Mission Statement

The Office of Risk Management is charged by the Board of Regents with the responsibility for the preservation of assets, both human and physical. This is accomplished by identifying, evaluating, and controlling loss exposures faced by the University. Our goal is to minimize the adverse effects of unpredictable events. Toward this end, we utilize a number of processes and tools:

• maintain current values for buildings, contents, and moveable property
• respond to all property, liability and other casualty losses, initiating investigations and accomplishing the appropriate resolution of all claims
• develop programs for loss prevention based on available loss data
• coordinate loss control activities, in cooperation with Campus Safety and the University of Wisconsin Police Department
• authorize and maintain data base of approved drivers, approved pilots
• manage special insurance programs including surety bonding, equipment maintenance insurance, and programs to protect employees on qualified federal grants and participants in camps and clinic programs
• review insurance language in vendor and research contracts to control transfer of risk
• review and approve Certificates of Insurance for vendors and facility users and maintain on-line database of insurance information
• serve as a resource & provide consultation on matters related to insurance and loss prevention.

Services Provided
Risk Assessment: Property and liability protection are provided by the State of Wisconsin Self-funded programs. Other exposures are covered by UW System insurance policies for Boiler and Machinery, Contractual Liability and Crime. Risk management works with State Risk Management and UW-System Risk Management to see that adequate protection exists for the various exposures at UW-Madison. These include the many risks of teaching and research programs around the world, risks found on the health sciences campus, housing and dining facilities, broad ranging recreational programs including one of the largest inland boating operations in the country, and major spectator events held on campus. UW-Madison has over 40,000 students, 16,000 employees and thousands of visitors from all over the world.

Loss Control
Risk Management conducts a variety of activities to reduce our risk of loss. We interact with departments and campus personnel in a variety of ways to reduce the potential for loss and the impact that losses might have on day to day operations. Our goal is to be pro-active in mitigating exposures before they occur. To that end, we review contracts and projects and analyze loss data from a variety of sources. We work closely with the Safety Department as well as the UW Police Department. We have an extensive vehicle driver authorization program, including driver record review. A special medical coverage for camps & clinics lessens the potential for claims from injuries to these youthful participants. A new program is being created to control the financial impact of equipment maintenance. We have the capability to work with facility users to provide them with special event liability insurance, as needed.

Claims Administration
Risk Management administers all insurance claims for the UW-Madison including property, general liability, automobile, employee dishonesty, and boiler & machinery losses. This administration includes the various activities involved in investigation and negotiation (including settlement recommendations), with claimants, insurance companies and their representatives, UW System Administration and State Risk Management. A new database, shared with State and System, allows us to manage claims data more efficiently.

Statistics

Building and Contents Values	$5.2 billion
Premiums Distributed	$3.4 million annually
Claims Escrow Acct Managed	$1 million annually
Auto Claims	125/year
Property Claims	130/year
Liability Claims	100/year
Drivers Authorized	10,500/year
Pilots Authorized	None, currently
Camps/Clinics Participants	10,000 annually