Contractors Equipment Insurance A brief overview

Background F.S (1): Insurance, while not a commodity, nevertheless shall be purchased for all agencies by the department, except that agencies may purchase title insurance for land acquisition and may make emergency purchases of insurance pursuant to s (5)(a). The procedures for purchasing insurance, whether the purchase is made by the department or by the agencies, shall be the same as those set forth herein for the purchase of commodities.F.S (1)

Background F.S (4): No primary insurance contracts shall be purchased on any property or insurable subjects when the same is loaned to, leased by, or intended to be leased by, the state or its departments, divisions, bureaus, commissions, or agencies unless such coverage is required by the terms of the lease agreement and unless the insurance coverages required by the provisions of the lease are approved in writing by the Department of Management Services.F.S (4)

Statutory Requirements? Basically, the statutes say that coverage is allowed on items that make up Contractors Equipment if the coverage is sanctioned by DMS. DMS sanctions coverage through the Contractors Equipment insurance policy. –If an item fits into the scope of the insurance policy, but cannot be insured through it, DMS may solicit a separate policy specifically for that item.

What Qualifies as “Contractors Equipment?” In the broadest terms possible, any equipment subject to a transportation feature may possibly be covered. Examples include: construction vehicles, mobile office units, portable generators, emergency-response trailers, and buses.

How Do I Join? Contact DMS’ Insurance Coverage Program administrator. –Michael Bailey –Alternate point of contact: Allison Norman

How Do I Join? You will need to provide a point of contact for your agency. (This person will be referred to as the Insurance Coordinator, or IC.) –Name – address –Phone number –Fax number –Mailing address You will also need to provide information for an alternate point of contact and your supervisor.

What Do I Do? The IC is required to maintain a record of every item insured via this policy. This record must include: –Item name –Item description –Date added –Date removed (when applicable) Why? The continuance of this policy relies almost completely on the diligence and trustworthiness of its participants. And, in the event of a claim, the insurance company is permitted to examine the claimant’s records.

What Do I Do? Once per quarter, the IC is required to report the total insured values for the expiring quarter. –The schedule of insured items needs to be sent to DMS. –The latest version of the reporting form is posted on the Contractors Equipment section of DMS’ Insurance Coverage Program’s website.Insurance Coverage Program The quarterly period lasts from the 21 st to the 21 st of every third month beginning June, at 12:01am. Reports are due the next business day after the last full day of the quarter.

How do I add items to the policy? Each insurance coordinator adds her/his agency’s items. Items valued in excess of $250,000 must be approved by an underwriter prior to addition to the insurance policy. DMS does not add items to the policy; DMS is available for advice, if you have a question about insurability. To add an item to the policy, you must record that item’s information into your schedule and include that item’s information on the applicable quarterly reports.

Certificates of Insurance If the leasing company requires proof of insurance, the insurance agent handling this policy will provide a certificate of insurance. To request a certificate of insurance, please provide the following information on the Certificate of Insurance Request Form that is available for download from the Contractors Equipment section of the Insurance Coverage Program’s website:Insurance Coverage Program –Name of item –Description –Value –Date acquired –Lessor Information: Name Address Contact person (optional) Phone number (optional)

Certificates of Insurance Certificates of insurance (CI) are valid the duration of the policy. You may request that new certificates of insurance be issued upon policy renewal/resolicitation. CIs are formal statements of an item’s being insured; an item may be insured without having a CI.

How can I remove items from the policy? Just like in the addition of items, the power to remove items from the policy is in the hands of the IC. To remove an item, an IC will indicate the date of removal on her/his agency’s schedule of insured items, and then not include the value of that removed item on the report for the period following the period during which the item is removed. –In essence: stop reporting the item.

My Report Is Late Late reports will be accepted, though the IC’s supervisor will be notified. We recommend designating an alternate IC. Please account for leave time. If you are going to be out-of-office when a report is due, please send the report ahead of time or instruct your alternate to send it at the appropriate time.

End Questions? Please contact the program administrator.