Risk and Insurance in Work with Non-UC Parties

Risk Awareness and Insurance Guidance

All of UCSF's work with consultants, contractors, vendors, suppliers, and other non-UC parties poses inherent risk to UC and UCSF. RAIS provides guidance on insurance, contract language, and UC requirements to help UCSF departments make informed decisions.

UC systemwide policy BFB-BUS-63 requires non-UC parties doing business with UCSF to maintain appropriate insurance. Requirements vary based on the scope of work.

RAIS advises on contract language to protect UCSF, including:

• Insurance requirements
• Indemnification provisions
• Limitations of liability

Minimum insurance requirements are available to review on this UC Risk Services page.

Related purchasing policies are available at the Supply Chain Management (SCM) website.

For cybersecurity requirements for non-UC parties, visit the UC Cybersecurity Requirements for Suppliers page.

Certificates of Insurance (COIs)

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.   

Submitting COIs from 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.

Certificate Holder should read:

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.

UC’s Certificate of Self-Insurance

The standard UC Certificate of Self-Insurance provides proof of UC’s insurance. Use this whenever possible.

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 in its contacts with them.  If you are part of the UCSF community and require a customized UC COI, please email Andrew Sinclair, Enterprise Risk Analyst with the following information:

• Non-UC party name and address
• Description of the work or event
• Complete 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. 

Medical Liability and Hospital Indemnity COIs

Request these COIs through the UCSF Health Risk Management Office.

When submitting your request, you must select one of the following options as the “Requestor 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

Vendor Liability Insurance

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 visit the UC Vendor Liability Insurance Program. 

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 Special Events

Exhibitor/Vendor Liability Insurance for exhibitors, performers, and vendors participating in one-day events hosted and/or held by UCSF may purchase one-day coverage online here. 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 Andrew Sinclair, Enterprise Risk Analyst 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 system wide policy.

RAIS aims to review and respond to requests for insurance waivers within three to five business days of receipt.