Property Claim Reporting and Claims Process

Safety is the highest priority, always ensure the safety of students, faculty and staff, visitors, and responders before taking any steps to protect property. Once the area is safe, begin actions to limit further damage and secure the location.

Emergency situations, call LSU Police at 225-578-3231 immediately for emergencies including spillage of hazardous materials, theft, vandalism, or any other criminal act. Call 911 first if there is an immediate threat to life or health.

Facility emergencies, call Facilities Services at 225-578-3186 for losses requiring immediate professional action such as water damage from a leaking pipe or roof, smoke or soot damage, structural issues, a collapsed ceiling, or similar building problems. Facilities Services is available twenty four hours a day and seven days a week.

Required use of LSU’s disaster response vendor, take steps to prevent injury or additional property damage. LSU maintains a master disaster response, mitigation, and restoration services contract which can be engaged by Facilities Services. If a department wishes to use an alternative vendor, approval must be obtained from Risk Management before any expenses are incurred. Failure to use the master contract or to obtain prior approval may result in loss of coverage for these services.

Document the loss, take detailed videos and photographs of all damage and, when known, the source of the damage.

Preserve potential evidence, secure materials, equipment, or parts that may be the cause of the loss. In the event of a fire, the scene must be secured pending inspection by Risk Management, Environmental Health and Safety, and the State Fire Marshal. No damaged items should be discarded before inspection.

Do not discard damaged property, until approved by both Risk Management and Property Management. Damaged movable property must be separated, inventoried, and organized.

Possible third party involvement, if a third party may have caused the loss, contact Risk Management before any investigation begins. Risk Management and the Office of General Counsel must coordinate the process.

Coordinating repairs, ensure all vendors and contractors provide complete descriptions of work performed including the areas worked, parts and services provided, and dates or hours worked.

Tracking loss related expenses, track all loss related expenses. For claims expected to exceed $25,000, request a Workday Project account. During FEMA declared disasters, Sponsored Program Accounting will establish Grant Accounts for affected buildings or locations.

 

Departments must report all building, contents, equipment, fine art, specialty equipment, and equipment breakdown losses. Examples include:

• Water intrusion such as pipe breaks, roof leaks, HVAC overflows, or flooding that damages office contents, laboratory equipment, computers, or furniture.
• Fire, smoke, or soot damage, including damage to equipment, walls, ceilings, or stored items even if the fire was contained quickly.
• Wind and hail damage, including broken windows, damaged roofs, or storm driven rain affecting building interiors or contents.
• Theft or vandalism, including stolen equipment, damaged office furniture, missing technology assets, or intentional damage to fine art or display pieces.
• Equipment breakdown losses, such as sudden failure of compressors, chillers, laboratory instruments, refrigeration units, specialty research equipment, transformers, or audio visual systems caused by electrical surge, arcing, or accidental mechanical breakdown. Losses resulting from the end of useful life, normal wear and tear, deterioration, corrosion, or deferred maintenance are not considered equipment breakdown claims.
• Fine art damage, including damage to artwork, sculptures, collections, or exhibit pieces whether caused by environmental issues, accidental impact, or water intrusion.
  When in doubt, report the loss. Risk Management will assist in determining coverage and next steps.

Facility Services submits claims for building damage for non auxiliary units.
Departments must submit claims for contents, equipment, fine art, specialty equipment, and equipment breakdown losses.
This includes documenting and reporting damage to items such as computers, furniture, laboratory instruments, and departmental equipment.

Report all losses as soon as possible, using the online Property Loss Reporting Form. Failure to report a loss timely may result in denial of the claim or a reduction in reimbursement.

Department responsibility, departments must report losses involving contents, equipment, fine art, specialty equipment, and equipment breakdown. Facility Services will report non auxiliary building damage, but departments are responsible for reporting damage to all departmental property including computers, furniture, laboratory instruments, specialty research equipment, and other movable items.

Losses exceeding $5,000, must be reported within five business days of the date of loss or the date the department becomes aware of the loss.

Losses under $5,000, must be reported within ten business days of the date of loss or the date the department becomes aware of the loss.

Losses expected to exceed $25,000, must be reported immediately to Risk Management at 225-578-7906 in addition to submitting the online form.

Multiple buildings or locations, if one event damages multiple buildings or locations, a claim must be submitted for each location.

Information needed when reporting, departments should submit available information and update as needed. Include:

Department information, such as department name, cost center, and contact person.

Loss information, such as date and time of loss, building name, room numbers, and a general description of damaged building elements, contents, equipment, or fine art.

Loss description information, including the apparent cause of loss, such as fire, theft, hail, flood, wind, water damage, or vandalism, and a narrative describing how the loss occurred.

Supporting materials, such as photographs, videos, inventories, and related documentation.

Property Claim Reporting Form

Provide a plan of action, departments must submit a repair or replacement plan within thirty days of the loss. Extensions may be approved by Risk Management.

Provide updates, departments must share progress updates as requested.

Like kind and quality, repairs and replacements must be made with like kind and quality unless otherwise approved.

Pre approval recommended, Risk Management and Sedgwick can review estimates or proposals before work begins to confirm eligible reimbursement.

Detailed vendor documentation, vendors must provide complete descriptions of all work performed.

Tracking expenses, departments must track all expenses and request a Workday Project account if the loss is expected to exceed $25,000.

Preserve damaged items, items should not be discarded before they are reviewed by Risk Management.

Comparable replacements, if identical equipment is unavailable, departments must provide cost information for comparable items.

Equipment breakdown coverage applies to sudden and accidental mechanical or electrical failure. Damage caused by end of useful life, normal wear and tear, deterioration, corrosion, or deferred maintenance is not eligible for reimbursement.

Upgrades, when departments choose to upgrade beyond like kind and quality, they are responsible for the cost difference.

Loss prevention improvements, improvements that reduce the likelihood of future losses, are not reimbursable as part of the claim.

During FEMA declared disasters, Sponsored Program Accounting will coordinate associated grant and cost tracking requirements.

Submit documentation, once the loss is confirmed as covered, departments may submit all claim related expenses and supporting documentation.

Processing time, Risk Management reimburses departments within forty five days of receiving a complete claim submission.

Reimbursement to departments, approved reimbursements are made to departments only. Payments are not issued directly to vendors.

Multiple departments, each department must submit its own documentation. Facility Services submits documentation for building damage for non auxiliary units.

Tracking expenses, departments may establish a Project Fund if needed. Departments are responsible for any costs not approved as reimbursable.

Submission deadlines, all documentation must be submitted within one hundred eighty days from the date of loss. Extensions may be granted up to three hundred sixty days for non capital expenses.

No cash settlements, departments are reimbursed only for actual costs incurred and only when repairs or replacements are completed.

Deductible, each loss is subject to a $1,000 departmental deductible.

Repairs

Invoices with itemized charges and descriptions of work performed
Receipts, expense reports, purchase orders, and supporting documents
Solicitations, estimates, and purchase orders

Equipment, Contents, and Fine Art

Itemized invoices with Workday invoice numbers or PDFs
Complete inventory using Risk Management’s contents tracking sheet
Vendor solicitations, estimates, and purchase orders

University Labor

Documented hourly labor with names, roles, dates, hours, work orders, and descriptions
Facility Services labor documentation with detailed scopes of work
University labor should not be charged to a Project account

Departments may be eligible for Business Interruption coverage if total university loss expenses exceed $500,000, except for hurricanes, at which time a threshold will be calculated based on physical damage losses.  Risk Management will determine whether revenue was lost or additional costs were incurred because operations were suspended due to a covered loss.

Departments must track and document all extra expenses, such as temporary leases, storage, utilities, and expediting costs.

All property claims are adjusted by Sedgwick, the university’s third party claims administrator, in addition to the Office of Risk Management. Claims are adjusted in accordance with the terms and conditions of the corresponding insurance policy. Departments should refer to the applicable insurance program information for property insurance, fine art, specialty equipment, and equipment breakdown for details about coverages and common exclusions. Sedgwick may request information, conduct inspections, or review documentation during the claim.

For claims support, contact:

Matthew Kimmey
Sedgwick Property Claims Adjuster
Email: Matthew.Kimmey@sedgwick.com

Departments must respond promptly to requests from Sedgwick to avoid delays.

Departments may request a claim review meeting with the Assistant Director of Claims Management if a loss is denied or reduced. Requests must be submitted in writing to riskmanagement@lsu.edu with supporting justification.

The university assumes no liability for the loss or theft of personal property belonging to students, employees, or visitors.

Property Insurance Claim Guidelines