Lake Stevens reports 21 liability claims in 2025; insurance payouts low but five claims remain unresolved

At a Lake Stevens City Council workshop, Max, a city staff member, presented a year-to-date overview of the city's insurance claims, telling council that “to date, we had a total of 21 liability claims.”

The presentation broke those 21 claims into categories: five public-safety claims, 11 general-liability claims, four auto liability claims, zero employment-practices claims and one errors-and-omissions claim. Max told council the city's insurance had paid roughly $12,000 in indemnity so far, but that five claims remain unresolved and several open lawsuits were already referred to counsel.

Why it matters: while paid indemnities are low relative to similar jurisdictions, unresolved claims and pending lawsuits could materially change the city's exposure. Max said the city's pooled insurer, WCIA, groups jurisdictions and…