Directive 2004/18/EC
Section I: Contracting authority
I.1)Name, addresses and contact point(s) I.2)Type of the contracting authorityEuropean institution/agency or international organisation
I.3)Main activityGeneral public services
I.4)Contract award on behalf of other contracting authoritiesThe contracting authority is purchasing on behalf of other contracting authorities: no
Section II: Object of the contract
II.1)Description
II.1.1)Title attributed to the contract by the contracting authority:
Studies of issues pertaining to the insurance production process with regard to the application of the Insurance Block Exemption Regulation (IBER).
II.1.2)Type of contract and location of works, place of delivery or of performanceServices
Service category No 10: Market research and public opinion polling services
Main site or location of works, place of delivery or of performance: The place of performance of the tasks shall be the contractor's premises or any other place indicated in the tender, with the exception of the Commission's premises. Meetings will however take place at the Commission's premises in Brussels.
NUTS code
II.1.3)Information about a public contract, a framework agreement or a dynamic purchasing system (DPS)The notice involves a public contract
II.1.4)Information on framework agreement
II.1.5)Short description of the contract or purchase(s)
The objective of the studies is to help the Commission in applying the EU competition rules to the insurance sector. The issues under consideration have also been highlighted by the stakeholders during the IBER public consultation process. The public consultation aimed to gather evidence regarding the implementation of the IBER (Insurance Block Exemption Regulation, Commission Regulation (EU) No 267/2010, OJ L 83, 30.3.2010, p. 1) and the way forward for the Regulation. The identified issues that merit further analysis are: (study 1) switching of tangible and intangible assets between different insurance products; and (study 2) different forms of cooperation of insurance companies and their respective impact on competition. The studies shall gather facts, analyse existing data and discuss current thinking to adequately address these problems. The work must be grounded in a thorough economic and legal analysis. This will include, but will not be limited to, the application of relevant theory and empirical methods.
II.1.6)Common procurement vocabulary (CPV)79310000 Market research services - RB04 - SB01 - SB02 - QB04
II.1.7)Information about Government Procurement Agreement (GPA)The contract is covered by the Government Procurement Agreement (GPA): yes
II.1.8)LotsThis contract is divided into lots: yes
Tenders may be submitted for all lots
II.1.9)Information about variantsVariants will be accepted: no
II.2)Quantity or scope of the contract
II.2.1)Total quantity or scope:
The budget of the contract, including all costs, travel and incidental expenses, cannot exceed 125 000 EUR for each lot. The tenderer should however be aware that the contract will be awarded to the tenderer offering the best value for money.
II.2.2)Information about optionsOptions: no
II.2.3)Information about renewalsThis contract is subject to renewal: no
II.3)Duration of the contract or time limit for completionDuration in months: 6 (from the award of the contract)
Information about lots
Lot No: 1 Lot title: Switching of tangible and intangible assets between different insurance products1)Short description
The study shall discuss under what circumstances insurers can switch assets between different insurance products in order to adapt their offer to changing prices and patterns of demand; to what extent the managerial constraints or regulatory requirements that insurers face in their functional production areas (notably financial, actuarial, legal, underwriting, marketing and claims-handling) limit their ability to effect appreciable shifts of capacity in the short term between insurance products under commercially viable conditions; what sets of products would show similar production characteristics, identify sources of available data for calculating the market shares of these sets, and discuss potential proxies for assessing the insurers' or reinsurers' market position in these segments.
2)Common procurement vocabulary (CPV)79310000 Market research services - RB04 - SB01 - SB02 - QB04
3)Quantity or scope
4)Indication about different date for duration of contract or starting/completion
5)Additional information about lots
Lot No: 2 Lot title: Different forms of cooperation between insurance companies and their respective impact on competition1)Short description
Building on the results of the sector inquiry into business insurance concluded by the Commission in 2007 (COM(2007) 556 final) as well as on the study on co(re)insurance carried out for the Commission by Ernst and Young in 2012 (http://ec.europa.eu/competition/sectors/financial_services/KD0414707ENN.pdf), the study will undertake to discuss the range of benefits and disadvantages deriving from each type of existing or possible alternative insurance cooperation scheme; analyse the different potential effects on market structure and market dynamics deriving from each existing or possible insurance cooperation scheme; make an overall comparison among the different forms of cooperation by focusing on the above findings; identify and analyse viable alternative instruments to (re)insurance markets for undertakings to cover risks.
2)Common procurement vocabulary (CPV)79310000 Market research services - RB04 - SB01 - SB02 - QB04
3)Quantity or scope
4)Indication about different date for duration of contract or starting/completion
5)Additional information about lots
Section III: Legal, economic, financial and technical information
III.1)Conditions relating to the contract
III.1.1)Deposits and guarantees required:
III.1.2)Main financing conditions and payment arrangements and/or reference to the relevant provisions governing them:
Please refer to tender documents.
III.1.3)Legal form to be taken by the group of economic operators to whom the contract is to be awarded:
III.1.4)Other particular conditions
III.2)Conditions for participation
III.2.1)Personal situation of economic operators, including requirements relating to enrolment on professional or trade registersInformation and formalities necessary for evaluating if the requirements are met: Please refer to tender documents.
III.2.2)Economic and financial abilityInformation and formalities necessary for evaluating if the requirements are met: Please refer to tender documents.
Minimum level(s) of standards possibly required: Please refer to tender documents.
III.2.3)Technical capacityInformation and formalities necessary for evaluating if the requirements are met:
Please refer to tender documents.
Minimum level(s) of standards possibly required:
Please refer to tender documents.
III.2.4)Information about reserved contracts
III.3)Conditions specific to services contracts
III.3.1)Information about a particular professionExecution of the service is reserved to a particular profession: no
III.3.2)Staff responsible for the execution of the serviceLegal persons should indicate the names and professional qualifications of the staff responsible for the execution of the service: yes
Section IV: Procedure
IV.1)Type of procedure
IV.1.1)Type of procedureOpen
IV.1.2)Limitations on the number of operators who will be invited to tender or to participate
IV.1.3)Reduction of the number of operators during the negotiation or dialogue
IV.2)Award criteria
IV.2.1)Award criteriaThe most economically advantageous tender in terms of the criteria stated in the specifications, in the invitation to tender or to negotiate or in the descriptive document
IV.2.2)Information about electronic auctionAn electronic auction will be used: no
IV.3)Administrative information
IV.3.1)File reference number attributed by the contracting authority:
COMP/2015/028
IV.3.2)Previous publication(s) concerning the same contract IV.3.3)Conditions for obtaining specifications and additional documents or descriptive documentPayable documents: no
IV.3.4)Time limit for receipt of tenders or requests to participate2.10.2015
IV.3.5)Date of dispatch of invitations to tender or to participate to selected candidates
IV.3.6)Language(s) in which tenders or requests to participate may be drawn upAny EU official language
IV.3.7)Minimum time frame during which the tenderer must maintain the tenderDuration in months: 9 (from the date stated for receipt of tender)
IV.3.8)Conditions for opening of tendersDate: 12.10.2015
Place:
European Commission, DG Competition, place Madou 1, 1210 Brussels (Saint-Josse-ten-Noode), BELGIUM.
Persons authorised to be present at the opening of tenders: yes
Additional information about authorised persons and opening procedure: 1 representative of each tenderer may attend the opening of the tenders. The name of the representative must be supplied in advance. Tenderers wishing to attend are requested to notify their intention by sending an e-mail at least 48 hours in advance to comp-iber-study-tender@ec.europa.eu
Section VI: Complementary information
VI.1)Information about recurrenceThis is a recurrent procurement: no
VI.2)Information about European Union fundsThe contract is related to a project and/or programme financed by European Union funds: no
VI.3)Additional information
Tender documents will be available for download at the address indicated under heading I.1. The website will be updated regularly and it is the tenderers' responsibility to check for updates and modifications during the tendering period.
VI.4)Procedures for appeal
VI.4.1)Body responsible for appeal procedures VI.4.2)Lodging of appealsPrecise information on deadline(s) for lodging appeals: You may submit any observations concerning the award procedure to the contracting authority indicated under heading I.1.
If you believe there was maladministration, you may lodge a complaint to the European Ombudsman within 2 years of the date when you became aware of the facts on which the complaint is based (see http://www.ombudsman.europa.eu). Such complaint does not have as an effect either to suspend the time limit to launch an appeal or to open a new period for lodging an appeal.
Within 2 months of the notification of the award decision you may lodge an appeal to the body referred to in VI.4.1.
VI.4.3)Service from which information about the lodging of appeals may be obtained
VI.5)Date of dispatch of this notice:28.7.2015