• Purchasing insurance in a cost effective manner, considering both the purchase price as well as the protection afforded by the insurance.
• Adequately protecting the assets of the University by the purchase of insurance and other means not herein described.

Frequency

The Office of Risk Management will endeavor to bid its major coverages on three to five year cycles. However, frequency can be affected by various circumstances, such as a company becoming bankrupt, abandoning a line of business, a major change in the coverage base, etc.

Frequency can also be affected by circumstances outside our control, such as serious natural disasters or human caused disasters (e.g., terrorist attacks) that seriously affect the stability of the insurance marketplace.

Timing

The bid process will begin in early October for finalization in early January. This is based on most of our policies renewing February 1.

Assignment of markets

One of the dangers in the insurance marketplace is "thrashing" the market. Many companies belong to groups (known as "fleets") and will not compete against each other. Underwriters who are barraged with submissions for the same coverage from different sources will at best demand a single source be picked and sometimes simply disregard all submissions.

When we anticipate this problem the University will assign markets in a fair and equitable manner.

Placement of coverage

In the course of business, IU may desire to place several policies that generate small commission revenues (several less than $100 annually). These types of coverage will not be bid but will be placed with an agent/broker/company currently doing business with us. If more than one current agent/broker/company could readily participate on the coverage it will be offered to them in an informal quotation process.

The standard Purchasing policies can be found at http://www.indiana.edu/~purchase/policies/policy_list.html. A summary of the major policies is as follows:

Purchasing Authority:

Purchasing authority is vested in the Board of Trustees of Indiana University and delegated through the President to the University Director of Purchasing. Only authorized Indiana University personnel may commit university funds for goods and services.

State & Federal Statutes and Regulations:

The University Purchasing Department will comply with all state statutes, federal laws, and regulations.

Ethics:

All university personnel authorized to conduct purchasing activities shall adhere to the highest degree of ethical standards. No employee shall engage in or permit any illegal or improper purchasing practice. Further, any employee having knowledge of any questionable practices shall immediately report this knowledge to the University Director of Purchasing. Engaging in or permitting unethical or illegal conduct constitutes grounds for disciplinary action that may include possible termination of employment and/or criminal prosecution.

Responsibilities in Acquisition Process:

The acquisition of goods and services is a cooperative effort between the requesting department and Purchasing Department. Many of the steps involved in the process are the direct responsibility of the Purchasing Department or the requesting department; therefore, both departments have ownership of the outcome. Close cooperation is essential if the best results are to be obtained.

Policy on Competition:

Single requirements under $5,000 need not be bid. The purchasing professional may use his or her discretion regarding bidding single requirements with a net cost of less than $5,000. Competitive quotes shall be solicited for requirements of over $5,000 or appropriate justification shall be provided to document exceptions.

Recognized official quotations are the responsibility of the University Purchasing Department.

Purchase Order Award Criteria

Cost may not be the sole criteria considered in the award of purchase orders. Awards may be made employing a combination of the following criteria:

1. Degree to which the item(s) or service quoted will best fill the university's requirements
2. Price includes freight, payment terms, and life-cycle costing (Life-cycle costing includes total acquisition price, installation, annual operating and maintenance costs, and residual value)
3. Delivery date
4. Service
5. Everything being equal, purchase will be made from local, State and U.S. vendors, in that order

Release of Procurement Information:

The following rules govern the release of information gathered during the procurement process:

1. Notification of award, pricing, and competitive offers will be released only by the Purchasing Department.
2. Information regarding pricing and competitive offers will be released by the Purchasing Department only after an order has been placed and accepted by the selected vendor.
3. Proprietary information covered by a signed non-disclosure certificate will not be released.
4. Institutional data shall not be used which would be in conflict with our Policy on Reciprocity.
5. State statute IC 5-14-3.3 Right of public inspection of public records.

Purchases from Minority Vendors:

Indiana University is committed to providing minority vendors every opportunity to compete for its business. Efforts will be made in the purchasing departments to identify minority vendors, inform these vendors of university requirements, and solicit quotes from such vendors whenever possible. Efforts will be made to communicate with minority vendors regarding the purchasing process so that they may become more viable suppliers.