CR 06-147 Authorize Renewal of the League of MN Cities Insurance Trust Policy
December 19,2006
Council Report 2006-147
.
AUTHORIZE RENEWAL OF THE
LEAGUE OF MINNESOTA CITIES INSURANCE TRUST POLICY
Proposed Action
Staff recommends adoption of the following Move to renew the League of Minnesota Cities Insurance
Trust policy and continue to waive the statutory tort liability limits to the extent of the coverage
purchased.
Adoption of this motion will result in staff moving forward with the proposed LMCIT insurance coverage.
This does not include medical insurance coverage. The recommendation to waive the statutory tort
liability limits is based on past action by the City Council. You may of course choose to not waive the
statutory limts on tort liability thus saving the city approximately $4,000 in premiums.
Overview
The statutory municipal tort liability limits continue to be $300,000 per claimant, $1,000,000 per occurrence.
The statutory tort liability limit of $1,000,000 is the same as last year. The $300,000 per claimant liability is
currently waived. The city council must make the decision to waive or not waive the tort liability limit. See
attached LMCIT resource document regarding liability coverage options.
Overall municipallliability rates will decrease 3 %, property rates will increase 10%, and auto liability rates
will decrease 3 % and auto physical damage will decrease 3 %. Rates for all other coverage, namely excess
liability, boiler & machinery open meeting law remain the same. The rate changes are primarily driven by
changes in the Leagues loss experience. While rates do influence premiums, an individual city's actual
premiums will also be affected by changes in its expenditures, property values, payrolls, and other exposure
measures and also by changes in the city's experience rating. The insurance premium for Hopkins will
increase overall approximately 8-10% over last year's premium. The primary reason for the increase is the
result of higher property values, and reserves for ongoing liability claims.
Overall, the liability and property loss picture doesn't look much different than it did a year ago, and the
League isn't seeing any new trends or alarming patterns. Liability loss costs, which make up about half of the
property/casualty total, have been remarkable stable for the past few years. Actual loss costs at the LMCIT
have been coming in below projections. Property makes up about l/3rd of the LMCIT loss cost. From 2003
forward property loss rates have been low, in large part because the last three summers have produced very
little storm loss.
Despite the stability, litigation relating to land use regulation and development continues to be a concern of
the League. Land use litigation costs average the League over $2 million a year - about 20% of the total
liability loss cost - and they can vary a great deal from year to year.
Finance continues to recommend the deductible amount of $20,000/$40,000 with $1,000 per occurrence after
reaching the maximum of $40,000. The current amount available in the insurance risk fund to cover
deductible costs is $185,250. In addition the LMCIT has declared a $4 million dollar dividend on the 2006
policy. This is significantly below the $12 million returned last year. The decrease is the result of higher than
usual losses and loss development. See accompanying memo for more details on the expected dividend.
Primary Issues to Consider
Deductible amount
The City of Hopkins currently waives the statutory tort limits and does not purchase excess liability
coverage. A single claimant could potentially recover up to $1,000,000 on a single occurrence. The total
which all claimants would be able to recover for a single occurrence to which the statutory tort limits
apply is also limited to $1,000,000, regardless of the number of claimants. The cost of waiving the
statutory tort limit is approximately $4,000 and is already included in the cities annual premium amount.
. If the City of Hopkins does not waive the statutory tort limits, an individual claimant would be able to
recover no more than $300,000 on any claim to which the statutory tort limits apply. The total which all
claimants would be able to recover for a single occurrence to which the statutory tort limits apply, would
be limited to $1,000,000. These statutory tort limits apply regardless of whether or not the city purchases
optional excess liability coverage.
Staff Recommendation
Finance recommends renewal of the LMCIT Insurance Policy and based on past council action waiving of the
monetary limits on the tort liability established by Minnesota Statutes 466.04, to the extent of the limits of the
liability coverage obtained from LMCIT.
Supportine Information
LMCIT Memo
. LMCIT Waiver Form
. LMCIT Resource document on liability coverage options
~
Christine Harkess, CPA, CGFM
Finance Director
Winancial Impact: (approximately) $190.000
Budgeted: Yes Source: All fundsl
LMC
League of Minnesota Cities
Insurance Trust
145 University Avenue West, st. Paul, MN 55103-2044
(651) 281-1200 · (800) 925-1122
Fax: (651) 281-1298 · TDD: (651) 281-1290
www.lmnc.org
L-eue 0/ Minnesota Ctties
Cities promoting ~ce
November 29,2006
To: LMCIT Members and Agents
From: LMCIT Board of Trustees
Re: 2006 - 2007 Property/Casualty Rates and Dividend
2007 Workers' C;ompensation Rates
Property/casualty rates and dividend for 2006 - 2007
Rates
Here are the premium rate changes LMCIT members will see at their next renewal. The
property/casualty rate changes apply to renewals on or after November 15, 2006.
Municipal liability rates will decrease 3 %.
Property rates will increase 10%.
Auto liability rates will decrease 3%.
Auto physical damage will decrease 3%.
In addition to these changes, there's a significant rate change for increased limits on UM/UIM.
The rate for $1 million limits will increase 250%. Rates for the basic $50,000 limit will remain
unchanged. As we review our loss experience, it's clear that our rates are insufficient to reflect
the risk associated with UM/UIM claims - particularly at the increased limit. The increase
reflects the actual risk based on our loss experience.
The rate increase will no doubt cause some cities to reevaluate whether the higher limits are
really necessary. To help in that evaluation we've redrafted our risk management memo on auto
coverage options to include a full discussion of the UMlUIM options. That memo is available on
our web site or by calling the League offices.
There are no changes for excess liability, machinery breakdown, liquor liability, bond rates, or
open meeting law defense.
Rate changes are primarily driven by loss experience. The rate changes listed do not mean that
your city's actual premium will necessarily increase or decrease by these exact amounts.
Although rates do indeed influence premiums, your city's actual premium will also be affected
by changes in expenditures, property values, payrolls, and other exposure measures, and also by
changes in your experience rating.
AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY/AFFIRMATIVE ACTION EMPLOYER
r Dividend 1
Property/casualty program members will share a $4 million dividend this year. This is quite a bit
less than the $12 million we returned last year and the $9 million we returned for three years
prior. The decrease in dividend is primarily the result of higher-than-usuallosses and loss
developInent. As it turns out, there were quite a few mid-sized to large losses in 2005-2006.
As in the past, we'll distribute the dividend in mid-December. The dividend formula will be the
sa~e as we've used for several years. Under that formula, each city's share is proportionate to
the. difference between the city's total earned premiums and total incurred losses for all years the
city has been a member, with large individual losses capped for purposes of the formula.
Work comp rates for 2007
Overall work comp rates will remain steady for 2007, although class rate changes may impact
cities differently. Every three years, the LMCIT Board reviews and revises the relative levels of
premium rates for the various classes of employees. To the extent possible, we set the rates for
each class based on LMCIT's own actual loss experience by class for the preceding five-year
period.
In implementing adjustments to the class rate schedule for 2007, we've imposed a 20%
constraint on the amount of increase by which any individual class rate can change.
For a city with a typical mix of payrolls, the class rate changes will offset each other to a large
extent. However, a special purpose entity member with most of its payroll in one or two classes
will see a much bigger effect. This is particularly noticeable for 2007 in the volunteer fire class.
But it's important to note that the actual increases for a few classes would have been much
greater without the 20% cap. Without the cap, volunteer fire rates based on the actual losses
would have increased almost 75%.
The following table details the 2007 rate changes for the classifications that cover the bulk of
city payrolls. There are a number of other classes -that are used more sparingly in cities. It' s
important to note that most job class rates are shown per $100 of payroll. The rates for volunteer
fire (7708 and 7718) are shown per 100 of population.
LMCIT % LMCIT
Code Description 2006 Change 2007
5506 Street 7.04 11 7.80
9402 Sewer, snowplow, etc. 7.04 11 7,80
7380 Ambulance 6.27 -17 5,18
7381 Vol. Ambulance 6.34 20 7,61
7502 Gas Ops 2.42 20 2,89
7520 Waterworks 3.03 20 3,64
7539 Electric or Steam Plant 4.00 -9 3.64
7580 Sewage Plant 4.03 -39 2.48
7610 Cable TV .40 19 .48
2
7706 Fire - Paid 6,13 11 6.79
7716 Fire - Paid (non-smoking) 5,53 11 6,11
7708 Fire - Volunteer 62,99 20 75.59
7718 Fire-Vol (non-smoking) 56.71 20 68.06
7720 Police 4.06 -4 3.90
7721 Police (non-smoking) 3.65 -4 3.51
8017 Liquor - Off Sale 2,13 3 2.19
8227 City Shop 5.26 15 6.05
8810 Clerical .61 19 .72
8829 Nursing Home - Prof 4.89 -10 4.42
8830 Nursing Home - Other 3,63 10 3.99
8833 Hospital - Prof 2.64 -17 2,19
9015 Building Maint 4,80 -2 4,72
9033 Housing Authority 3.62 -25 2.71
9040 Hospital - Other 5.44 20 6.52
9060 Golf course 1.72 -7 1,60
9063 Community center 1,56 -15 1,33
9084 Liquor - On Sale 3.53 -9 3.22
9102 Parks 3.21 3 3,31
9182 Ice Arenas 1.87 -33 1.25
9403 Garbage 7,06 1 7.11
9410 Municipal Employees 1.10 -62 .42
9411 Elected Officials .42 -57 .18
. In addition to the overall flat rates and indicated class rate changes, the work comp credit for
managed care participation will be reduced from 3% to 2%. Ongoing analysis of the managed
care work comp program shows inconclusive savings for participation in managed care. While
we think a credit still makes sense for managed care, the reduction is indicative of some caution
about the ultimate benefit of managed care in workers' compensation.
The work comp program will not return a dividend this year.
What's behind the rate changes?
Property/casualty
Overall, the liability loss picture doesn't look much different than it has in the recent past, and
we don't see any new trends or alarming patterns. Liability losses make up not quite half of our
total loss cost and have been remarkably stable for the past few years. Actual loss costs have
been coming in below our projections.
Litigation relating to land use regulation and development continues to be a concern. Land use
litigation costs average between about $2 and $2.5 million a year - and they can vary a great deal
from year to year. Of similar concern are sewer back-up liability costs, which shot up to the $2
million range in 2005 and are expected to be similar for 2006. Police liability claims also look to
be high thus far in 2006.
Property makes up about a third of our loss cost and property losses tend to be more variable
than liability. We did have higher-than-expected property losses this year, which accounts for
3
the rate increase. A string of storm, fire and other losses pushed loss rates up in the '05
underwriting year and the early projection is that '06 will be similar or worse.
The other major factor impacting this year's property rates is an increase in LMCIT's
reinsurance premiums. Because of the high reinsurance limits we need to purchase in order to
cover possible catastrophic losses (e.g. the tornado that moves through several cities),
reinsurance costs are a large cost component in our property program, representing about 35% of
property premium costs. Our reinsurance costs have gone up this year in part due to our loss
history and also as a result of coverage changes we've implemented.
Work comp
Although we were able to keep overall work comp rates flat for 2007, rising medical costs
continue to be a major concern. Medical costs for work comp injuries are projected to continue
increasing at a rate of about 9% a year. Medical costs now make up over half of work comp loss
costs - about as much as indemnity benefits, Special Compensation Fund assessments, and
defense costs combined.
Our work comp indemnity costs have been generally stable and less than projections. While this
is good and helps offset the increase in medical costs, we also need to keep an eye on injury
frequency. Hopefully cities can continue reducing the numbers of employee injuries; that's
really the best tool we have to control future premium costs.
Investment income remains a very important element in the LMCIT work comp program, though
not quite as significant as it was a few years ago. Investment income now produces about a
quarter of the program's total revenue; a few years ago, it was over a third. Nevertheless,
investment income is still very important. Premiums alone would not quite cover projected
losses, let alone administrative and reinsurance costs.
How was the dividend amount determined?
Most LMCIT members are very familiar with LMCIT's approach to rate-setting. Briefly, the
premium rates incorporate a safety margin. Premiums plus investment income are designed to
produce enough revenue to cover losses and expenses even if losses turn out to be greater than
projections. If losses turn out to be at projections, that margin isn't needed to pay for losses and
is available either to be returned to members as a dividend or used to strengthen LMCIT's fund
balance. If losses turn out to be lower than projections, that additional savings also becomes
available to be returned to members.
It can take several years until claims are finally settled and we know for sure what the actual loss
costs were for any given underwriting year. For this reason, we have to work with estimates,
which are continually revised and updated. The program's results and the amount of dividend
we can return in anyone year therefore don't just depend on what happened during that year; the
year's financial results are also affected by changes in our estimates of what prior year losses
will ultimately cost.
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The main factor behind this year's smaller dividend is that we incurred losses at a higher level
than projected, primarily a string of mid-sized to larger fire and storm losses in 2005 and the
beginning part of 2006. These higher-than-projected losses reached into the safety margin we
established when we set rates for the year. In addition, our review of prior years suggests that
some of those losses may also turn out to be higher than we've previously projected. Using our
margin to pay for these losses means there's less available to give back as a dividend.
The LMCIT Board also again used a small part of this year's net income to further strengthen the
program's fund balance. The Board concluded that this was appropriate in light of the continued
growth in the property/casualty program's premium volume and the increased amount of risk
LMCIT is now retaining.
If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to contact Pete Tritz or Ann Gergen at
the League office, or any of the members of the LMCIT Board.
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LMCIT LIABIL TIY COVERAGE - WAIVER FORM
Cities obtaining liability coverage from the League of Minnesota Cities Insurance Trust must decide
whether or not to waive the statutory tort liability limits to the extent of the coverage purchased. The
decision to waive or not to waive the statutory limits has the following effects.
> If the city does not waive the statutory tort limits, an individual claimant would be able to recover
no more than $300,000 on any claim to which the statutory tort limits apply. The total which all
claimants would be able to recover for a single occurrence to which the statutory tort limits apply
would be limited to $1,000,000. These statutory tort limits would apply regardless of whether or not the
city purchases the optional excess liability coverage.
> If the city waives the statutory tort limits and does not purchase excess liability coverage, a single
claimant could potentially recover up to $1,000,000 on a single occurrence. The total which all
claimants would be able to recover for a single occurrence to which the statutory tort limits apply
would also be limited to $1,000,000, regardless of the number of claimants.
> If the city waives the statutory tort limits and purchases excess liability coverage, a single claimant
could potentially recover an amount up to the limit of the coverage purchased. The total which all
claimants would be able to recover for a single occurrence to which the statutory tort limits apply would
also be limited to the amount of coverage purchased, regardless of the number of claimants.
Claims to which the statutory municipal tort limits do not apply are not affected by this decision.
The decision must be made by the city council. Cities purchasing coverage must complete and return
this form to the LMCIT before the effective date of the coverage. For further information, contact
LMCIT. You may also wish to discuss these issues with your city attorney.
The City of Hopkins accepts liability coverage limits of $
from the League of Minnesota Cities Insurance Trust (LMCIT).
1.000.000
Check one:
The city DOES NOT WAIVE the monetary limits on municipal tort liability established
by Minnesota Statutes 466.04.
xx The city WAIVES the monetary limits on tort liability established by Minnesota Statutes
466.04, to the extent of the limits of the liability coverage obtained from LMCIT.
Date of city council meeting
December 19, 2006
Signature
Position
Finance Director
Return this completedfrom to LMCIT, 145 University Ave. W, St. Paul MN 55103-2044
LMCIT(11/00)(Rev. 11/03)
Page 1 of 1
LMC
League of Minnesota Cities
Insurance Trust
145 University Avenue West, St Paul, MN 55103-2044
(651) 281-1200 · (800) 925-1122
Fax: (651) 281-1298 · TDD: (651) 281-1290
www.lmnc.org
L-g.uz of M;nnesota emu
Citiu promoting ~nr;mcv
RISK MANAGEMENT INFORMATION
LMCIT LIABILITY COVERAGE OPTIONS
Liability Limits, Coverage Limits, and Waivers
LMCIT gives cities several options for structuring their liability coverage. The city can choose
either to waive or not to waive the monetary limits that the statutes provide; and the city can
select from among several liability coverage limits. This memo discusses these options and
identifies some issues to consider in deciding which of the options best meets the city's needs.
What are the statutory limits on municipal tort liability?
The statutes limit a city's tort liability to a maximum of $300,000 per claimant and $1,000,000
per occurrence. These limits apply whether the claim is against the city, against the individual
officer or employee, or against both.
What are the coverage limits for LMCIT's basic primary liability coverage?
LMCIT's liability coverage provides a limit of $1,000,000 per occurrence, matching the per-
occurrence part of the statutory municipal tort liability limit. Under the basic coverage form the
$300,000 per claimant part of the statutory liability limit is not waived, so if the statutory limit
applies t~ the particular claim, LMCIT and the city would be able to use that limit as a defense.
Beside the overall coverage limit of $1 ,000,000 per occurrence, there are also annual aggregate
limits (that is, limits on the total amount of coverage for the year regardless of the number of
claims), for certain specific risks. Aggregate limits apply to the following:
$1,000,000 annuall
$1,000,000 annuall
$1,500,000 annuall
$1,000,000 annuall
$200,000 annuall
$1,500,000 annuall
$1,000,000 annuall
$1,000,000 annuall
* The limit applies to both damages and defense costs.
** Coverage is on a sliding scale percentage basis, and applies to both damages and litigation
costs.
If the statute limits our liability to $1,000,000 per occurrence, why would the city purchase
higher coverage limits than that?
There are several different reasons why cities should strongly consider carrying higher limits of
liability coverage.
1. The statutory tort limits either do not or may not apply to several types of claims. Some
examples include: .
. Claims under federal civil rights laws. These include Section 1983, the Americans with
Disabilities Act, etc.
. Claims for tort liability that the city has assumed by contract. This occurs when a city
agrees in a contract to defend and indemnify a private party.
. Claims for actions in another state. This might occur in border cities that have mutual
aid agreements with adjoining states, or when a city official attends a national conference
or goes to Washington to lobby, etc.
. Claims based on liquor sales. This mostly affects cities with municipal liquor stores, but
it could also arise in connection with beer sales at a fire relief association fund-raiser, for
example.
. Claims based on a "taking" theory. Suits challenging land use regulations frequently
include an "inverse condemnation" claim, alleging that the regulation amounts to a
"taking" of the property.
2. LMCIT's primary liability coverage has annual limits on coverage for a few specific
risks. The table on page 1 lists the liability risks to which aggregate coverage limits apply.
If the city has a loss or claim in one of these areas, there might not be enough limits
remaining to cover the city's full exposure if there is a second loss of the same sort during the
year. Excess liability coverage gives the city additional protection against this risk as well.
However there are a couple of important restrictions on how the excess coverage applies to
risks that are subject to aggregate limits:
. The excess coverage does not apply to four risks: lead and asbestos;failure to supply
utilities; mold; and "limited pollution" claims if either the pollutant release or the
damage is below ground or in a body of water; and
. The excess coverage does not automatically apply to liquor liability unless the city
specifically requests it.
3. The city may be required by contract to carry higher coverage limits. Occasionally, a
contract might include a requirement that the city carry more than $1,000,000 of coverage
limits. Carrying excess coverage is a way to meet these requirements. (There's also another
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option for cities in this situation. LMCIT can issue an endorsement to increase the city's
coverage limit only for claims relating to that particular contract. There's a small charge for
these "laser" endorsements.)
4. There may be more than one political subdivision covered under the city's coverage.
An HRA, EDA, or port authority is itself a separate political subdivision. If the city EDA,
for example, is named as a covered party on the city's coverage and a claim were made that
involved both the city and the EDA, theoretically the claimant might be able to recover up to
$1,000,000 from the city and another $1,000,000 from the EDA, since there are two political
subdivisions involved. Excess coverage is one way to provide enough coverage limits to
address this situation. Another solution is for the HRA, EDA, or port authority to carry
separate liability coverage in its own name.
This issue of multiple covered parties can also arise is if the city has agreed by contract to
name another entity as a covered party, or to defend and indemnify another entity.
5. Cities sometimes choose to carry higher coverage limits because of a concern that the
courts might overturn the statutory liability limits. However, those limits have now been
tested and upheld several times in Minnesota. While it's always possible that a future court
might decide to throw out the statutory limits, this is now less of a concern.
What excess liability coverage limits are available?
Excess coverage is available in $1 million increments, up to a maximum of $5 million.
We're just a small city. Isn't excess liability coverage really just something that big cities
might need?
Absolutely not. If anything, excess liability coverage is even more important to a small city.
If a city ends up with more liability than it has coverage, the city will have to either draw on
existing funds or go to its taxpayers to pay that judgment. A large city faced with, say, a million
dollars of liability over and above what its LMCIT coverage pays might be able to spread that
$1 million cost over several thousand taxpayers. The small city by contrast might be dividing
that same $1 million cost among only a couple hundred taxpayers. $1 million divided among
5000 taxpayers is $200 apiece - annoying but probably at least manageable for most taxpayers.
$1 million divided among 200 taxpayers is $5000 apiece - enough to be a real problem for many.
How does' excess coverage apply to uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage?
If the city carries excess liability coverage, the city has the option to have the excess coverage
also apply to uninsured or underinsured motorist (UM/UIM) claims. To db so, the city must first
increase its primary UM/UIM limit from the basic $50,000 to $1,000,000. There are additional
premium charges both to increase the primary UM/UIM limit and to apply the excess coverage
to the UMlUIM exposure. The city needs to consider whether the benefit from having higher
UMlUIM limits is worth that cost.
3
The UMIUIM coverages are intended to assure that an injured driver will be compensated if slhe
is injured in an accident caused by an uninsured or underinsured driver. The UM/UIM coverage
steps into the place of the liability insurance that the driver should have had.
Keep in mind that in the case of city vehicles, an injury to the driver while operating a city
vehicle would in most cases be covered by workers' compensation. The amounts the individual
would be able to recover from UMlUIM would be in addition to the medical, indemnity, and
other benefits paid under work compo In many cases, it would amount to a double recovery for
the individual's injuries.
A city might decide to carry a higher limit for a couple reasons: if they believe the workers'
compensation benefits are insufficient to compensate their injured employees; or if they want to
make sure that non-employees riding in city vehicles are fully compensated in the event of an
accident with an uninsured or underinsured vehicle. (Note that in most cases the passenger's
own UMlUIM would also respond..)
LMCIT now gives the cities who participate in the primary liability coverage the option to
waive the $300,000 per claimant statutory liability limit. What's the effect if we do this?
If the city chooses the "waiver" option, the city and LMCIT no longer can use the statutory limit
of $300,000 per claimant as a defense. Because the waiver increases the exposure, the premium
is roughly 3% higher for coverage under the waiver option.
If the city waives the statutory limit, an individual claimant could therefor recover up to
$1,000,000 in damages on a claim. Of course, the individual would still have to prove to the
court or jury that slbe really does have that amount of damages. Also, the statutory limit of
$1,000,000 per occurrence would still apply; that would limit the individual's recovery to a
lesser amount if there were multiple claimants.
Why would the city choose to pay more in order to get the waiver-option coverage? Does it
give the city better protection?
No. Buying coverage under the "waiver" option doesn't protect the city any better. The benefit
is to the injured party.
The statutory liability limit only comes into play in a case where
1. the city is in fact liable; and
2. the injured party's actual proven damages are greater than the statutory limit.
Very literally, applying the statutory liability limit means that an injured party won't be fully
compensated for hislher actual, proven damages that were caused by city negligence. Some
cities as a matter of public policy may want to have more assets available to compensate their
4
citizens for injuries caused by the city's negligence. Waiving the statutory liability limits is a
way to do that.
Other cities may feel that the appropriate policy is to minimize the expenditure of the taxpayers'
funds by taking full advantage of every protection the legislature has decided to provide. There's
no right or wrong answer on this point. It's a discretionary question of city policy that each city
council needs to decide for itself.
How would the waiver affect our city's coverage or risk on those claims that the statutory
tort liability limits don't apply to?
It doesn't. Waiving the statutory tort limits has no effect on claims that the statutory limits don't
apply to.
What's the effect of waiving the statutory limits if we have excess coverage?
If the city has $1 million of excess coverage and chooses to waive the statutory tort limits, the
claimants (whether it's one claimant or several) could then potentially recover up to $2 million in
damages in a single occurrence. If the city carries higher excess coverage limits, the potential
maximum recovery per occurrence is correspondingly higher.
Carrying excess coverage under the waiver option is a way to address an issue that some cities
find troubling: the case where many people are injured in a single occurrence caused by city
negligence. Suppose, for example, that a city vehicle negligently runs into a school bus full of
kids, causing multiple serious injuries. $1,000,000 divided 50 ways may not go far toward
compensating for those injuries. Excess coverage under the waiver option makes more funds
available to compensate the victims in that kind of situation.
The cost of the excess liability coverage is about 25% greater if the city waives the statutory tort
limits. The cost difference is proportionally greater than the cost difference at the primary level
because for a city that carries excess coverage, waiving the statutory tort limits increases both the
per-claimant exposure and the per-occurrence exposure.
If we waive the statutory tort liability limits, does it increase the risk that the city will end
up with liability that LMCIT doesn't cover?
No. The waiver form specifically says that the city is waiving the statutory tort liability limits
only to the extent of the city's coverage.
Of course, that's not to say that there is no risk that the city's liability could exceed its coverage
limits. We listed earlier a number of ways that could happen to any city. But the waiver doesn't
increase that risk.
5
Can we waive the statutory tort limits for the primary coverage but not for the excess
coverage?
No. If the city decides to waive the statutory tort limits, that waiver applies to the full extent of
the coverage limits the city has. The city cannot partially waive the statutory limits.
I'm confused. Is there a simple way to summarize the options?
It's not necessarily simple, but the table on the following page is a shorthand summary of what
the effect would be of the various coverage structure options in different circumstances.
I'm still confused. Who can I talk to?
Give us a call at the League office. Pete Tritz, Tom Grundhoefer, Bill Everett, Doug Gronli, or
any ofLMCIT's property/casualty underwriters will be glad to talk with you.
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On a liability claim to whicb on a liability claim to wbicb
tbe statntory limits appl)' tbe statntory limits do not aWl)'
Coverage structure 1'his is the maximum 1'his is the maximum This is the tnaXitUum atnOunt of datnages which
If the city~ amount a single claimant total amount that all L~Cl'f would pay on the city's behalf for a
could recover on an claimants could recover single occurrence, regardless of the number of
occurrence. on a single occurrence. claimants.
Does not have eXcess coverage & $1,000,000
Does not waive the statutory litnits $300,000 $1,000,000
Does not have eXcess coverage & $1,000,000
Waives the statutory limits $1,000,000 $1,000,000
11as $\,000,000 of eXcess coverage & $2,000,000
Does not waive the statutory \imits $300,000 $1,000,000
11as $\,000,000 of eJ\.cess coverage & $2,000,000
Waives the statutory limits $2,000,000 $2,000,000
LMCIT Liability Coverage options
pSI 12/04
\