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Lake Stevens reports 21 liability claims in 2025; insurance payouts low but five claims remain unresolved
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Summary
At a Lake Stevens City Council workshop, staff presented a claims-and-loss overview showing 21 liability claims so far in 2025 and low insurance indemnity payouts, while five claims and several lawsuits remain open and could change the city's exposure.
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 estimates expected claim counts; Lake Stevens's general-liability count is higher than WCIA's projection but the city's payouts are well below WCIA's expected indemnities.
Key figures and explanations from the presentation: - Liability claims in 2025 so far: 21 (5 public-safety; 11 general-liability; 4 auto; 0 employment-practices; 1 errors & omissions). - Insurance indemnity paid so far: roughly $12,000. - Auto physical-damage losses to city vehicles in 2025: 10 incidents, about $50,000 in repair costs; the city recovered all but about $10,000 (the deductible). - Uncovered or unscheduled property losses in 2025: estimated at $143,000, largely driven by one incident of copper-wire theft from a streetlight section; excluding that incident, the uncovered total is about $43,000 for fences, signs and small repairs. - Recoveries to date from other parties: about $15,000; eight recoveries remain pending and staff estimated an additional ~$20,000 could be recovered as claims progress.
Max explained that city property is only covered if it is listed on the insurer's schedule, so smaller items such as many fences or guardrails often fall below schedule coverage or under the $5,000 deductible. He said the unresolved lawsuits presented to counsel could change the picture. "The only uncertainty that is the unresolved claims, including the lawsuits that are still pending, that could change that fact," Max said.
Council members asked for additional historical context. Max said over the past five years general-liability claims have been the most frequent ("roughly over 50"), and that public-safety claims, while fewer in number, produced higher indemnities. He also said the city performed an insurance-provider analysis last year with staff (including Jean and the mayor) and that the city currently uses WCIA; he noted AWC operates RMSA as an alternative pool in the state.
Council follow-ups and staff notes: Council members asked for a breakdown of premium paid versus recoveries over time; Max said staff could compile a net-in/out analysis but did not have the exact numbers on hand. He also confirmed the city's insurer deductible is $5,000 for many property claims.
Bottom line: staff characterized the current claims profile as manageable relative to peers in the risk pool but cautioned that pending lawsuits and unresolved claims could increase future indemnities and that the city should continue monitoring recoveries and the composition of its schedule for property coverage.
