Property Insurance
Q. A piece of department equipment/property has been stolen or damaged through an incident that occurred in the department. What action does the department need to take?
A. First, if equipment was stolen, the Police Department should be contacted immediately. A Property Loss Report must be completed by the department and submitted to Risk Management Services. If the equipment was assigned an asset number, an Asset Retirement form must be completed through CAMS and the CAMS document number listed on the Property Loss Report Form prior to submission. The Police Report number should be included if applicable. Whether insurance coverage reimbursement is applicable can depend upon several aspects of the incident. Contact Risk Management Services at 757-8379 for assistance.
Q. We have equipment/supplies stored in a rented off-site storage unit. Is there insurance coverage if something happens?
A. While the program does not specifically exclude such coverage, several factors would require review to determine whether the University property insurance program would respond to such a loss.
- The rental agreement between the department and the storage unit owners would need to be reviewed to determine responsibility agreed upon for property damage and/or liability.
- The actual date of loss must be identifiable. A department cannot simply move items into storage, not check on it for weeks/months and then when a loss or damage is discovered expect the insurance program will respond.
- A department would need to prepare and keep a current inventory of items in the rented storage unit and proof of their value, as well as keep some type of log to document regular visits to the storage unit for verification that all is well.
- Any loss would, of course, need to fall within the property insurance program coverage and deductibles as reported in BUS-28 and summarized on our website.
Q. If an employee brings their personal equipment or property for use at work and it is damaged or stolen, is it covered by the University property insurance program?
A. Personal property brought to work such as radios, cd players, etc. are not covered by the University property program. Equipment, such as computers, that an employee brings to use at work for the benefit of the University can only be covered under the University property insurance program if they are placed on an official loan to the department by processing an Equipment Loan Agreement. This then places the equipment in the care, custody and control of the University and insures the property under the Basic Property programs (BUS-28). It also provides the option for a department to purchase Additional Theft Insurance to reduce the deductible on a loss. For further information on these options, review our website section on Property Insurance Program (BUS-28A) and Additional Theft (BUS-28B).