Thefts

Portable electronic equipment when left unattended is not covered by the Insurance Office.

*Portable electronic equipment includes (but not limited to) cameras, mp3 players, camcorders, laptops, projectors, tablets or portable recorders, 

There must be signs of forcible entry in order for the Insurance Office to accept the claim.  If a claim is accepted, there is a $2,500 departmental deductible per occurrence for all thefts or acts of vandalism.  Please note the Insurance Office will not reimburse for laptops stolen from vehicles.

Valuation of Claim

If your claim is accepted, reimbursement for stolen equipment, or equipment damaged beyond repair is based on replacement value. If the department opts to upgrade its equipment following any such loss, reimbursement will still be based on a comparable replacement (less any applicable deductible) for the damaged or stolen equipment. If the department does not plan to replace the stolen or damaged equipment, reimbursement will be based on the actual cash value prior to the loss. Any property damage of $2,500 or less, or that involves portable electronic devices (cellular phones, pagers, IPADs, etc.) is the responsibility of the department.

Please provide:

  • Copy of the police report;
  • MIT property tag number;
  • Copies of the original purchase orders and or invoices, reflecting the stolen equipment and its specifications;
  • Copies of the replacement purchase order(s), reflecting the account to be credited for reimbursement.

Data

Regardless of insurance coverage, Missing or stolen equipment containing legally protected data elements must be reported to the Data Incident Response Team (DIRT).  Information outlining equipment users’ specific security related responsibilities is found at http://infoprotect.mit.edu/

Refer to the IS&T website for more security related information.  https://ist.mit.edu/security/loss

Protection

From a safety and security standpoint – you should always look to protect your equipment.  MIT Insurance recommends a MIT Police-approved double-lock system is in place to safeguard equipment. The following presently qualify as double-lock systems: a) locked within cabinet or desk drawer or within a locked, alarmed office when not in use; b) desktop computers installed or stored behind two locked doors or within a locked, alarmed office. 

While departments may choose to use cable-locking devices, there are currently no theft-deterrent products that are MIT Police-approved. New products are periodically reviewed by MIT police. All Departments, Labs and Centers are responsible for safeguarding MIT owned equipment:

  • Recommendations may be made to increase security.  Any security improvements are made solely at the department's expense;
  • Failure to take any reasonable precautions to mitigate the recurrence of property damage or theft (i.e., same location, same type of occurrence) may result in additional cost sharing (above the deductible? by the department for repairs or replacement of damaged or stolen property;
  • Non-owned equipment in MIT's care, custody and control must be evaluated on a case-by-case basis;
  • Portable electronic devices, including but not limited to, drones, cell phones and PDA's are not insurable equipment.

To File A Claim please click here

For any further questions please contact Sarah Brown.