The University Record, October 30, 1995
Risk Management urges staff to look at insurance on papers
The Risk Management Office urges all members of the University community to take a look at the risk posed by fire to valuable papers that may not be insured.
The University, note Risk Management staff, does not have an insurance policy that automatically covers lecture notes or other valuable papers. The following scenario could as easily happen at Michigan as the other university cited.
“Fire at another university resulted in the destruction of afaculty member’s lecture notes. The fire department soaked the notes while attacking the fire with a hose stream. The water-soaked documents were irrecoverable. The lecture notes were not insured as part of the fire loss,” says Larry Peck, insurance underwriter in the Risk Management Office.
Valuable papers can be insured to a stated value. Risk Management urges all who have valuable papers in their keeping to review the potential for loss by asking these questions:
—Is there a document inventory?
—Are some documents and contents irreplaceable?
—Would the loss of some documents impede, delay or interrupt your work?
—Are fire-rated storage cabinets used? Water damage can still occur in the attack of a fire.
—Does your building or office space have sprinklers? There is no assurance that your materials will be protected from fire, smoke or water damage.
In many situations, loss can be minimized by duplicating important documents and storing the duplicates off-site or on microfilm or microfiche.
To find out more about insurance, contact the Risk Management Office, 764-2200.
