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UNEQUALLED COMMITMENT TO GEOPROFESSIONALS
Terra was created to be a reliable source of coverage for a group of professionals that, frankly, the professional liability insurance industry has not treated very well over the years. Terra continues to fulfill its founders' aspirations because it understands geoprofessional, environmental, construction materials engineering and testing “CoMET”, and civil engineering risks better than any other professional liability insurer. No other carrier has as much successful experience with these risks and no other carrier has done as much to help firms manage those risks, by underwriting the educational pursuits of the firms we insure and by investing millions of dollars in programs developed by ASFE/The Best People on Earth.
REASONABLY PRICED, RELIABLE INSURANCE PROTECTION
Professional liability insurers historically have priced their products based on market trends, explaining why so many have recently left the market or have collapsed under an avalanche of claims and unwise investment decisions. Terra has never priced its products to respond to “hard” or “soft” market conditions, nor has it ever gambled its cash reserves on high-risk, speculative investments. Instead, we have consistently based our rates on in-depth knowledge of the risks we underwrite, focusing in particular on firms that understand risk and how to manage it, and our investments can best be described as conservative. Which is why we’re still here… and doing better than almost all of our competition. Terra’s owner/insureds do not regard the Company as a commodity. They see it as a partner and appreciate the long-term benefit they derive by entrusting their professional liability insurance protection to a reliable and financially conservative underwriter.
EXTRAORDINARY INVESTMENT RETURNS
Those who participated in Terra’s capitalization, when it moved from Bermuda to become an on-shore, U.S.-based insurer, saw their stock increase in value from $10/share in 1988 to some $243/share on June 30, 2008, concluding 21 consecutive years of earnings and stock-value growth. While Terra is aptly characterized as fiscally conservative, the performance of its stock has exceeded the performance of the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the NASDAQ Composite Index, the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index, the Russell 2000, the Wilshire 5000, and just about every other index and average of any substance. And every penny of Terra’s profits inures to the benefit of its owner/insureds.
VALUABLE TOOLS FOR DAILY APPLICATION
Terra provides what we believe is the best contract review service in the industry. We don’t rely on agents to do it for us. While certainly some agents may be capable, we put our faith in highly experienced attorneys who are committed to responding quickly and effectively; who identify problems, develop alternative wording, and suggest negotiation strategies our insureds have been able to apply successfully thousands of times.
Terra insureds also rely on a wide array of model contracts Terra has developed for their use, for routine geoprofessional services, environmental services (including toxic mold services), environmental remediation, engineer-led design/build activities, laboratory services, drilling services, and more. Terra also publishes risk management advisories and has produced an outstanding CD-ROM contract tutorial to help our insureds’ personnel understand the contractual risks they become involved with. Terra encourages all its owner/insureds to undergo organizational peer review, and pays almost all the costs. And we regularly review claim statistics and present case histories at our shareholder informational meetings held twice each year, in conjunction with meetings of ASFE/The Best People on Earth.
MARKET-FOCUSED PRODUCT OPTIONS
Terra can provide reliable, cost-effective insurance coverage to just about any geoprofessional, environmental, CoMET, or civil engineering firm. The Company offers three basic product options for professional and environmental exposures, with varying limits (from $1 million to $8 million) and deductibles (from $25,000 to $250,000). Terra recognizes how important professional liability insurance can be to its insureds’ marketing efforts, and responds quickly to their requests. For that reason, Terra was the first professional liability carrier to offer environmental liability coverages to design professionals. It also was among the first to offer workable coverage for insureds entering the arena of design/build and environmental remediation.
MANAGEMENT EXCELLENCE
Terra is managed by a small, genuinely dedicated team of seasoned professionals with expertise in risk management and analysis, loss prevention, financial management, and law. The management team reports to Terra’s Board of Directors, a seven-member group that comprises professional engineers and geologists who are particularly active in the associations and societies of the professions they serve. Working together, the Board and management devote themselves to Terra’s success, as exemplified by the Company’s A. M. Best rating and sustained asset and stock growth over the years. Perhaps even more important, members of the management team are good listeners and use those skills to create products that follow our insureds’ development in new practice areas. We visit every firm that we insure on a regular basis, so we get to know our insureds’ businesses and the people who make them work. To a very real extent, we practice what we preach.
TRUST-BASED PARTNERSHIPS
Speak to any Terra owner/insured and what they’ll tell you about the Company won’t focus so much on Terra as it will on the people who comprise it and the attitudes they bring to bear. “We trust them,” they’ll say. “We regard them as our partners.” And that’s exactly how it should be, especially when each insured is also an owner. If that’s not how it is for you, maybe it’s time for Terra. Visit our website. Send us an e-mail. Give us a call. We’ll be there.
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