Official State of Rhode Island website

State of Rhode Island Office of Accounts and Control Department of Administration

Step-by-Step Guide for Engaging ORM During Procurement

Step 1: Start Early (Before your solicitation is public)

  • Plan on reaching out to the Office of Risk Management (ORM), as soon as you have developed a scope of work for a solicitation.
  • Based on the current volume of inquiries, reviewing the scope of work can take between 2-3 weeks. We strongly recommend reaching out as early as you can. 

Step 2: Ask Yourself These Essential Questions 

Step 3: Work with ORM on insurance requirements 

  • Upon your submission of the answers to the questions included in the Step 2, ORM will work with you to assess the applicable insurance requirements for your project and advice on:
    • Risks the procurement may raise.
    • Risk management language to include in the contract.
    • Insurance limits vendors should be required to carry.
  • Make sure the insurance requirements are clearly indicated in the solicitation, so vendors can estimate the costs accurately. 

Step 4: Complete ORM review before moving forward with a publication

  • Ensure ORM has reviewed and provided their input before sending your requisition to the Division of Purchases.
  • This applies whether Purchases is posting the solicitation on your behalf or issuing Purchase Orders for non-competitive or exempt engagements.

Step 5: Communicate any issues with ORM (Post Solicitation Publication, Pre-Award)

  • If potential vendors express any concerns or issues with any of the requirements including indemnification language or insurance limits, communicate those issues with ORM. Note: These communications become part of the procurement record.

Step 6: Verify your vendor has met all the insurance requirements (Post Award, Pre-Contract)

  • Once a vendor has been selected, all applicable insurance requirements will need to be in place before a contract can be consummated. Vendors will need to provide evidence that they have met these insurance requirements before the contract goes into effect. 

Step 7 (Optional): Request an insurance waiver, if necessary