While all types of property, such as buildings, structures, goods, and equipment, face risks that can cause physical loss or damage, property permanently located outdoors is at an increased risk of loss, above and beyond traditional exposures. Property intended for continual outdoor deployment is exposed to increased likelihood of damage from such perils as natural disaster, flood, windstorm, lightning, hail, vandalism, theft, etc., given the limited ability to institute adequate protective measures against those perils. Such property may include signs, fencing, landscaping/hardscaping, athletic equipment, patio/outdoor furniture, detached garages, sheds, swimming pools, gazebos, temporary structures, docks/piers/jetties, communications equipment, bridges or tunnels, etc. Even with protective controls in place, the safety and security systems available to protect outdoor property are typically less extensive and more difficult to manage than those for indoor property. The increased risk and resulting financial losses to outdoor property can be substantial. Compounding the loss incurred when goods and equipment are damaged or destroyed, indirect losses, such as income interruption and extra expenses are also possible.

Due to the difficulty inherent in securing it and the resultant increase in likelihood of loss, outdoor property is only partially covered under the University's Master Property Insurance Program, which is primarily intended as catastrophe-level protection against large-scale losses. For owners of property stored or intended for outdoor use, the Risk Financing and Insurance department has developed a special program to address this exposure with more accommodating terms and conditions. The Mobile/Movable Property & Equipment Program is available to cover several types of property, including outdoor goods, equipment, and structures, and limits purchased through this program are specific to the property covered, not subject to sharing amongst other schools, departments, or TUBs.

If you have special circumstances or are uncertain how the insurance programs might apply, we encourage you to email or call the Risk Financing and Insurance Department at 617-495-7971 for details and to obtain a clarification.