When acting on behalf of your public entity, are you protected from liability?
Public Officials Liability Coverage protects elected and appointed officials, employees, and volunteers from suits arising from actual or alleged errors, omissions, misstatements, or breach of duty while acting on your entity’s behalf.
The coverage preserves the financial security of public officials by covering legal expenses and potential settlements. It also safeguards their reputation, ensuring they can continue to serve their communities effectively.
Common claims include employment actions, civil rights violations, discrimination, injunctive relief, land use (including eminent domain, inverse condemnation adverse possession), and grievance procedures.
In addition to claims handling, VRSA offers various risk services to help prevent claims from happening. We offer training on FOIA, ethics in governance, managing AI, cybersecurity, and other emerging topics.
We also have an HR specialist on staff who provides guidance on policies and procedures, as well as training on HR topics including FMLA, ADA, and harassment prevention. Our communications specialist provides assistance with public relations issues, reputation management, and crisis communications.
Upon request, we will review your contracts to protect your rights. Many contracts have indemnity, subrogation, or hold harmless clauses that lessen your rights to recovery or cause you to assume the liability of others. We will review contracts for this language and make recommendations accordingly.
Some things to consider when reviewing your Public Officials coverage:
- How much coverage is available? How much do I need? VRSA offers up to $10,000,000 limits within the pool.
- Aggregate Limits –
- Except for sub coverages noted below, VRSA does not have an aggregate on public officials claims. That means there is no limit to the number or dollar amount of claims you can have in one year.
- For land use and injunctive relief coverage, VRSA has a $100,000 annual aggregate.
- For grievance proceedings, there is a $25,000 limit.
- Defense outside of limit. VRSA’s defense costs are not limited to the limit of coverage purchased. This is not typical.
- Exclusions
- While many exclusions are standard in a commercial public officials form, such as war and pollution, VRSA does NOT exclude certain claims that are important to our members:
- Incidental medical services for nurses, EMTs, and physicians acting in an advisory capacity
- Title IX claims
- Sexual abuse and molestation claims
- Civil rights violations
- Claims handling – VRSA has dedicated claims specialists with in-depth experience investigating, evaluating, negotiating, and resolving management and professional liability claims. We have attorneys experienced in civil, governmental, regulatory, administrative, and arbitration procedures. In some cases, VRSA may assign more than one attorney to a claim to protect the interest of multiple officials/employees involved in one claim.
- Acceptance rate – Coverage does not exist if carriers interpret policies in a way to deny coverage. VRSA accepted 95% of submitted public officials claims in the past policy year.
- While many exclusions are standard in a commercial public officials form, such as war and pollution, VRSA does NOT exclude certain claims that are important to our members:
2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 |
87% | 91% | 93% | 95% | 100% |
This is important coverage as you need someone in your corner when things go wrong – particularly when it’s your name in the press. VRSA offers the broadest protection, experienced staff, and the financial strength to handle your public officials concerns.
For more information, contact your coverage specialist at: 800-963-6800.