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1. What is our total amount of liability coverage?

Currently, the total liability coverage for any single claim is $29 million (there is no aggregate policy limit). The first line of coverage is the member's SIR. MPA covers the first $1 million per occurrence including the member's SIR.

Above the MPA retained limit of $1 Million per occurrence, CARMA (the excess pool) covers another $3 Million per occurrence, then purchases commercial excess coverage of another $25 Million, for a total limit of $29 Million for covered claims.

Member's deductible plus MPA limit of liability = $1,000,000
Excess pool limit of liability = $28,000,000
TOTAL limit of liability = $29,000,000

2. Do defense costs (attorney fees, expert costs, etc.) erode our policy limits?

Yes. All defense costs paid, reduce the remaining policy limits available to the member. They also count towards the member's SIR on that claim.

3. How does our liability SIR work?

Each member decides the SIR amount with which they are comfortable (current range is $5,000 - $250,000 per occurrence). A member can set a new SIR at the beginning of each policy year, July 1st. When MPA receives a covered claim, MPA pays any defense costs on that claim up front. Once a member's SIR is exhausted, its only exposure is if the total cost of the claim (defense costs, plus any settlement or verdict) exceeds the total liability policy limits.

4. How do I submit a Liability claim to MPA?

Claimants submit a Notice of Claim to the member city. A claimant is not required to use this particular form, as long as their claim contains the following:
- Claimant's name
- Claimant's address
- Claimant's phone number
- Date of incident
- Location of incident
- Description of incident
- Reason claimant believes the city is responsible for damages
- Name(s) and position(s) of responsible city employee(s), if known
- Amount (or estimated amount) of damage
- Supporting evidence (including photos, receipts) for amount of damages
- Must be signed and dated.
Notice of Claim Online Form

5. How should I respond when claimants call with questions in response to official notices sent by the City on their claims?

We generally advise that City staff decline to answer any questions from claimants or attorneys regarding what claimants are supposed to do in response to official claim notices. We recommend you simply advise that you are not allowed, by law, to give legal advice. This means you can not give any instructions or answer questions on how to respond to notices. You should instead, refer them to the statutes quoted in the letter, as those statutes advise them how to respond.