Property Claims

Risk Management and Insurance will cover the cost to repair, rebuild, or replace damaged equipment, furniture, or supplies (whichever is less value). Replacement will be with new materials of like kind and quality. If a department wishes to upgrade the same piece of equipment, that cost would be at their own expense. This claim must be settled within a three-month period from the date of loss, wherever possible. All funds reimbursed to the department may only be used for the replacement or repair of the equipment or supplies that were declared in the claim. There are some items that are not insured, some examples include:

• personal property of individuals or that belong to third parties
• biological materials, including animals, unless the animals have been valued and declared to Risk Management and Insurance previously
• the cost of reproducing an experiment or the cost of gathering or assembling information or data for such experiment.  

As such, accurate reporting of your loss at the outset is critical. 

When an emergency occurs in a university-owned space, building, or grounds, a First Response Team will attend. This Team may consist of representatives from Campus Security, Environment, Health and Safety, Facilities Management, Risk Management and Insurance, or other related first response groups.

Once the initial emergency has been handled, and there is resultant damage to the building, equipment, or furniture, the below recovery process will be applied.  

It should be noted that areas of the building may be temporarily shut off with respect to employee, student, or public access to allow for the recovery process to occur in a safe manner. Dependent upon the total loss, an insurance adjuster may also be part of the process.

Damaged Equipment, Furniture, Supplies

Complete the Property Claim Spreadsheet and email to riskmgmt@ucalgary.ca. Risk Management and Insurance manages the claim with respect to equipment, furniture, and supplies that require repair or replacement and were affected by the emergency.

Step One: Supply Information

Departments must forward the below information as soon as possible to riskmgmt@ucalgary.ca with respect to any equipment, furniture, or supplies that were affected.

• Owner department
• Equipment information (for each piece of equipment):
  • a generic description of the equipment including make and model
  • original cost
  • year of acquisition or approximate age
• Supply information:
  • generic description of the type of supply
  • quantity
  • approximate value

Step Two: Obtain Quote

Once the information has been received, the owner department will receive an email confirming that they can proceed with obtaining a quote on the repair or replacement of the equipment and supplies and the applicable deductible, if any.

The following information will also be required from the department at that point in time:

• copy of the original invoice and/or purchase order

• original account number that the equipment was purchased from

• UCalgary tag number (if capital equipment)

• serial number.

Step Three: Approval

Once the department has received the quote from the supplier it must be forwarded to Risk Management and Insurance prior to the equipment or supplies being ordered. Once the quote is approved, Risk Management and Insurance will send an email to the department approving the purchase/repair and will request that the department provide them with an account number to reimburse.

If the account provided is a trust account, the department is responsible to contact Research and Trust Accounting to ensure that the account may receive insurance proceeds. If not, then an operating account should be used to order the repair/replacement so that it can be reimbursed.

Step Four: Fund Reimbursal 

Once the equipment/supplies have been received, the department will email Risk Management with verification of receipt and the account provided will be reimbursed the funds less any applicable deductible.

Damaged Building Infrastructure

Step One: Emergency Response

Risk Management and Insurance manages the original emergency response portion which is defined as the period of time between when an incident occurs and when the initial work has been done to make the area safe, dry, etc. This includes work such as:

• damming water flow, cleaning up water/sewage, and decontaminating where required

• providing blowers/dehumidifiers to dry area

• taking down and disposing of drywall and ceilings that are wet (and are unlikely to dry with blowers/dehumidifiers) or are contaminated or pose a safety issue

• cleaning surfaces in the affected area, where possible

• removal of any floor surface that is detached or where contaminated water has gone beneath the floor tiles

• removing, cleaning and/or drying furniture or equipment.

This is done in conjunction with Facilities Management and Environment, Health and Safety to ensure that work is done safely, especially within lab areas or areas that may contain hazards. An action plan is drawn up to document what restoration may be needed for this loss.

Facilities Management and other departments may be requested to provide a report indicating the cause of the loss to Risk Management and Insurance. The cause will determine what insurer and/or third party may be required to be notified.

Residence Services responds to and manages its own losses that are under its deductible.

Step 2: Restoration

The restoration period is defined as the period of time between when Risk Management and Insurance has declared the emergency response period closed and when the area/space is fully restored to its previous condition.

The restoration work is managed through the facility manager (Facilities Management) if less than $5,000 value. It is managed through a project manager (Project Management Office, Facilities Development) if more than $5,000 value.

They will manage the restoration process, communicate with the occupants of the area during the process, etc. until the action plan and restoration has been completed. They are responsible to forward the work order and all copies of all financial documentation to Risk Management and Insurance for the claim.

The internal deductibles within the university are as follows and would be assessed to the department (or trust account where applicable).

$5,000 Deductible - self-supporting departments which include:

• Active Living
• Bookstore
• Communications Media
• Conference and Special Events
• Continuing Education
• Facilities Management
• Parking and Transportation Services
• Residence Services

$3,000 Deductible

• All other departments