Property claims and transactions resulting from Sept. 19 power outage

In coordination with your Major Administrative Unit/College’s appointed contact, please report any known MSU-owned property damage and other losses involving building damage, equipment, services or operations immediately upon discovery and no later than Friday, December 18, 2026, via the MSU Property Loss Report. Be sure to select “Sept. 19 Power Outage” for the Nature of Loss question.

Reports made within 90 days of the outage may still be eligible for recovery, as determined by our insurer. Any property loss that is not reported within 90 days of the occurrence will become the financial responsibility of the incurring department or unit.

Yes. Any known MSU-owned property damage and other losses involving building damage, equipment, services or operations must be reported to the Office of Risk Management and Insurance (RMI) using the standard process and coordinated with the MAU/College’s appointed contact as follows:

• Submit the MSU Property Loss Report immediately upon discovery and no later than Friday, December 18, 2026
• Select “Sept. 19 Power Outage” for the Nature of Loss question within the report
• Provide a detailed damage assessment including all known losses and additional expenses, such as:
  o    Estimated repair or replacement costs
  o    Lost services or revenue
  o    Overtime incurred by employees responding to the incident
   

The Sept. 19 power outage is an unprecedented event requiring extensive data collection and analysis by RMI to fully understand the scope of the university’s insurance claim. By having required the property loss reports to be submitted by October 7, RMI was able to begin the recovery process with our insurer more quickly.

Power outage-related MSU Property Loss Reports must be reported in coordination with your Major Administrative Unit/College’s appointed contact.

No further action is needed from you at this time. RMI has already recorded MSU Property Loss Reports that have been submitted, and is compiling all data organized by MAU. To avoid duplicate submissions and confirm accuracy, RMI will provide each MAU's designated point of contact with a summary of previously submitted reports for review.

No further action is required at this time. RMI will work with your MAU’s appointed contact to confirm the accuracy of reported expenses and update any information that has changed since the initial MSU Property Loss Report was submitted.

For claims resulting from the Sept. 19, 2026, power outage, we are making a one-time exception and waiving the departmental deductible of $15,000 for losses that are ultimately covered by insurance.

Insurance recovery is ultimately determined by our property insurer based on the information MSU provides. Consistent with RMI's standard process, any potential property insurance recovery for damaged equipment will require documentation of the repair or replacement purchase, including final receipts and related supporting information via the MSU Property Loss Report.

All damaged property must be repaired or replaced by the department/unit before any applicable insurance reimbursement will be made by RMI. If the property cannot be repaired—or the cost to repair is more than 50% of the replacement value—the item should be replaced with either new or reconditioned property of the same like, kind, quality, and specifications.

If you elect to purchase replacement equipment with upgrades, enhancements, or additional features, you may do so. However, if the damaged equipment is deemed eligible for insurance recovery, reimbursement will be limited to the cost of replacing the original equipment with one of like kind and quality. Any cost above the like-kind replacement value, including upgrades or modifications, will be the financial responsibility of the department and will not be included in the reimbursement amount.

Example: If a like-kind replacement costs $5,000 and the upgraded equipment costs $7,000, the reimbursement amount would be limited to $5,000, and the department would be responsible for the remaining $2,000.

If you believe your department experienced a loss of revenue as a direct result of this incident, please contact Emily Shatto, Interim Executive Director of the Office of Risk Management and Insurance, via email. Emily and the RMI team will work with you to gather the necessary information and evaluate whether the loss may be eligible for insurance recovery. Any potential reimbursement will be subject to policy coverage, supporting documentation, and review by the property insurance carrier.

General questions about the property loss report and this process can be directed to the Office of Risk Management and Insurance at riskmgmt@msu.edu.