Risk and Insurance in Work with Non-UC Parties
All of UCSF's work with consultants, contractors, vendors, suppliers, and other non-UC parties poses inherent risk to UC and UCSF. RAIS guides UCSF toward awareness of this risk with advice on non-UC parties' insurance, contract language, and risk- and insurance-related UC requirements, to help all UCSF departments make informed business decisions.
UC systemwide policy BFB-BUS-63 requires all non-UC parties with which UCSF does business to maintain certain types and amounts of insurance as evidence of their financial responsibility for losses, injuries, and damages that arise out of their work with us. UC has minimum insurance requirements for all non-UC parties that do business with UC and its campuses, but some work requries different types and amounts of insurance based on its scope, duration, cost, and other factors. RAIS routinely advises the UCSF community on appropriate types and amounts of insurance for various types of work.
UC also requires that all written contracts contain language to help protect UC and UCSF. RAIS advises on specific risk- and insurance-related language in all types of contracts, with emphasis on:
- Insurance requirements;
- Indemnification provisions; and
- Limitations of Liability.
UC's minimum insurance requirements for all non-UC parties that do business with UC and its campuses are available here.
Please review the Supply Chain Management (SCM) webpage on policies that apply to purchasing, at https://supplychain.ucsf.edu/policies.
Please also review UC's requirements related to cyber security for non-UC parties, at https://security.ucop.edu/resources/for-suppliers.html.
Certificates of Insurance
A Certificate of Insurance (COI) is a standardized summary of the types and amounts of insurance a party carries. Non-UC parties routinely provide COIs to UCSF to meet their contractual obligations and offer us evidence of their financial responsibility. COIs are a critical component of doing business, and all UCSF departments are expected to obtain compliant COIs from non-UC parties before work begins or goods and services are purchased.
RAIS provides guidance to UCSF on COIs. Please note that our guidance is limited to the General Liability and other insurance programs we manage; requests and questions pertaining to Professional Medical Liability and/or Hospital Indemnity COIs are handled by the Health Risk Management team.
Please note: SCM provides UCSF departments with front-line support on issues related to COIs, insurance requirements, and contract language when those issues are tied to the purchase of goods and services. While RAIS offers advice directly to SCM on escalated issues, we suggest that UCSF departments contact SCM first.
Certificates of Insurance Issued to UCSF by Non-UC Parties
If you are a consultant, contractor, vendor, supplier, or other non-UC party and are working with UCSF, please email (or have your insurance agent or broker email) your COI to the Buyer, Procurement Analyst, or contract specialist with whom you are working. Please do not mail COIs, as UCSF cannot guarantee receipt.
The Certificate Holder/Additional Insured on COIs submitted to UCSF should be The Regents of the University of California, with an address matching the University address to which notices should be sent per the associated contract. As an alternative, the Certificate Holder/Additional Insured may read as follows:
The Regents of the University of California
SCM Insurance Desk
1855 Folsom St., Ste. 304
San Francisco, CA 94143-0910
Please note that RAIS does not maintain a repository of the COIs issued to UCSF. We recommend that copies of the COIs that UCSF receives be maintained with their associated contracts.
The University of California’s Certificate of Self-Insurance
Non-UC parties may also require evidence of UC’s insurance. UC is self-insured, and the standard UC Certificate of Self-Insurance (“UC COI”) includes evidence of UC’s current General Liability, Automobile Liability, Property, and Workers' Compensation/Employers’ Liability self-insurance.
Most non-UC parties accept the standard UC COI; however, some may require a customized UC COI to fulfill specific requirements UC agrees to meet it its contacts with them. If you are part of the UCSF community and require a customized UC COI, please email Meg Cody, Risk Officer - Contract Services with the following information:
- The full name and address of the non-UC party to which the customized UC COI should be issued;
- Your detailed description of the work or event; and
- A complete copy of any relevant written contract.
Please note that customized UC COIs may take several business days to issue. The standard UC COI should be provided to non-UC parties as a first option, and customized UC COIs should be requested only when non-UC parties do not accept the standard UC COI.
RAIS aims to review and respond to requests for customized UC COIs within three to five business days of receipt.
Professional Medical Liability and Hospital Indemnity Certificates of Insurance
You may request a Professional Medical Liability and Hospital Indemnity COI online, at https://ucinsurancecert.alliant.com/Pages/Landing.aspx. When submitting your request, you must select one of the following options as the “Requestor’s Location” in the request portal:
- UCSF Medical Center – Langley Porter
- University of California, San Francisco – Fresno
- University of California, San Francisco Campus Health
- University of California, San Francisco Medical Center
- Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital
The portal will also ask you to select your department. Please do NOT choose University of California, San Francisco and Risk Management and Insurance Services as your department, or your request will be denied and you will need to resubmit it.
For any questions regarding Professional Medical Liability and Hospital Indemnity COIs, contact Health Risk Management at [email protected] or 415.353.1842.
Insurance for Non-UC Parties That Do Not Meet UC Insurance Requirements
The UC Vendor Liability Insurance Program provides protection against liability claims for work performed by qualifying consultants, contractors, vendors, suppliers, and other non-UC parties working under contract for UC that do not already carry General Liability insurance. UC Vendor Liability Insurance Program coverage costs $750.00 and is valid for one (1) year for work a qualifying non-UC party does with all UC campuses. For more information and to apply online, please click here.
At its discretion, a department may elect to add all or some of the coverage’s cost to the total value of the applicable contracts(s).
UCSF reserves the right to require additional other insurance in such amounts as may be reasonably required against other insurable risks, based on the specific details of each engagement.
Insurance for Exhibitors, Performers, and Vendors at UCSF Special Events
Exhibitor/Vendor Liability Insurance for exhibitors, performers, and vendors participating in one-day events hosted and/or held by UCSF may be purchased online. This Exhibitor/Vendor Liability Insurance coverage is valid only for the day of the event.
At its discretion, a department may elect to add all or some of the coverage’s cost to the total value of the applicable contracts(s).
Exceptions to UC Insurance Requirements
In select situations, RAIS may waive the requirement that a non-UC party maintain and provide UCSF with evidence of insurance that meets UC requirements. These “insurance waivers” are exceptions to UC policy and are never intended to function as conveniences: all UCSF departments are expected to ask every non-UC party with which they work for evidence of insurance that meets UC requirements before requesting an insurance waiver. RAIS will only consider insurance waivers for engagements that we agree are low risk to UC and UCSF.
Departments are advised that any work with a party that does not meet UC insurance requirements carries the risk of financial loss to UC and UCSF that would normally be covered by that party’s insurance. Departments can help to mitigate this risk by requiring that parties without liability insurance purchase UC Vendor Liability Insurance; please see the “Insurance for Non-UC Parties That Do Not Meet UC Insurance Requirements” section of this page for more details.
To request that RAIS consider an insurance waiver, please email Meg Cody, Risk Officer - Contract Services with a complete copy of the relevant Statement of Work (or similar documentation), including:
- The non-UC party’s name;
- Your description of the work;
- The work’s duration;
- The work’s anticipated cost;
- Details on any PHI or PII to which the non-UC party will have access; and
- Your reason for requesting an exception to UC systemwide policy.
RAIS aims to review and respond to requests for insurance waivers within three to five business days of receipt.
Risk and Insurance in Contracts
UCSF’s written contracts with non-UC parties generally include language that requires one or both parties to maintain specific types and amounts of insurance and allocates responsibility for potential liability. RAIS advises UCSF on insurance, indemnification, and limitation of liability language in all contracts when that language differs from UC standards or when other questions arise.
RAIS also makes recommendations on appropriate types and amounts of insurance during competitive bidding processes to facilitate prequalification of prospective consultants, contractors, vendors, suppliers, and other non-UC parties.
To request RAIS’s review of risk- and insurance-specific language in a contract or feedback on insurance requirements for prequalification purposes, please contact Meg Cody, Risk Officer - Contract Services. Please provide Meg with as much information as possible, including a complete copy of the contract and related documents and your specific questions or concerns.
Please note that RAIS does not review or offer advice on Professional Medical Liability and/or Hospital Indemnity requirements or contract language, as these insurance programs are managed by UCSF’s Health Risk Management team. Please email questions regarding Professional Medical Liability and Hospital Indemnity items to Health Risk Management at [email protected].
Other Questions?
For additional assistance with the topics featured on this page, please contact Meg Cody, Risk Officer - Contract Services.