Government Unit Best Practices

• The public entity must periodically bid or document and approve the reason not to bid.

• Fair and open competition proves stewardship to the public and is required by law.

• Good insurance industry business practices and documentation must be used.

• Reliance on SBE Rule 6A-1.012 to not bid does not apply to state procurement law.

• Assumed vendor dominance does not eliminate requirement to bid.

• Agent providing procurement services for competitive bids may not satisfy state procurement laws.

• A board cannot exempt competitive procurements by board policy.

A conflict of interest occurs when an entity or individual becomes unreliable because of a clash between other interests and professional duties or responsibilities. Such a conflict occurs when a company or person has a vested interest such as money, status, relationships, or reputation, which puts into question whether their actions, judgment, evaluation, and/or decision-making can be unbiased. When such a situation arises, the party usually voluntarily removes themselves or is often legally required of them. Perceived and actual conflict of interest are expected to be identified and removed to comply with Florida Statute.

Several factors should be considered such as insurance contracts must be delivered by a properly licensed and appointed agent and that agent must receive the usual and customary commission as well as no agent can receive a fee and commission on the same product. The distinction between agent is blurred at best because both function as intermediaries, receive remuneration from carriers, deliver contracts and are authorized to effectuate the contracts. Agents legally and appropriately receive remuneration through multiple methods such as a new business commissions, retention bonuses, book of business bonuses, overrides, sales prizes and unaffiliated business influence. These are typical in the insurance industry and should be expected to be maximized by the agent. It is the responsibility of the client to eliminate the conflict of interest this creates and maximize the services received by the client.