ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, July 11, 1996 TAG: 9607110081
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: S.D. HARRINGTON STAFF WRITER
THE CITY GETS a lower insurance premium and more leniency on when to use the government immunity policy, the city manager says.
People with small property-damage claims against the city of Salem may have a better chance of recouping damage expenses from now on, city officials say.
The city switched its insurance policy to a new company - St. Paul Insurance Co. - last month. Salem City Manager Randy Smith says St. Paul has agreed to examine small property-damage claims against the city more closely before declaring whether the government must pay them.
After a car owned by a Roanoke County resident' was hit by a Salem fire truck at Roanoke College last May, city officials say it was embarrassing that the insurance provider at the time - the ITT Hartford Group - refused to pay for the car's repairs on the basis of government immunity.
The damage to Carol Anderson's car was less than $400.
State and local governments can cite immunity from an insurance claim if the damage happens while the government is providing a legitimate service to its residents.
Some governments, including Roanoke and Roanoke County, are self-insured. A risk manager determines for which claims to cite immunity.
Most of Salem's insurance policies are through private companies that dictate which claims the city can or cannot pay.
Salem chose St. Paul's primarily because it offered a lower premium than ITT Hartford, Smith said. But having more leniency on the government immunity policy could have been a factor even if the bids had been closer.
"It's embarrassing," said Mayor Sonny Tarpley.
Tarpley said he believes the city should take care of small claims such as Anderson's, whose a car was legally parked when damaged by a city vehicle.
Anderson was parked at Roanoke College for her daughter's graduation. During the ceremony, city emergency crews received a call from the college about a possible heart attack. After the call was handled, a fire truck sideswiped Anderson's car while leaving a college parking lot.
The city's insurer also cited government immunity after Salem snow-removal trucks caused minor damage to several parked cars in January's snowstorms.During snow storms in January, Salem snow removal trucks did minor damage to several parked cars.
The city's insurer cited government immunity against those claims.
While St. Paul's will examine smaller claims more carefully, the company mostly likely will have a cap on the size of property damage claims it would pay.
"They don't have to do anything," Smith said. "It's the law."
Smith believes that the biggest difference between the new and old insurance providers is that now if a resident has a claim an insurance adjuster actually will meet the resident face to face.
With ITT Hartford, the resident had to call a toll-free number to talk with an adjuster, Smith said.
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