WCIA warns Sequim council of rising liability costs, urges caution on personnel, land‑use and social media

Rob Roscoe, deputy director of the Washington Cities Insurance Authority, told the Sequim City Council on Feb. 9 that tightening reinsurance markets and large jury awards have raised liability costs for cities, and he urged elected officials to limit direct involvement in personnel matters, quasi‑judicial land‑use decisions and certain social‑media practices.

"We're here to tell you about what are the potential exposures with what you do and how to try to minimize or mitigate those damaging effects," Roscoe said, explaining that WCIA is a member‑owned risk pool that sets coverage and limits in consultation with member cities. He said WCIA provides up to $20,000,000 in liability limits and that the pool recently raised its self‑insured retention to $5,000,000 after reinsurers reduced capacity in 2022.

Roscoe cited several high‑profile verdicts as examples of what is driving costs. He said Washington state "was hit with a $100,000,000 verdict" and also referenced multi‑million‑dollar awards in cases he said involved failure‑to‑render‑aid and other claims. He argued the absence of statutory tort caps in Washington and joint and several liability exposure can leave municipalities vulnerable to large payouts.

Roscoe offered several practical cautions for council members: avoid inserting yourselves in personnel decisions and let human resources and the city attorney handle investigations; do not make quasi‑judicial land‑use rulings based on personal opinion or out‑of‑record statements; and refrain from definitive engineering judgments absent traffic warrants and engineers' reports. He warned that public comments such as labelling a traffic circle "dangerous" can be used to inflate damages in later litigation.

On records and communications, Roscoe told the council to avoid conducting city business on personal devices because such messages can be subject to public‑records discovery. "If you violate the Public Records Act, that's a fine and penalty. That is not covered by WCIA," he said, adding that staff should be the point of contact for technical questions and that council members should refer residents to planning, public works or utilities staff when appropriate.

Roscoe also discussed executive sessions, urging confidentiality and caution: "What goes on in exec session needs to stay in exec session," he said, warning that leaks can harm settlement negotiations and the pool's willingness to share internal settlement authority with members.

The presentation was given as part of a work session; councilors asked clarifying questions but took no formal action. Roscoe said WCIA provides training and risk‑management resources to members and offered to answer follow‑up questions.