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Board selects New York Life for group life and disability; staff projects roughly $2 million annual savings
Summary
After an eight‑month RFP, the Health Service Board approved New York Life to provide employer‑paid group life and long‑term disability and voluntary supplemental life and short‑term disability; staff said the change will reduce employer premiums by about $2 million annually and carries multi‑year rate guarantees.
The San Francisco Health Service Board approved the staff recommendation to award the life and disability insurance programs to New York Life, replacing the incumbent Hartford and consolidating short‑term disability under the same carrier where possible.
Contracts administration manager Michael Visconti said the eight‑month request‑for‑proposals process produced four qualified respondents and that New York Life scored highest on a combination of non‑financial operational criteria and financial terms. Visconti said the selection met core objectives including zero loss of coverage for in‑force employees, simplified administration (single carrier for short‑ and long‑term disability), standard member support services, and multi‑year rate guarantees.
Lead actuary Mike Clark presented the rate results for the New York Life quotation: lower employer‑paid basic group life and long‑term disability rates that, together, represent about $2.0 million in annual savings compared with current contract pricing; voluntary supplemental life and short‑term disability rates were quoted at parity with current employee‑paid rates and carried guarantees in the proposal.
Visconti said New York Life offered more than $500,000 in implementation and transition credits, and that the carrier guaranteed certain rates for up to five years for employer‑paid lines and three years for short‑term disability. He also said the RFP aimed to increase voluntary supplemental coverage take‑up through improved guaranteed‑issue offers and enhanced enrollment support; staff will pursue additional guaranteed‑issue levels with the selected carrier during contract negotiations.
A roll‑call vote approved the recommendation unanimously (Chair Kremen: Aye; Supervisor Matt Dorsey: Aye; Commissioner Diana Guevara: Aye; Commissioner Wilson: Aye). Staff said it will finalize contracting, manage implementation steps and system changes, and present updates to the board ahead of the January 1, 2026 go‑live date.
