Property

The University holds insurance cover for all buildings, contents and equipment owned by or in the custody or control of the University. This includes items temporarily removed to other locations or in transit with limits of £250,000 any one consignment and £60,000 any one item. It should, however, be noted that the University carries a £25,000 deductible on all property claims of which only £1,000 is passed onto a Budget Centre.

In the event of a break-in where forced entry has taken place it is important that the University Security Section are notified and the local police who will make a note of details of what has been stolen and the damage to our property and give a crime number. All reasonable steps need to be taken to make sure the area is made safe again and the Estates Office will need to be contacted to put this in motion and please note there is an urgent repairs telephone number +44(0)121 414 6406.

• Mark Lawrence
  Head of Security and Emergency Planning
  m.d.lawrence@bham.ac.uk

For general enquiries telephone +44(0)121 414 3000 where one of the security personnel will be able to assist you.

No theft or accidental damage for personal property cover is available for and in general is brought to the University at the owner’s risk. Employees are, therefore, strongly recommended to extend their household contents policy to cover personal effects away from their home.

Personal Possessions:

There is some limited cover for personal possessions (e.g. clothes, personal computer, personally owned books, furniture brought in from home etc.) which may be stolen or damaged on campus. 

Where possible, staff and students are strongly advised to extend the scope of their own household policy to cover items whilst away from home and on campus. This is typically available via an ‘All Risks’ extension to the policy. The UoB Property policy provides some, restricted, cover which should be considered as a contingency option but this will only apply in certain circumstances and is subject to a number of exclusions and conditions. In particular, please note the following: 

1. Items which are more specifically insured are excluded.
2. There is a limit of £1,000 per person.
3. For claims involving theft, there is no cover at all for individuals’ loss of: precious metal, jewellery, watches, furs, contact lenses, portable electronic entertainment equipment, computer equipment, cameras, money and securities of any description. 

Cover is therefore very limited and students and staff are advised to act as if uninsured and take great care of their possessions, which are left at their own risk.

 

 

The University has Contractor’s All Risks Insurance which is required when the University contracts with many construction companies for building and refurbishment work campus wide.

As the automatic cover for contracts is only up to £2,500,000 in value there is a questionnaire which our insurers ask to be completed before a higher value contract is to be embarked upon.

This questionnaire which needs to be completed by Estates personnel and sent to the Insurance Office.  

Insurers provide All Risks cover for the transit of equipment off campus by way of an extension of the main property cover. NB. Cover is worldwide.

The limits are £250,000 in total with a £60,000 single item limit for property away from the premises.

It should be noted that the excess is  £25,000 and applies whether movement is within the UK or abroad.

Should the values of equipment  be exceeded in any way, then the Insurance Officer needs to be notified before the equipment is due to be transported so that specific cover can be arranged.

The duty of care issue needs to be adhered to and security of the equipment is extremely important (e.g. equipment should never be left unattended in a motor vehicle and packaged in such a way that accidental damage is minimised).

On the travel policy there is a small amount of cover for personal property/ business equipment (including laptops). This is for equipment that a member of staff or student may have to take with them on a business trip. The cover stands on the understanding that all reasonable steps will have been taken for the security of the equipment whilst on route.

There is some cover under the travel policy for loss of or damage to personal belongings or business equipment. Please refer to the Travel pages for more information - Travelling and working away from the workplace

 

 

This policy provides cover for the loss of University money whilst in transit anywhere within the United Kingdom, or whilst on University premises. 

There are limits to the sums of cash and negotiable money that can be held on the premises, notably:

(i)           In the premises during working hours or in transit or in a bank night safe or at contract sites during working hours: Limit £20,000

(ii)          In the premises out of working hours:

1. In locked safes or strong rooms: Limit £40,000, or the manufacturer’s maximum cash limit for the safe, whichever is lesser
2. Not in a locked safe or strong room: Limit £500

It is a condition of this policy that, outside the normal working hours of the University, all safe keys must be removed from the site where the safe is located and retained in the custody of responsible employees.