OFS Home > University Insurance: Overview of insurance
University insurances
Overview of insurance
University policy is to ensure an effective insurance program that :
- sufficiently protects the investment in assets
- provides indemnities against liabilities arising from the conduct of business activities
- equally indemnifies staff, students (in some instances) and others who assist the University in those activities
- meets community expectations for responsible personal support during those activities (for example Overseas Travel protection)
OFS has the responsibility for maintaining the program in conjunction with our insurers, promoting compliance with and awareness of individual policy terms, conditions and exclusions, managing the claims process and providing advice to the University community.
Certain risk assessment and management processes, in conjunction with other units (e.g. BGO), are undertaken to support the insurance process.
This web site summarises the insurance portfolio of the University as a guide to the available protections. It is not practical to reproduce the full wording of each policy, as each is quite voluminous and complex.
If staff have any questions as to the extent of each protection, the University's or your personal liability, inclusions or exclusions etc., contact the Insurance Officer, x7214 ( insurances@ofs.mq.edu.au), who if necessary can obtain formal advice from the insurers.
Requests for Certificates of Currency or for the noting of interests on policies are arranged through the Insurance Officer.
Major policies are renewable annually (at 31 October others 31 December), and are arranged through the services of insurance brokers who are appointed each three (3) years) by the Finance Committee.
For convenience, where appropriate in these insurance pages, the term “University” is also used collectively to include all parties insured under the policies.
University obligations under our policies
All staff are encouraged to bring to the Insurance Officer’s notice any variation to an existing risk. Proposed new ventures or enterprises to which the University and its insurers might be exposed or which may impact on existing protections should also be raised.
Staff should report, without delay, any event or circumstance that may lead to a claim , for example, an personal accident/injury on campus. Procedures for reporting incidents are contained later in the these pages.
Equally, a formal complaint or dispute; for example, over the quality of a consulting services provided to a client should be reported promptly.
It is a general condition of insurance policies that insurers are informed promptly of potential claims, otherwise a claim settlement may be prejudiced, or even denied in some circumstances.
As a part of the general renewal process, all Units, affiliates, entities, bodies or associations etc. within the University’s framework seeking protection under the University’s policies, need to complete the annual Data Collection Form. This requires full disclosure of all relevant information to the protections sought, required to satisfy our insurers and underwriters. The form is usually circulated late August.
A failure to declare a risk (particularly under the liability policies) could lead to the Insurers denying a claim and leaving the University and/or individuals exposed .