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• SEP-25-2003 16 29 ACORDIA 9528307355 P.07 Other cities may feel that the appropriate policy is to minirn»e rite expenditure of the taxpayers' funds by taking full advantage of every protection the legislat~u'e has decided to provide. There's ` no right or wt+dng answer on this point. It's a disccedonary question of city policy that each city council needs to decide for itself. How wonid fire waiver affect one 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 mat the statutory Limits don't apply to, What's the effect of waiving the statutory ifmitt if we have excess coverage? If the city has $ I million of excess coverage and chooses to waive the story tort limits, the claimants (whether it's one claitnanc or several) could then potentially rreover ua to $2 million in damages in a single occurrence. If the city carries higher excess coverage limits, the potential maximum recovery per occturence is correspondingly higher. Carrying excess coverage uade: ~e waiver option's a way to address an issue that some cities find aroubling: 'the case where many people are injured in a single occurrence caused by city negligence. Suppose, for example, that a city vehicle negligeatty runs into a school bus full of kids, causing multiple serious injuries. S1,000,OOd 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 is that land of situation. The cost of the excess liabiliry coverage is about 25% greater if the city waives the statutory tort Bruits. The cost difference is proportionally greater thaw the cost difference at the primary level because for a city that carries excess coverage, waiving the statutory tort limits increases both the per~laimattt exposure and the per-occurrence exposure. If we waive the statutnry tort liability Limits, does it increase fire risk that the city viii end ap with liability that L1~Clf'Y' 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 ntunber of ways that could happen to any city. But the waiver doesn't increase that risk. Csa we waive the statutory tort Limits for the primary coverage brat 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.