Claim Procedures

Departmental Property

When departmental property becomes damaged or lost, a Departmental Property Damage/Theft Claim Form (interactive PDF) should be completed by a contact person within the department who will be handling the claim. The contact person should also notify Risk Management before submitting the claim in case necessary arrangements have to be made to view the scene of the damage/theft to the damaged property. The Office of Risk Management will then review the claim and determine after investigation if the department is to be compensated for the loss. Departmental property claims are adjusted within the coverage guidelines of the University's property insurance policy. Among the notable exclusions: No coverage for mechanical breakdown, wear & tear, mold, nor any theft unless there are visible signs of a forced entry. If the claim is accepted, the department will be notified and asked to provide receipts and/or invoices for all labor and materials. The department will also need to pay a $250 deductible which will be subtracted from the total amount reimbursed to the department via journal entry. Before a department is reimbursed for their damages, the replacement items must be purchased or repair work must be completed.

Faculty and Staff Personal Property

Boston University provides property insurance coverage for personally owned items of employees when those items are considered essential to the employee's duties, and the items are damaged or stolen while on University premises. An example of this would be materials, such as certain books, that a teacher/researcher has purchased on his or her own and brought to the University as part of a commitment to informed teaching and scholarship. If an item in this category is damaged while at a Boston University facility the claim should be submitted to the Office of Risk Management on a Faculty and Staff Personal Property Damage/Theft Claim Form, clearly identifying the owner of the damaged item(s). As with departmental property damage claims, faculty and staff personal property claims will be adjusted within the coverage guidelines of the University's property insurance policy. Among the notable exclusions: No coverage for mechanical breakdowns, wear & tear, mold, nor any theft unless there are visible signs of a forced entry.

The University expects each employee to have his or her own insurance coverage for high cost items, such as musical instruments and rare books/manuscripts, etc. which have values beyond the usual book/journal range but are directly related to the employee's duties. On a case-by-case basis the University will consider reimbursing an employee for his/her personal property policy deductible when these types of valuable personal items are damaged or stolen while on University premises.

Personally owned items that are not directly related to an employee's job are not provided coverage by the University. Although the University allows employees to bring items of decoration, comfort and convenience to their offices, such as oriental rugs, televisions, clock radios, prints, bicycles, etc., any employee with these types of items should be aware that the responsibility for insuring these items remains with the employee. This includes shipments or deliveries of personal items to employees at the workplace. Any employee receiving personal property at the workplace does so at his or her own risk. Boston University acts as a receiver only for University owned or leased property, and will not be responsible for any lost/damaged personal items shipped or delivered to employees at the workplace.

Student Property

Boston University does not insure the personal property of its students and will only consider reimbursement in those instances in which the University is responsible for the damage. No theft claims will be reimbursed. When a student's property becomes damaged, and the student feels that the University is responsible, the student should notify a Residence Life Senior Staff member. The student should also fill out a Student Property Damage/Loss Claim Form (interactive PDF) describing in detail how the damage or loss came about and list the items which need to be replaced. Once the claim form has been filled out, the student should have the Resident Assistant sign off on it and then the Resident Assistant should send the claim form to the Office of Risk Management. The Office of Risk Management will then review the claim and determine after investigation if the student is to be compensated for the loss. The student should not throw out damaged property unless authorized by the Resident Assistant or the Office of Risk Management. If the claim is accepted, the student will be notified and will be able to pick up his/her reimbursement check after he/she signs a release form and Risk Management takes possession of the property.