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One of my clients is trying to obtain a film permit from a municipality. One of the requirements is a waiver of subrogation on the commercial automobile liability coverage. The carrier will not provide the waiver and I didn't even think it was possible to have a waiver of subrogation on auto liability. I don't see how the city can be held liable for injury or damage caused by the driver of a vehicle the city does not own or operate. Has anyone ever heard of a waiver of subrogation on an auto liability policy? Can someone provide an example where a carrier would subrogate an auto liability claim under these circumstances?

Darren:

Munis can be a bit interesting when it comes to this area. Typically "someone" has created a required items list that is then administered by a person who does not know insurance. That admin person then takes the requirements a bit too far without realizing it.

I ran across a person who does consulting for the govt entities on things such as this. Perhaps she might be able to provide you with some suggestions (and she might have a new target prospect as well) on how to deal with this.

She is Ruth Cazden, trying to find contact info...when I do I will post here.

Yes, insurance carriers can, and do, provide a Waiver of Subrogation on Commercial Auto policies. That's something we require on any vendor/contractor that does business with us (we also require a WOS on GL/Products and W/C). Essentially, we don't want to provide any avenue for a carrier to even try to come back and subrogate against us if their insured is involved in an accident at one of our locations.

Having your insurance carrier essentially sue your client makes for bad business relationships.

Being in the entertainment insurance business, I deal with municipalities and their ridiculous insurance requirements on a daily basis. I understand that they don't want to be responsible for anything that happens as a result of issuing a permit, but I'd like a real life example where an insurance company would subrogate against the city for an auto liability claim. None of the carriers I work with will issue a waiver on an auto liability policy.

I think you may need some new carriers!
It is very common; I have drafted this form at two carriers for whom I have worked.

Several Admitted Auto markets provide Waiver of Subrogation in their "enhancement" endorsement. Golden Eagle provides this in the Gold Endorsement. Hartford provides WOS in their enhancement endorsement.