Insurance Contract Review 

For contracts/agreements proposed by a third party, or for suggested amendments to UniSA template agreements you should consider the following:

Provisions relating to: 

• hold harmless
• indemnity
• liability
• governing law
• insurance

are the main causes of insurance disputes and should be reviewed in every case (not all contracts will necessarily include all of these provisions). Standard UniSA template agreements do not need to be referred.

• UniSA Insurance Office, in conjunction with internal or external legal advice, should be consulted to review relevant clauses before contracts are signed.
  
  
• Under a contract there are 3 main causes for possible insurance disputes between UniSA and a contract partner:
  
  
  1. A negligent act or omission of the UniSA contract partner has resulted in damage to University property or an injury to a University staff member or student. 
     
     • UniSA would make a property or injury claim under the relevant insurance and the insurer would seek recovery from the contract partner. 
  2. A negligent act or omission of UniSA partner has resulted in damage to a contract partners property or an injury to their staff.
     
     • UniSA would make a claim under their liability insurance and the UniSA insurer would seek resolve the issue with the contract partner. 
  3. An activity undertaken in line with contract requirements has resulted in damage to property owned by a third party to the contract, or an injury to a third party.  This may lead to a claim made by the third party against UniSA or the contract partner, either jointly or individually
     
     • UniSA would make a claim under their liability insurance and the UniSA insurer would seek resolve the issue with the third party and the contract partner.

• It is worth remembering that many clauses may be weighted in favour of one contract partner over the other, or they may be mutual where they apply equally to each contract partner.
  
  
• The Insurance Office will review the contract and make recommendations on amendments to contract terms.
  
  
• UniSA insurers will only cover losses or liabilities directly arising from the negligent acts or omissions of UniSA.  Insurance will not cover deliberate, wilful or unlawful acts.
  
  
• The Insurance Office will provide recommendations on contractual clauses based on the terms and conditions of our insurance policies. Should a recommendation of the Insurance Office be rejected and a contentious clause be accepted, the local area should conduct a thorough risk assessment so the extent of the risk to the University, through a potential uninsured loss, can be assessed before a contract is executed.

Risk assessment links:

Guidelines for Managing Business Risk 

UniSA Risk Matrix

• If UniSA acceptance of clauses that breach UniSA’s insurance terms or prejudice our Insurers rights (including their right to recover any losses), our insurers are entitled to either deny or reduce any UniSA claim for loss, damage or liability.  This may occur where:
  
  
1. UniSA has contracted into a liability where UniSA would not otherwise be responsible i.e. accepting liabilities arising from deliberate, wilful, unlawful, illegal or fraudulent acts
   
   
2. Contract terms inhibit insurer subrogation (recovery) rights to recover claim costs from negligent parties. Claim settlements for UniSA may be reduced by the extent that the insurers subrogation rights have been prejudiced by the contract terms i.e a liability cap will limit the value of any recovery that can be made by the insurer.
   
   
• Uninsured losses are borne by UniSA.