Cornell requires all third-party contractors, vendors, service providers, or the users of University facilities, to provide evidence of certain types of insurance coverage at specified minimum limits of liability.  These requirements ensure that if a claim is filed because of exposures related to the scope of work, financial protection will cover the third party’s obligations under the agreement.

Consider working with contractors who have insurance already in place. If a contractor is not able to meet the standard requirements, the Office of Risk Management may be able to grant a waiver. Insurance waivers should not be the norm, and when granted, are only done so on a one-time basis.
When a waiver is requested, the contractor in question should not be engaged until a waiver is granted. Requests will not be considered after a contractor has begun work.

Corporations and other legal business entities (including Single-Member LLC) are required to have minimum core insurance coverage. Any deviation from the standard insurance requirements must be approved by RMI through the insurance waiver/modification process.

It is also possible to request a modification to the standard requirements (i.e. reduction in limit, waiver of workers’ compensation, or auto liability when the work is to occur remotely) if the risk to the university is considered minimal/low.

Requests to waive or modify any insurance requirements (except for events or services involving minors) should be submitted to the office of Risk Management and Insurance as follows:

• Confirm that the services do not involve working with minors
• Confirm with RMI what the minimum insurance requirement will be for the scope of work
• Confirm that the contractor does not have the required insurance (The contractor must provide justification as to why he or she is not able to meet the minimum requirement for the scope of work).
• Cornell-Insurance-Waiver-Modification-Request-Form (Note: Partially completed form will not be processed)
• The contract administrator must forward a copy of the agreement and the  waiver form to Risk Management (risk_mgmt@cornell.edu) for review and/or approval
• If the scope of work upon which the waiver was approved changes, the waiver is void.

The Contractor’s justification for insurance waiver/modification must be made by the contractor/consultant, and not the Cornell department or unit contracting for the work.

The department must explain why the risk to Cornell is minimal, and why the department considers it a safe risk to waive the insurance requirements for the independent contractor. This information will be used by RMI to assess whether a waiver of the insurance requirements can or cannot be granted to this particular independent contractor.The department or unit must recognize its oversight responsibilities for all risks associated with the scope of work. If RMI grants the waiver, the department/university may be required to assume financial responsibility for any costs or expenses resulting from the negligence or errors/omissions that would otherwise have been covered by the consultant’s or contractor’s insurance.