Within the past four months, five departments on campus have more than $29,000 worth of uninsured equipment stolen, leaving department scrambling to replace the items and University administrators considering a policy change.

Chancellor Walter Wendler said the University has never required departments to insure their equipment but has given them the option to purchase insurance through the University’s self-insurance program.

In lieu of recent incidents, Wendler said administration is in the process of reviewing the policy and determining the cost and benefit analysis of making equipment insurance mandatory.

Advertisement

“Typically the University is self-insured, but recent occurrences are causing us to look carefully at that policy,” Wendler said.

Last week, an uninsured Macintosh PowerBook computer valued at $2,200 was stolen from the School of Journalism in the Communications Building. And more than $26,000 of uninsured equipment was stolen from the Department of Curriculum and Instruction, located in the Wham Education Building between December and January.

In earlier interviews with the DAILY EGYPTIAN, Curriculum and Instruction officials said they were looking for a way to replace the stolen equipment. The department has now purchased insurance for its remaining equipment.

If departments do choose to purchase equipment insurance, they may do so through University Risk Management, a University-wide service that offers a self-insurance program for the SIU System, including SIU-Edwardsville and the SIU School of Medicine in Springfield. Through the program departments may purchase small equipment insurance, for items such as computers and cameras, up to $35,000.

By purchasing insurance, a department pays a small contribution and the program maintains a reserve from which it pays claims. The contribution rate is 30 cents for every $100 per year. So if a department wishes to insure $1,000 worth of equipment, it would pay $3 per year in contributions.

Departments then would pay a $250 deductible for every claim. In the last five years, the program has had only 20 claims.

Chris Glidewell, director of University Risk Management, said purchasing equipment insurance is contingent upon several factors, including cost and benefit analysis and the value and depreciation rates of equipment.

Advertisement*

“It’s easy to say now that something has been stolen and they should have insured it, but there’s some decision making in that process,” Glidewell said. “You have to make a determination on whether it’s better to insure it or not insure it.”

Wendler said if a policy is implemented, it would most likely require all departments to insure their equipment through the program, which is less expensive than purchasing commercial insurance. He said he hopes to make a determination by the end of the semester.

“We are giving this matter very serious attention,” Wendler said. “The equipment and the things we use in these programs are very important to us, and we want to make sure the students have what we have here.”

Glidewell said it would not be beneficial to have a University-wide policy requiring all departments to purchase equipment insurance. She said such a policy would likely increase contribution rates as well as claims, making the program ineffective.

“We wouldn’t recommend a blanket policy,” Glidewell said. “It would not be cost effective to the University to do so.”

For this fiscal year, University Risk Management is billing 171 accounts. Glidewell said this number is not representative of the number of departments enrolled in the program because one person may act as a fiscal officer for more than one department

SIU Public Safety Director Todd Sigler said there are no suspects in the Curriculum and Instruction burglaries but that the incident is still under investigation.

Reporter Ashley Richardson can be reached at [email protected]