Oceanside

Oceanside on Wednesday joined the growing number of California municipalities facing a crisis related to liability insurance when the city’s insurance provider declined to renew its contract.

Assistant City Manager Bill Workman said Planet Insurance Co., which has provided the city’s liability coverage for several years, has advised Oceanside officials that they will need to arrange new coverage effective April 1.

“It puts us in a real dilemma because Planet was one of the few remaining companies insuring California municipalities,” Workman said. “Now we’ll have to scramble to line up new coverage or possibly join with other cities to obtain a package program.”

Currently, Oceanside is self-insured for $100,000 per incident and pays $250,000 annually for Planet’s coverage of $13 million, Workman said.