have specific requests concerning direct payment for healthcare? The tender specifications do not set out specific requirements as regards direct payment. Having stated this, the management of the cover, i.e. enrolment, reimbursement, assistance, should be efficient, simple and clearly explained to the specific target group of the Erasmus+ Programme (see section of the tender specifications, page 16). Tenderers must include in their bid an indication of the system set up for the management and delivery of the insurance including claim procedures and reimbursement system (see section of the tender specifications, page 27). 24. Concerning the flat rate fee (per capita): is it expected to be a monthly fee or a single annual fee independent of the duration of the mission? It is expected to be a single fee per insured person independent of the duration of the volunteer's mission. 25. On page 17 under 3.6, you have mentioned: "The Contractor is required to establish an online registration system allowing the young volunteers to register for coverage under the insurance scheme." Does this mean that the individual volunteers are free to apply for the insurance policy? Please explain to us how the application procedure works. See question 18 above. Individual volunteers are not expected to register or apply for the insurance themselves. 26. How does the Agency check if the volunteer is allowed to apply for the insurance the Agency is paying for? It will be the responsibility of the contractor to propose and implement a registration system that will offer secure access to the project coordinating organisations with responsibility for the enrolment of the volunteer(s) (see section 3.6 of the tender specifications, page 17).

8 27. Are the National Agencies (Key Action 1) allowed to apply for insurance on behalf of the volunteers? No. see question 18 above.