Government collaboration to resolve pressing need for national public sector insurance solution

Without a national solution in place to cover non-life insurance requirements for the public sector, Government Procurement Service (GPS) and Pro5 (http://www.pro5.org) are now working in close partnership to develop and implement a new national EU-compliant insurance framework by the end of 2012.

The collaboration aims to aggregate insurance spend across the public sector – including NHS Trusts, police and local authorities – delivering transparency of costs within the supply chain and cost-effective risk management via access to a range of suppliers. The final solution aims to facilitate better supplier and market management, with improved management of data and claims information. It will also be flexible and fully transparent, providing standardised information to create a level playing field for suppliers of all sizes.

Duncan Spokes, Professional Services Category Lead – YPO (on behalf of Pro5) explains: “This collaborative approach to the procurement of insurance services between the largest public sector buying organisations will ensure the market is receiving the right message to deliver both efficiencies and a number of financial benefits for customers within both local government and the wider public sector.”

The initial scope of the framework agreement is proposed to cover brokerage and insurance (underwriting). In developing a solution, which best reflects the needs of the sector, the partnership has also established a stakeholder group of customers and suppliers to assist with the contract documentation, specification and evaluation methodologies.

David Pyle, Category Lead Insurance – Government Procurement Service, adds: “We have established the group with Pro5 to thoroughly research stakeholder requirements and develop a joint offering, which is desperately needed to fill a gap in the sector. Engaging with stakeholders early in the development process means that we will deliver a high quality solution which will be fit for purpose, whilst delivering best value for the taxpayer.”

Involving a number of public sector organisations including NHS, police and local government authorities, feedback from the marketplace has been very positive.

Linda Longton, Head of Procurement at East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust, who has been a key stakeholder in developing the framework, comments: "The national framework is very comprehensive, covering many fundamental aspects and services, which meet the requirements of the NHS Trust community.

“We have attended various meetings and workshops with colleagues from other authorities, and are confident the new framework is a more logical and pragmatic approach to delivering an EU-compliant insurance framework agreement.”

South and West Yorkshire Police authorities have notably scrapped plans to implement their own solution in favour of the proposed national agreement. This will reduce duplication across the organisations, with the solution to cut time and costs associated with procuring services and introduce a consistent public sector approach to the market.

The new framework will be available from December 2012. For more information on the project or participate in the stakeholder group, please contact enquiries@pro5.org.
www.pro5.org