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Unbelievably, Terra Does It Again: 21st Consecutive New-Record Year
Corte Madera, CA - For the 21st
consecutive year, and despite dire economic
conditions that have plagued insurance companies
worldwide, Terra Insurance Company has set a new,
record-high $242.70 book-value per share at
December 31, 2008.
Commenting on the new record, Terra President
and CEO David L. Coduto said, "Terra's 2008
accomplishments are a testament to our
owner/insureds' risk-management abilities. Even
under the best of circumstances, the geoprofessional
services our insureds provide - in addition to their
civil engineering services - are considered high-risk
by most professional liability insurers. Risks always
are aggravated when the economy takes a nosedive,
yet Terra in 2008 enjoyed one of its best underwriting-income years in company history."
Terra's year-end performance represented a
$2.48 book-value-per-share increase on
earnings-per-share growth of $4.10. Although
pleased by another
record-setting year, Mr. Coduto characterized the
company's earnings and book-value-per-share growth
as "rather small by Terra's historical standards."
Nonetheless, he noted, Terra's financial performance
was "materially better" than most other companies
that offer professional liability insurance to design
and environmental professionals. As an example, AIG,
the parent company of Lexington Insurance Company,
saw its stock decline to about $1.50 per share in mid-
March 2009, versus about $58 per share at December
31, 2007. Likewise, the stock of XL Capital, Ltd., home
of the XLDP program (which purchased the renewal
rights of the now-defunct DPIC Companies) fell to less
than $6 per share in mid-March 2009, versus
about $50 per share at December 31, 2007. Similarly,
the stock of CNA - one of the nation's largest
design-professional underwriters - stood at
about $9 per share in mid-March 2009,
compared to some $34 per share at December 31,
2007.
Mr. Coduto concluded, "I've been active in this
market for three decades, and only two companies
that were there when I started are there now. Terra is
one of them. And of those two, only one has just
completed another great, record year. That one is
Terra, and that proves beyond doubt that combining
outstanding products and service with a conservative
operating philosophy is by far the best model for
long-term success in this marketplace. Terra is
the leader.
I'm very proud of the company's accomplishments
and the owner/insureds and staff who make those
accomplishments possible."
Established in 1969, Terra provides professional
liability insurance products to civil, environmental, and
geoprofessional engineering firms that gross from
$300,000 to more than $100 million annually. The
company became a risk-retention group in 1988,
requiring insureds to also be the company's sole
owners. A.M. Best Company - the internationally
recognized insurance-company rating
organization - cites Terra as "the highest-rated
risk-retention group
in the United States." (Terra's score on A.M.
Best's "Capital Adequacy Ratio Tests" is one of the
highest of all insurers - not just
professional liability insurers - doing business in
the United States.)
More information about Terra and the products it
offers, as well as free risk-management materials,
can be found at www.terrarrg.com,
or by contacting Terra Insurance Company, 2 Fifer
Avenue/Suite 100, Corte Madera, CA 94925; tel. 1/800-
872-0077 (in CA, 415/927-2901); e-mail terra@terrarrg.com.
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