The Shoot Out At The OK Corral is an entertaining novella worth watching. Three insurance consultants vie for the business, each giving a 15 minute presentation to the Board of Trustees at the Kingsville Independent School District last week.
Was it the intent of the Board of Trustees to award the contract based on a 15 minute presentation or had they already made up their collective minds?
The first presenter was Roger Garza, a successful insurance consultant from Mcallen, Texas. His firm has worked with some of the largest school districts in Texas.
The second presenter was a local life insurance agent with no experience in the Texas school market. He was former mayor of the City of Kingsville and touts the local county government as one of his happy clients.
The third presenter was Nick Long from Gallagher, the incumbent vendor. This gunslinger is known in the industry as an aggressive salesman with a silver tongue and a pedigree to prove it.
In our opinion Nick Long gave the best and most compelling presentation to the ears of a clueless audience. He is well spoken. It was smooth, clear and distinct. However the content was symptomatic of dark congenital wordsmithing which only industry insiders can decipher truth from fiction. .
Listen carefully to each presentation. Tidbits of information include disclosure by one consultant of receiving dual compensation, one directly from the plan sponsor and another from the PBM they recommend ($1.75 per script). Another seemed to suggest that one way to improve the district’s health plan was to gift employees more life insurance.
Board members failed to ask the right questions or offer follow up questions on key points. They displayed a complete lack of fiduciary oversight of plan assets……”Where is the missing $2 million!” screamed one board member.
Once adjourned the regular board meeting began. Their decision was about as fast as a melting raspa in deep South Texas on a hot August afternoon.
This novela demonstrates why many insurance consultants, including RiskMangers.us, almost never participate in a public Request For Proposals for insurance consulting work. The San Benito ISD Believes Practice Makes Perfect is a classic example to which we can now include the Kingsville Independent School District and many, many more.
