Financial Services Compensation Scheme: Independent Insurance Claims Handling Services

UK-London: Insurance services.

Section I: Contracting Authority

   I.1) Name, Addresses and Contact Point(s):
       Financial Services Compensation Scheme
       Beaufort House, 15 St. Botolph Street, London, EC3A 7QU, United Kingdom
       Tel. +44 2073758194, Email: procurement@fscs.org.uk
       Main Address: www.fscs.org.uk
       NUTS Code: UK

   I.2) Joint procurement:
      The contract involves joint procurement: No          
      In the case of joint procurement involving different countries, state applicable national procurement law: Not Provided
      The contract is awarded by a central purchasing body: No

   I.4)Type of the contracting authority:
      Body governed by public law

   I.5) Main activity:
      Economic and financial affairs

Section II: Object Of The Contract

   II.1) Scope of the procurement

      II.1.1) Title: Independent Insurance Claims Handling Services            
      Reference number: Not Provided

      II.1.2) Main CPV code:
         66510000 - Insurance services.


      II.1.3) Type of contract: SERVICES

      II.1.4) Short description: Handling of FSCS protected claims in respect of Independent Insurance Company Ltd.

      II.1.6) Information about lots
         This contract is divided into lots: No
            
      II.1.7) Total value of the procurement (excluding VAT)
          Value: 4,005,600
                  
         Currency:GBP            

   II.2) Description

      II.2.2) Additional CPV code(s):
      Not Provided

      II.2.3) Place of performance
      Nuts code:
      UK - UNITED KINGDOM
   
      Main site or place of performance:
      UNITED KINGDOM
             

      II.2.4) Description of the procurement: For the provision of claims handling services in relation to IICL

      II.2.5) Award criteria:
      Quality criterion - Name: Criterion 1 / Weighting: 0
                  
      Cost criterion - Name: Price / Weighting: 0
            

      II.2.11) Information about options
         Options: No
         

      II.2.13) Information about European Union funds
         The procurement is related to a project and/or programme financed by European Union funds: No
         

      II.2.14) Additional information: Not Provided


Section IV: Procedure

IV.1) Description

   IV.1.1)Type of procedure: Award of a contract without prior publication of a call for competition in the Official Journal of the European Union in the cases listed below (please complete Annex D1)


   IV.1.3) Information about a framework agreement or a dynamic purchasing system
      The procurement involves the establishment of a framework agreement: No       
      

   IV.1.6) Information about electronic auction
      An electronic auction has been used: No

   IV.1.8) Information about the Government Procurement Agreement (GPA)
      The procurement is covered by the Government Procurement Agreement: Yes

IV.2) Administrative information

   IV.2.1) Previous publication concerning this procedure
       Not Provided
   

   IV.2.9) Information about termination of call for competition in the form of a prior information notice
      The contracting authority will not award any further contracts based on the above prior information notice: No

Section V: Award of contract

Award Of Contract (No.1)

   Contract No: Not Provided    
   Lot Number: Not Provided    
   Title: Not Provided

   A contract/lot is awarded: Yes


   V.2) Award of contract

      V.2.1) Date of conclusion of the contract: 12/12/2024

      V.2.2) Information about tenders
         Number of tenders received: 1
         Number of tenders received from SMEs: Not Provided          
         Number of tenders received from tenderers from other EU Member States: Not Provided          
         Number of tenders received from tenderers from non-EU Member States: Not Provided          
         Number of tenders received by electronic means: Not Provided

      V.2.3) Name and address of the contractor

      The contract has been awarded to a group of economic operators: No
         
         Contractor (No.1)
             Western Mortgage Services Limited, 03191608
             2 Kingdom Street, Paddington, London, W2 6BD, United Kingdom
             NUTS Code: UK
            The contractor is an SME: No

      V.2.4) Information on value of the contract/lot (excluding VAT)
         Initial estimated total value of the contract/lot: Not Provided          
         Total value of the contract/lot: 4,005,600
         Currency: GBP

      V.2.5) Information about subcontracting
         The contract is likely to be subcontracted: No
         
Section VI: Complementary information

   VI.3) Additional information: The initial contract duration is until 31st March 2027. There will be an option for FSCS to extend the contract from the expiry of the Initial Term on up to 2 occasions for a maximum duration of up to 12 months on each of those occasions. Please note in relation to Section II.2.5) Award Criteria. Due to the process, the default values of the notices have been entered
To view this notice, please click here:
https://www.delta-esourcing.com/delta/viewNotice.html?noticeId=861817177

   VI.4) Procedures for review

      VI.4.1) Review body
          The Royal Court of Justice
          The Strand, London, United Kingdom

      VI.4.3) Review procedure
         Precise information on deadline(s) for review procedures: Not Provided

      VI.4.4) Service from which information about the review procedure may be obtained
         Not Provided

   VI.5) Date of dispatch of this notice: 17/01/2025




ANNEX D

   1. Justification for the choice of the negotiated procedure without prior publication of a call for competition in accordance with Article 32 of Directive 2014/24/EU

      No tenders or no suitable tenders/requests to participate in response to: Not Provided

            
      
      The works, supplies or services can be provided only by a particular economic operator for the following reason: absence of competition for technical reasons

      Extreme urgency brought about by events unforeseeable for the contracting authority and in accordance with the strict conditions stated in the directive: No

      Additional deliveries by the original supplier ordered under the strict conditions stated in the directive: No

      New works/services, constituting a repetition of existing works/services and ordered in accordance with the strict conditions stated in the directive: No
            Service contract to be awarded to the winner or one of winners under the rules of a design contest: No
      

      Purchase of supplies or services on particularly advantageous terms: No


   3. Explanation
          FSCS has awarded the contract to Western Mortgage Services Limited (WMSL) under Regulation 32(2)(b)(ii) of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 on the basis that the services can only be provided by that firm as competition is absent for technical reasons and no reasonable alternative exists. This is for two principal reasons. Specifically, this contract is for Independent Insurance Company Limited (in liquidation) (“IICL”) insurance run-off claims handling for FSCS in the context of FSCS carrying out its public law statutory function. It is a technical exercise requiring a unique set of knowledge and skills and not simply an administrative or straightforward claims handling. The complex and bespoke nature of the service (and vulnerable nature of individuals benefitting from it) means that a particularly experienced and skilled cohort of staff is essential for the delivery to the required quality standards. FSCS does not consider that it would be possible for any other provider to develop sufficient skills and knowledge nor to recruit and train sufficiently qualified staff within an acceptable time period, leading to an unacceptably long transition period, given the initial contract term of only two years. Such a long transition period would have an adverse effect on timely meeting of claims and risk destabilising service provision. FSCS therefore considers that to award the contract to an alternative provider would lead to an unacceptable degree of risk to performance of the services and FSCS being able to discharge its statutory duties. The documentation and data required for the ongoing work is held across a number of platforms, some dating back many years and incompatible with current technology. The firm appointed needs full access to, and ability to use, all such documentation and data as it relates to FSCS “protected claims” to carry out the work. As a result, the identification, conversion, extraction and migration of the relevant data to a state and platform which would be usable by any service provider other than this company (or an associated company) would be so complex, time-consuming and costly as to be prohibitive. In addition, aspects of the arrangement are subject to confidentiality obligations to which FSCS is not a party, adding further complication. All of FSCS’s requirements for this service are objectively justified by the nature, complexity and context of the services, factors relating to the individuals making the relevant claims, the way in which documents and data are held and the existence of third party confidentiality arrangements to which FSCS is not a party. The absence of competition is not the result of an artificial narrowing of the parameters of the procurement and no reasonable alternative exists. It is not reasonable to relax any of the above requirements as this would expose FSCS and its customers to an unacceptable degree of risk.