Lightning Fire Claims
UCSC Risk Services is working to identify all damages arising from the lightning strike fires of mid August 2020 that are eligible for funding by the university's programs of insurance. Submit a claim for loss or damages by:
- emailing Risk Services at propertycasualty@ucsc.edu, or
- filling out the online report
Questions or concerns, call or email Jennifer Yeager at 831-459-5154 or jyeager@ucsc.edu.
How the lightning fire claims are organized
Coverage, limits and deductibles
Claims process, including when and how claims are funded
Templates that can be used to organize information
How the lightning fire claims are organized
The UCSC lightning fire claims are organized by location. There are three claims:
2021243792 - Main Campus - all UCSC claims except for certain claims at Mt. Hamilton and Big Creek. Although called "Main Campus", this claim encompasses everything except claims for Mt. Hamilton and Big Creek.
2021244337 - Mt. Hamilton - all claims related to Mt. Hamilton including both buildings and contents.
2021244338 - Big Creek - all claims related to facilities (e.g. land, roads, buildings) at Big Creek. Claims for research equipment located at Big Creek are handled under the Main Campus claim.
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Coverage, limits and deductibles
Fire is a covered peril by the university's property insurance. Direct physical damage from a fire is likely to be covered by the university's property insurance. Examples of other types of coverage are:
- Debris removal
- Clean-up costs (performed by contractors, independent contractors or suppliers)
- Clean-up costs (performed by UC employees)
- Emergency evacuation expenses
- Loss of revenue or profit
- Increased costs of performing normal business operations such as increased payroll costs (Extra Expenses)
- Cessation of unit’s operations, either completely or partially
There are many factors that determine whether a loss is funded. Sometimes a lot of information and documentation needs to be collected before a determination can be made. This process can take quite a bit of time. Do not assume that there is insurance available to fund a loss until the claims examiner has completed their investigation and advised in writing that the specific damages will be paid. Risk Services might give general information about what might be covered but only the claims examiner will relay final coverage and funding determinations that can be relied upon.
The university's self-insured property insurance limits are $7,500,000 per claim. If the amount of the claim exceeds this amount, then the university's commercial property insurance provides additional limits. The deductible for direct physical damage resulting from fire is $5,000 per each of the three claims. The deductible is pro-rated among all units, departments and divisions that are receiving funding. There may be other insurance programs that also provide coverage for these losses.
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Claims process, including when and how claims are funded
The campus, unit, department or division works directly with the claims examiner. The person working with the claims examiner may be the person who submitted the claim or it may be someone assigned to handle claims for their area. Please copy Eric Temes (etemes@ucsc.edu) and Jennifer Yeager (jyeager@ucsc.edu) on all email correspondence with the claims examiner. You should also reference, "UCSC - Lightning Fire Claims" and/or the claim number.
In working with the claims examiner, you will need to:
- Describe your damages. You may have direct physical damage to university owned property that is easy to describe or your loss might be more complex and more difficult to describe. For example, losses that involve lost research are often challenging to fully describe, especially to a layperson.
- Describe how your loss was caused by the fire. In some cases the relationship between the fire and the loss might be obvious but in other cases causation may be less obvious.
- Supply documentation to support your loss. Spreadsheets can help summarize information for the claims examiner. In addition to spreadsheets, you will eventually need to supply additional supporting documents like original purchase invoices, repair or replacement invoices, etc. The claims examiner will be able to tell you what documentation they need. The Labor Tracker and Property Tracker might be helpful.
- Answer any follow-up questions and cooperate fully in the claims process. As the claims examiner works on the loss, they often have additional questions and/or need to obtain additional documentation.
Sometimes the claims examiner needs to have detailed information about the damages prior to making a coverage determination. The claims examiner may need to hire experts to help evaluate the loss or may need to talk to campus facility or other technical experts. Do not assume that there is coverage or that damages will be funded by the insurance until you have written confirmation from the claims examiner.
Prior to funding any claim, the claims examiner will submit a Statement of Loss to Risk Services. The Statement of Loss describes what will be reimbursed and how much will be reimbursed. After Risk Services reviews the Statement of Loss, then campus entities review the Statement of Loss to ensure all payable losses and damages are addressed. At this point, Risk Services will seek input about the org and activity code (if applicable) to fund.
Generally, funding is distributed only after the entire claim for all campus entities are ready for reimbursement. Claims are typically handled on a reimbursement basis.
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Special circumstances
The lightning fire claims are complex and involve many different campus entities. The purpose of this webpage is to give you an idea of what is likely. Special circumstances may arise that necessitate different handling, including aspects of how funding is handled.
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Contacts and roles
Sedgwick is the university's third party claims administrator. Sedgwick is handling the lightning fire claims for the campus. The Sedgwick claims examiner who is assigned to the UCSC Lightning Fire claims is Robert Cervantes. Robert will work directly with campus entities. Robert is responsible for investigating the claim, gathering information, collecting documentation, resolving coverage issues, and making payment determinations.
Risk Services is responsible for seeking out affected areas on campus and facilitating the reporting and handling of claims. Risk Services does not directly investigate the claims nor do we have any authority to extend coverage. Risk Services does not act as the collection agency for campus entities. We monitor the claim correspondence and participate in the overall coordination of the claims. We also review the Statements of Loss and provide funding information to Sedgwick (after consultation within the campus). Contact us if you have a problem with the handling of your claim or if you need help understanding any of the roles in your claim filing.
Each campus entity is responsible for summarizing and organizing the claim for their own area. Each entity is also responsible for advising both Sedgwick and Risk Services who their point(s) of contact are for their claim.
The contacts for this claim are:
Sedgwick
Robert Cervantes, General Adjuster
Robert.Cervantes@Sedgwick.com
818-625-1879
Include Risk Services when corresponding with Robert. Contact Risk Services with any questions or concerns about working with Robert or Sedgwick.
UCSC Risk Services
Eric Temes, Risk Control Analyst
etemes@ucsc.edu
831-459-1458
Jennifer Yeager, Associate Director Risk Services
jyeager@ucsc.edu
831-459-5154
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Templates that can be used to organize information
You may find the following templates to be useful.
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Disclaimer
All claims are subject to investigation. All claims are subject to the terms and conditions of the UC insurance policies and/or insurance programs. No information provided here should be construed as a guarantee of coverage nor does it create any additional coverage or duty to insure a loss or to fund specific damages.
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