Insurance: Policies and Procedures

The following is a brief description of some of the University's Insurance Policies and Claims Procedures. These sections are intended to serve as a reference guide in providing information on insurance policies and procedures and to answer some essential questions regarding the University's insurance policies.

It is important that you contact the Insurance Department if you have specific questions regarding these policies, procedures and claims reporting.

Automobiles

Policy Description:
The University's Automobile Liability Policy is a self-insured policy that provides coverage for bodily injury or property damage claims in connection with University employees operating University-owned vehicles.

The University's policy for the use of University-owned vehicles is:

Use of vehicles is confined to University business.

An authorized driver must be at least 21 years old and an employee of the University.

Authorized employees must possess valid and applicable licenses.

Each employee's name, date of birth and license number must be on file in the Insurance Department in order to be considered an authorized driver.

Vehicles cannot be used for personal use.

Vehicles cannot be taken overnight without the written permission of the Director of Insurance.

Transport of passengers, other than employees or affiliates, is prohibited.

Please note: Failure to adhere to these policies could result in an uninsured loss and expenses for which your department will be held responsible.

The University does not have a formal policy for the use of personal vehicles for University business. Each department must formulate its own policy taking into account the needs, the alternatives and the risks involved.

Please note: the use of personal vehicles for University business is discouraged because:

At the time of the accident it is often difficult to determine whether the person was on personal business or University business.
If an accident occurred on University businees the employee would have to submit the claim to their insurer for payment since their insurance is primary and the University's insurance would only be used if the employee's limits were not high enough.
Employee's would be required to have minimum limits of insurance of $100,000/$300,000 and submit proof of this coverage prior to using their personal vehicle for University business.

The University's Self-Insured Auto Program does not provide coverage for certain risks listed below and it is up to the department to discuss these risks with the employee prior to using a personal vehicle on University business.

Rental of another vehicle while the damaged vehicle is being fixed.
Uninsured collision loss.
Theft, vandalism or glass loss.
Theft of personal belongings from vehicle.
Maintenance costs.

Department Procedure:
All University-owned and leased vehicles must be registered and insured through the Insurance Department. Departments with University-owned vehicles must have a designated vehicle coordinator responsible for authorizing use of vehicles and to communicate University vehicle policies & procedures to authorized employee drivers.

Claims Procedure:
All automobile accidents should be reported to the Insurance Department as soon as possible and an Automobile Accident Report must be completed and submitted. Please note that it is important to report any accident even if there appears to be no visible damage to the University vehicle. Please contact the Manager of Claims & Loss Prevention with any questions at 617-496-8830.