Risk Management
i. Property and Casualty Insurance - (Liability Insurance)
ii. SDSU Research Foundation Vehicle Insurance
iii. Crime Insurance
iv. Wrongful Acts
v. Workers' Compensation/Special Services
vi. Loss Prevention
vii. Premium Allocations and Deductibles
viii. Certificates of Insurance/Additional Insured
ix. Vendor / Subcontractor Minimum Insurance Requirements
x. Ground Transportation Vendor / Subcontractor Minimum Insurance Requirements
xi. Leased, Rented, Loaned or Borrowed Equipment and Vehicles
xii. Foreign Travel
xiii. Property Control
i. Property and Casualty Insurance - (Liability Insurance)
SDSU Research Foundation purchases property and casualty insurance to protect its assets against losses or damages resulting from its business operations. One component of this insurance is a commercial general liability policy. This insurance may not provide coverage for activities which are not considered in the scope and course of employment.
- Commercial General Liability
This policy generally should pay for damages that SDSU Research Foundation is legally obligated to pay due to negligence, which results in personal injury and/or property damage to others, subject to policy exclusions.
In the event of an accident, an investigation will be conducted by the risk management department. No admission of responsibility or commitment to pay for damages should be made by any other person. - Contractual Liability
Provides for payment of damages SDSU Research Foundation is legally obligated to pay as a result of an insured contract. - Product Liability
Provides coverage for damages SDSU Research Foundation is legally obligated to pay as a result of loss involving a product designed, manufactured, or distributed by SDSU Research Foundation. Exclusions do apply. - How to Submit a Claim
All incidents involving personal injury, potential injury or property damage must be reported to SDSU Research Foundation's risk management staff immediately at 619-594-4076 or riskmanagement@foundation.sdsu.edu.
ii. SDSU Research Foundation Vehicle Insurance
This insurance includes auto liability and physical damage coverage. Physical damage coverage includes commercial and collision protection for SDSURF owned, leased, or rented vehicles.
- Comprehensive
Comprehensive damages include theft of vehicle or damages caused by fire or water. Damage to a vehicle’s windshield is also covered under comprehensive coverage.
No coverage is provided for personal effects or other property of the insured or others carried in or on the vehicle. Comprehensive coverage pays for the repair or replacement with like kind and quality for physical damage other than collision. The deductible amount of $1,000 will be charged to the department or project. - Collision
Collision damages include collision with another vehicle, fixed object or vehicle overturns. Collision coverage pays for the repair or replacement with like kind and quality. The deductible amount of $1,000 will be charged to the department or project. - Automobile Liability
Automobile Liability is provided for all SDSU Research Foundation-owned, leased or rented vehicles used to conduct SDSURF business. This insurance program should pay for damages that SDSU Research Foundation is legally obligated to pay to third parties. Please note that insurance coverage may not be automatic when vehicles are purchased. Therefore, the risk management staff must be notified when vehicles are acquired. - Personal Vehicle Usage
The vehicle owner must be aware that her/his personal automobile insurance will be primary in the event of an accident. SDSU Research Foundation's insurance coverage is only applicable if the claim exceeds her/his Personal Liability insurance coverage and a claim is made against the research foundation as a result of the accident. Insurance carriers normally allow the occasional use of privately owned vehicles for business trips without an increase in premium rates. If a private vehicle is regularly used on SDSU Research Foundation business, an employee should notify her/his insurance carrier. - Rented Vehicles
Automobile insurance for rented vehicles is provided for SDSURF employees, PIs, and project staff who are employed by SDSURF and are participating in SDSURF-related business activities. When employees rent vehicles to conduct SDSURF business, they should advise the rental agency that they are renting the car to use while on SDSURF business and deny the comprehensive, collision, and general liability coverages. All three of these coverages are provided under a single SDSURF policy. If a rental agency requires proof of insurance, a Certificate of Auto Insurance outlining policy coverage is available at www.foundation.sdsu.edu/pdf/risk_cert_of_ins_auto_24.pdf (PDF Format, 92KB)*. Please note: there is a $1,000 deductible and SDSURF’s policy does not cover damage for rentals of more than thirty (30) consecutive days or for losses reported more than forty-five days (45) from date of loss. All such uninsured losses and the deductible amount of $1,000 will be charged to the department or project. - How to Submit a Claim
All accidents involving SDSU Research Foundation-owned or leased vehicles, and private vehicles being operated on SDSU Research Foundation business, must be reported to the risk management staff immediately at 619-594-4076 or riskmanagement@foundation.sdsu.edu. A Vehicle Accident Report along with all other documentation (estimates, police reports, etc.) should be forwarded to the risk management department.
iii. Crime Insurance
Types of coverage include:
- Fidelity coverage extends to the loss of SDSU Research Foundation cash, securities, bonds and money as a result of employee dishonesty. Deductibles and exclusions do apply. Coverage may not be provided for the loss of personal property
- Forgery and alteration insurance provides coverage for altered or forged documents.
- Money and securities coverage extends to the loss of SDSU Research Foundation cash, securities, bonds and money. Deductibles and exclusions do apply. Coverage may not be provided for the loss of personal property.
- Money Order Coverage protects against theft of money orders.
- Computer Fraud protects against financial losses resulting from computer theft.
All incidents and losses should be reported to risk management. Proof of loss and documentation supporting the amount claimed should be included.
iv. Wrongful Acts
- Employer's Legal Liability
Covers amounts SDSU Research Foundation is legally obligated to pay for the legal defense and for damages incurred as a result of a claim against SDSU Research Foundation, staff members, managers, officers, directors, or named insureds. Coverage includes any alleged error, misstatement, misleading statement, act, omission, neglect or breach of duty arising while acting in good faith during the performance of their assigned duties. - Employment Practice Liability
Covers damages that SDSU Research Foundation is legally obligated to pay for claims arising out of wrongful termination, sexual harassment and employment discrimination. - How to Submit a Claim
Any notice of a complaint of alleged wrongful acts must be reported to the human resources department at 619-594-4139.
v. Workers' Compensation/Special Services
Under Cal/OSHA regulations, all employers are required to log designated work-related injuries and illnesses. The Risk Management department compiles and maintains this log based on information from injury reports submitted. Any requests for viewing this log by Cal/OSHA representatives should be directed to the risk management department.
On the Job Injury
Every SDSU Research Foundation employee and volunteer is covered by workers' compensation insurance. This coverage provides the medical care reasonably required to relieve the effects of an on-the-job injury or work-related illness. For more information on this topic see SDSU Research Foundation's Workers Compensation.
In case of an on-the-job injury, immediately report the injury to both the supervisor and Risk Management at (619) 594-4076 or sdsurfriskmanagement@sdsu.edu. You must report any injury to your supervisor within 24 hours, no matter how trivial the injury may seem. You will need to tell her/him when, where, and how the injury occurred, what happened, and if anyone witnessed the injury.
If your injury or illness develops gradually (like tendonitis or hearing loss), report it as soon as you learn it was caused by your job. Reporting promptly helps prevent problems and delays in receiving benefits, including medical care you may need to avoid further injury.
For life-threatening emergency situations: call 911. Go to the nearest emergency room/medical facility equipped to handle emergencies.
Report the injury, within eight hours, to risk management at (619) 594-4076 or (sdsurfriskmanagement@sdsu.edu, regardless of whether the accident occurs during normal working hours, after hours or over the weekend.
A medical emergency is generally defined as a sudden and unforeseeable injury or illness of such a nature that failure to get immediate medical care could be life-threatening or include severe bleeding from any site, loss of consciousness, seizures, or severe or multiple injuries.
For non-emergency situations during working hours: Before seeking medical treatment for the employee, call SDSU Research Foundation human resources at (619) 594-4076. Provide details of the injury and obtain authorization for treatment at an approved medical facility that specializes in the treatment of industrial accidents and injuries. Refer to SDSU Research Foundation website at Workers Compensation.
Supervisors should investigate the claim and be prepared to report when, where, and how the injury occurred. When obtaining information about the claim, the supervisor also needs to know who witnessed the incident and if the employee had any prior injuries.
For non-emergency situations, after hours or on weekends: If medical attention is required, the employee should seek medical treatment at any San Diego County Sharp Rees-Steely or U.S. Health Works Medical Clinic. For out of the San Diego County area injuries, call Travelers at 1-800-287-9682 for referral to an authorized facility, or go to their website at http://www.mywcinfo.com and in the Additional Resources section click on the "Find a local network medical provider" link; to find an authorized treatment facility.
The employee must mention that the injury is work-related and that SDSU Research Foundation's workers’ compensation carrier is The Hartford. Report the injury to human resources at (619) 594-4076 or sdsurfriskmanagement@sdsu.edu as soon as possible.
Ergonomics: Cal-OSHA requires employers to train injured employees on how to avoid repetitive motion disorders. Contact risk management for assistance with an ergonomic evaluation and training as necessary.
vi. Loss Prevention
Risk management attempts to identify loss potential and coordinates preventive measures to correct areas of concern. Expert assistance such as external consultants, work-site assessments and safety engineers may be utilized. In addition, risk management works with environmental health and safety, facilities management, and the human resources department, to provide education, training and assessment of risk areas. Employees, interns, volunteers and visitors are encouraged to bring dangerous situations to the attention of one of these departments.
vii. Premium Allocations and Deductibles
Premium allocations/deductibles for various types of insurance coverage or claims will be allocated to SDSU Research Foundation departments or projects. The allocation method is based upon the insurance exposures within each department. The deductible for theft, loss or damage to property is $5,000.
viii. Certificates of Insurance/Additional Insured
SDSU Research Foundation is involved in numerous activities and business ventures with various contractors, subcontractors and business entities. Therefore, it is necessary to ensure that SDSU Research Foundation is adequately protected against losses or claims arising out of the activities of contractors, subrecipients and business entities. If SDSU Research Foundation determines that an activity warrants additional protection against certain risks, it may request that the organization it is conducting business with provide a certificate of insurance (Accord form). This certificate should have an attached "additional insured endorsement" stipulating that CSU, SDSU and San Diego State University Research Foundation are additional insured under the contractor, subrecipient or vendor insurance policy. The certificate is to be sent to the department seeking the services of the contractor or supplier and to the risk management department. All certificates of insurance and additional insured requests should be submitted to SDSU Research Foundation’s risk management staff for processing.
If an organization requests a certificate of insurance from SDSURF, that request must be submitted to risk management. The information required for completing a certificate of insurance (PDF Format, 166 KB)* request is as follows:
- Requesting persons' name, department, telephone/fax number and e-mail address;
- Certificate holder, to whom the certificate is to be issued;
- Certificate holder or contact person’s name, address, and phone/fax number and e-address;
- A description of the activity for which the certificate is needed, including purpose, location and time period;
- Items to be insured if property coverage is requested;
- The type and limits of insurance for which proof is required;
- Time frame of when a certificate is needed and who should receive copies;
- Whether or not the original is sent back to the requester (i.e., to be included with contract).
Note: Contracts or lease pages outlining requirements are typically helpful and in some instances, may be required for additional insured requests.
ix. Vendor / Subcontractor Minimum Insurance Requirements
- Commercial General Liability
Each subcontractor shall supply a Certificate of Insurance showing evidence of commercial general liability coverage with a limit of at least $1,000,000 combined single limit per occurrence, or higher as required by SDSU Research Foundation. The certificate must have an endorsement attached which (1) names SDSURF as an additional insured; (2) provides that such insurance is primary and any other insurance of SDSURF is excess; and (3) waives any subrogation rights or claims against SDSURF. The additional insured endorsement must be attached to the certificate. Endorsements that limit or exclude coverage are to be attached to the certificate. - Umbrella or Excess Liability
Each subcontractor shall supply a Certificate of Insurance showing evidence of umbrella or excess liability coverage in an amount not less than $1,000,000 combined single limit per occurrence. Endorsements that limit or exclude coverage are to be attached to the certificate - Worker's Compensation and Employer's Liability
Each subcontractor shall supply a Certificate of Insurance providing evidence of worker's compensation and employer's liability coverage. The employers' liability limits shall be at least $1,000,000 for each occurrence. A waiver of subrogation shall be attached in favor of SDSURF. - Automobile Liability
Each subcontractor shall supply a Certificate of Insurance showing commercial automobile liability coverage in an amount no less than $1,000,000 combined single limit per accident for all owned, non-owned, and hired vehicles. - Professional Liability
If the subcontractor is a licensed architect, engineer, designer, or other "professional," a Certificate of Insurance shall be supplied showing errors and omissions coverage in an amount not less than $1,000,000 per occurrence. The certificate must have an endorsement attached which (1) names SDSURF as an additional insured; (2) provides that such insurance is primary and any other insurance of SDSURF in excess and (3) waiving any subrogation claims against SDSURF. The additional insured endorsement must be attached to the certificate. - Property Insurance
Tenant will procure and maintain property insurance coverage for:
- All furniture, fixtures, office equipment merchandise and all other personal property at or about the premises.
- Leasehold improvements made by the tenant;
- All improvements, betterments, alterations and additions to the premises.
- Additional Requirements
The insurer providing coverage for commercial general liability, umbrella or excess liability, workers’ compensation, automobile liability and professional liability shall have a minimum A.M. Best's rating of A VII and be admitted in California. This can be amended by separate agreement by SDSURF. All certificates are to be sent to:
1. Original to the SDSURF department that contracts with the subcontractor or vendor.
2. Copy to Risk Management, San Diego State University Research Foundation, 5250 Campanile Drive, San Diego, CA 92182-1945.
x. Ground Transportation Vendor / Subcontractor Minimum Insurance Requirements
- Commercial General Liability
Each subcontractor providing transportation services shall supply a Certificate of Insurance showing evidence of commercial general liability coverage with a limit of at least $2,000,000 combined single limit per occurrence, or higher as required by SDSURF.
The above limit can be satisfied through a combination of primary and excess policies. - Worker's Compensation and Employer's Liability
Each subcontractor shall supply a Certificate of Insurance providing evidence of workers’ compensation and employer's liability coverage. The employers’ liability limits shall be at least $1,000,000 for each occurrence. A waiver of subrogation shall be attached in favor of SDSURF.
The above limit can be satisfied through a combination of primary and excess policies. - Automobile Liability
Each subcontractor providing transportation services shall supply a Certificate of Insurance showing commercial automobile liability coverage in an amount no less than $2,000,000 combined single limit per accident for all owned, non-owned, and hired vehicles.
The above limit can be satisfied through a combination of primary and excess policies
Certificate must have an endorsement attached which (1) names CSU, SDSU and SDSURF as an additional insured; (2) provides that such insurance is primary and any other insurance of SDSURF is excess; and (3) waiving any subrogation rights or claims against SDSURF. The additional insured endorsement must be attached to the certificate. Endorsements that limit or exclude coverage are to be attached to the certificate also. - Foreign Territories
If the vendor/subcontractor is providing transportation services or tours in a foreign territory, the certificate of insurance must have an endorsement attached verifying that the vendor/subcontractor’s insurance includes the foreign country in its Coverage Territory.
All certificates must be received and approved by SDSURF prior to any work, event, or activity that exposes SDSURF to legal liability.
SDSU Research Foundation retains the right to evaluate any business agreement to insure compliance with this requirement. SDSURF also retains the right to make exceptions where needed.
xi. Leased, Rented, Loaned or Borrowed Equipment and Vehicles
- Leased/Rented Equipment and Vehicles:
SDSU Research Foundation may be required to provide leasing/rental agencies with a certificate of insurance. In such cases, the buyer will request a certificate of insurance. The buyer will provide risk management with a detailed description of equipment (to include manufacturer, model, color etc), value and the insurance requirements as defined in the company terms and conditions. - Loaned/Borrowed Equipment and Vehicles:
SDSU Research Foundation may be required to provide a company/individual with a certificate of insurance. In such cases, the department/project will request a certificate of insurance from the SDSURF risk management staff. The department/project will provide risk management with a detailed description of equipment (to include manufacturer, model, color etc.), proof of ownership, age/year originally purchased, purchase price, current value, and if possible, a photo and condition report.
xii. Foreign Travel
Insurance coverage and assistance is provided for PIs or project staff employed by SDSU Research Foundation when they are participating in SDSURF-related activities in a foreign country. SDSURF’s risk management staff must be notified at least 30 days in advance whenever foreign travel is anticipated. In order for the California State University Risk Management Authority (CSURMA) Foreign Travel Liability Insurance Program to cover travel to countries deemed war risks or high hazardous, SDSURF may be required to obtain written approval from SDSU’s president, CSU’s Chancellor and CSURMA’s insurance company prior to travel to those areas.
xiii. Property Control
SDSU Research Foundation defines inventorial property as a tangible, non-consumable fixed asset having a useful life of one or more years and a minimum unit acquisition cost of $5,000. All computer property (servers, desktop/workstation CPUs, laptops, tablets, notebooks, etc.) is inventorial property regardless of the cost. SDSU Research Foundation-purchased property can only be used for authorized project purposes.
After payment has been made for the property, a member of SDSU Research Foundation’s facilities management staff contacts the PI to arrange for the property to be tagged with a numerical SDSU Research Foundation identification sticker. This control number, along with a description of the item, the serial number, and location are entered into a computerized property inventory system maintained by SDSU Research Foundation finance and accounting department.
The finance and accounting department conducts biennial physical equipment inventories in compliance with Federal regulations. The inventory coordinator sends an email directly to the equipment custodian on record (usually the PI). The email contains an attached report showing a listing of all equipment records assigned to them and directions on how to conduct a physical inventory. The PI, or designee, verifies that the equipment items listed on the report are correct or makes a notation of any discrepancies. The inventory report is then returned to the inventory coordinator and the results are reconciled to the inventory system. In addition, spot physical inventory audits are conducted on a periodic, informal basis by SDSU Research Foundation staff.
The PI is responsible for establishing property maintenance procedures based on manuals and instructions furnished by manufacturers. In the absence of such instructions, the PI should establish a maintenance program based on experience and judgment. If required, assistance in developing such a program may be obtained from SDSU Research Foundation’s facilities management department.
The finance and accounting department must be notified using the Property Inventory Modification Request form whenever there are changes in property such as: location, damage, theft (police report must be attached), loss, fabrication, loan, or receipt of government-furnished property. This form is also used to request transfer to the university or disposal by SDSU Research Foundation.
All computer property must be managed in accordance with the SDSU Information Security Plan, including secure disposal requirements outlined in Section 3.9.8. If computer property is lost, stolen or missing, a completed Lost Computer Inventory form must be submitted to the SDSURF inventory coordinator, the SDSU Information Security Office and SDSU Public Safety.
Temporary relocation of property off-campus, including to an employee’s home, for SDSU Research Foundation business and/or academic activity should be reported to the inventory coordinator using the Off Campus Use of Equipment Agreement form. This authorization, and a statement that the property is to be used for SDSU Research Foundation business, should be forwarded to finance and accounting. Without this authorization, the employee could be held responsible for any loss incurred while the property is in his or her care.
Finance and accounting will obtain the approval of the SR grant specialist and the senior accountant (for individual items with a net book value greater than or equal to $5,000 on an active federal grant or contract, or for all sponsored owned property) and forward the request to facilities management for pickup.
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