State and Local Govenment
HIGHWAY OVERPASS -DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION - TRAFFIC SIGNALS -FENCING -ROADWAY
State and local governments are the primary stewards of most of the country’s infrastructure. Municipality and city property claims are not specific to any industry.
The risk management teams for the city are not specialists and tend to overlook the excessive charges on these claims. This is not to say that these professionals are not capable of handling the claim; however, do not pay for charges that the municipality cannot substantiate or explain without submitting the claim to Liability Claims Services for analysis and negotiation.
Be sure to demand a computation of each category of damages claimed, with documentation or other evidentiary material on which the computation is based.
If you are stuck negotiating with the Department of Transportation on your claim, there are a few things that can help:
1. Identify pre-exiting damage overlooked by the DOT,
2. The state may be targeting your insured to cover already defective property,
3. Train your claims professionals in effective negotiation tactics. The DOT definitely will.
4. Consider using Liability Claims Services to facilitate the negotiation process.