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Testimonials
Cumberland Geotechnical has been insured by Terra since 1996, and we consider it a genuine privilege to be part of such an outstanding company. We applaud Terra's rigorous underwriting procedures. Because of them, we feel as though we're part of an elite group within our industry and profession. The high bar that Terra sets also serves as an extremely worthwhile incentive for us - we have to do our utmost to maintain excellence in professional practice, and that makes us better. Our clients have noticed the difference, too. Fortunately, Terra is there to help us "24/7," which - as a 15-person firm - we truly appreciate. The top three members of the Terra management team could not be more responsive to us were we a 15,000-person organization. They treat us exactly how we try to treat our clients.
Because Terra's insureds are Terra's shareholders, we have also benefited from the firm's fiscal management. Frankly, the quality of the service we receive would make Terra worth a significant "premium" in any event. The value of the stock appreciation and premium rebates we've received really make Terra an amazing value. So, too, does Terra's funding of so many highly effective risk and quality management activities, like Peer Review. In fact, we are proud to explain to our clients that our firm has been Peer Reviewed twice to date, because we are driven to be the best we can be.
Without question, we are a better, more successful firm because of our association with Terra, and I don't know of any Terra owner/insured who wouldn't say the exact same thing.
S. Jeffrey Barnes, P.E.
Chairman
Cumberland Geotechnical Consultants, Inc.
Carlisle, Pennsylvania
Haley & Aldrich, Inc. has been a Terra insured and shareholder since 1969. The relationship has been very positive and financially successful for both of us. Terra puts its money where its mouth is in promoting best practices in risk management education by partnering with ASFE/The Best People on Earth to develop and promote innovative risk management education and business practices and programs for its insureds and other ASFE members. Terra then goes a step beyond by offering its owner/insureds premium credits for participation in ASFE programs like Fundamentals of Professional Practice and organizational Peer Review. In fact, Haley & Aldrich has been Peer Reviewed six times over the years, resulting in constructive learning for us every time. We have also found Terra's "no-cost-to-insureds" assistance with contract review and contract negotiation to be consistently responsive and helpful. We're also thankful, as investors, for Terra's prudent and highly successful management policies. Terra's management team has achieved and maintained a remarkable A. M. Best rating and good return to shareholders, even during trying times for the insurance industry, thanks to its sound financial investment strategy, careful insured selection, and its consistent promotion of risk management education and business best practices.
No one stays as long with an insurance provider as we've stayed with Terra unless the provider is exceptional. Terra is exceptional.
Bruce E. Beverly, P.E.
President/CEO
Haley & Aldrich, Inc.
Boston, Massachusetts
Insurance agents frequently solicit our business. I always tell them I'll switch PLI providers if they can give me a better deal. Then I explain what I get from Terra. Why do I bother? Because I love to watch jaws drop! Here's what I tell them.
1. Terra is a great organization with a great staff of individuals who are honest, straightforward, tireless, and loyal to their insureds.
2. Terra provides outstanding loss prevention services. Their contract review services are absolutely second to none.
3. Terra/ASFE meetings are a joy to attend. Where else can you learn so much, be with great people at a great place, and have a good time to boot?
4. Terra always wants to improve. Example: In the past year, we worked with Terra to redefine the wetland exclusion in the environmental coverage. I was very impressed by Terra's willingness to respond so positively to our concern and by the due diligence Terra applied.
5. When we signed on with Terra in 1988, PL insurance was hard to find and almost unaffordable. Terra was a safe port in a storm and still is.
6. Terra is one of the greatest investments our firm has ever made, and not just in terms of our stock value. Due in large part to Terra's guidance, BEC has gone claims-free since signing on 17 years ago. I can't even begin to calculate the value of the time saved. We love Terra!
Carlos Carranza, Ph.D., C.E.P.
Principal
Baystate Environmental Consultants, Inc.
Longmeadow, Massachusetts
As a Terra insured, I'm part of a select group of firms dedicated to improving our practice and risk management. Terra brings that focus to bear because, obviously, it lowers the Terra's exposure to loss, just as it lowers ours. But the fact is that the Terra mindset - that's what we call it - has made us a far more profitable organization. We're more discriminating in terms of the clients and projects we accept. We always work with a detailed scope of service so the client knows exactly what we're going to do, and so we do, too; we don't waste time. And we're always trying to improve, which is one of the reasons why we're so sold on Peer Review. The results we get are tremendous, and Terra pays just about all the expenses. And let's not forget Terra staff, because they act toward us the way all firms should act toward their clients. They are service-oriented, highly responsive, super motivated, and always on the lookout for our best interests. It's good that Terra has also turned out to be an amazing investment, but that's not why we came to Terra to begin with and it's not why we stay with Terra. It certainly doesn't hurt that the stock appreciation and the premium rebates bring our net cost to just about nothing, but I can say in all honesty, if there were no stock and there were no rebates, we'd still be Terra insureds. Terra is that good.
Alan R. Crumley, P.E., F.ASCE
President and CEO
GeoConsult, Inc
San Juan, Puerto Rico
GAI has been insured by Terra for close to three decades. We've relied on Terra that long because Terra provides much more than just professional liability insurance. In fact, we think of Terra as our business partner, because Terra really does care about our success. For example, GAI was recently offered a major project that required us to take on a somewhat new role, as the prime on a construction project. Terra's CEO and legal counsel both worked with GAI staff and legal counsel to identify some of the key issues we needed to deal with, and suggested a number of important "contractual modifications" to satisfy our own needs and our client's. Terra didn't make a penny on any of this activity; they just wanted GAI to succeed in this situation. In another case, GAI had to contend with a claim that ultimately had to be resolved for more than we had set aside in our retro policy, meaning we had to make up the difference. Terra gave us a time payment plan to minimize the impact on our firm's cash flow. Fortunately, that's the only time we've ever had such a need. In fact, the exact opposite situation usually occurs, when Terra pays us a rebate because of our positive claims experience. And Terra has always done everything it possibly can to help us earn that rebate.
Terra has a genuinely close relationship with our firm, and I'm sure it has similar relationships with all its owner/insureds. This really makes Terra special! I am looking forward to many more years of continued partnership with Terra.
Gary M. DeJidas, P.E..
President and CEO
GAI Consultants, Inc
Homestead, Pennsylvania
My relationship with Terra goes back more than two decades. What a great company to deal with! True: They have outstanding products, like our retro policy that keeps our total cost of professional liability insurance extremely low. But the organization is so good, we'd probably stick with it even if the products weren't as special. It's the people who make the difference, of course. Terra staff is extremely helpful when it comes to risk management and business issues; not just those related to professional liability. Their contract review services are wonderful and Terra provides them to every member of our staff who requests them. In fact, Terra's contract review is so focused, and furnished so promptly, we save thousands of dollars each year by not having to have our retained counsel perform review. It's also worth noting that Terra is flexible and works with us to find creative solutions to our risk management needs. And Terra's staff seems to take genuine pleasure in making us happy. I think all of Terra's owner/insureds feel kind of lucky to have Terra on their side. It's a great company.
Timothy N. Dunne, P.E., G.E
President
Fugro West, Inc.
Ventura, California
Eustis Engineering has been a Terra insured since "day one," and I'm happy to report that the risk management philosophy that made Terra such a success then is still intact, and being implemented better and more successfully than ever. Terra and Eustis both benefit because of that.
Effective communication with its insureds is one of the cornerstones of Terra's risk management philosophy. The company's senior executives actively encourage us to call them for assistance. The quality and timeliness of their contract review services cannot be overstated, but what's even better is the way Terra's executives work with our clients. Just recently, Terra's "hands-on" approach convinced a large governmental agency to change its standard contract, benefiting Eustis Engineering as well as several other consultants that were relying on us as a test case.
Loss prevention training is the other key element of the Terra philosophy, which is why the company has given ASFE millions of dollars over the years to develop some of the finest training tools and programs available anywhere. At Eustis, risk management training begins early in a project engineer's career, through participation in ASFE's Fundamentals of Professional Practice course. It continues with participation in ASFE's Project Manager Training Program courses and semi-annual conferences and reliance on dozens of other loss prevention resources. Terra funds much of this training, believing, correctly, that the investment pays huge dividends.
Since 1969, Terra has been there for us. They're much, much more than just an insurance company.
William W. "Bill" Gwynn, P.E.
President
Eustis Engineering Company, Inc.
Metairie, Louisiana
BSK has been a Terra insured since 1970, and with good reason: Everything Terra does, it does exceptionally well. That's because of Terra staff, a group of talented, caring people who are totally committed to quality. They are always accessible. If the person I'm looking for is not there, someone else calls back - often the CEO - to offer assistance. And usually he can, because all the senior staff members understand the nature of the work Terra insureds do in general, as well as the special needs and concerns unique to each insured. In BSK's case, for example, we had some special needs arise. I know how a conventional insurer would have responded to our request: "Sorry, but that would be contrary to policy." Terra responded exactly as I hoped they would: "Hugo, it's our policy to help our insureds. We're flexible." I also appreciate Terra's assistance when it comes to gaining clients' acceptance of our contract's terms and conditions. They respond promptly to our requests and act like third-party advisors. And not just a few clients have remarked on how professional Terra's representatives seem to be.
Frankly, I'm looking forward to the next 35 years.
Hugo Kevorkian, P.E., G.E.
Senior Principal Engineer
BSK & Associates Geotechnical Consultants, Inc.
Fresno, California
2005 marked GeoEngineers' 25th year in the earth science and environmental consulting business. It also marked the 25th year of our involvement with Terra. Of course, we have considered other insurers during those 25 years; we need to be confident that all of our providers give us the best "bang for the buck." Frankly, no one comes even close to Terra. Here's why…
- Terra knows our business. It specializes in providing insurance for firms like GeoEngineers
- Lawsuits and claims are an unfortunate fact of life in this business. Terra knows that and stands behind its owner/insureds. The staff provides reasoned advice and reassurance during times of stress, and also provides valuable perspectives on defending claims and lawsuits.
- Terra is selective about whom they insure. This approach has enabled Terra to grow its reserves while other insurance programs have failed.
- Terra provides excellent advice on alternative contract wording and contract negotiation strategies.
- Terra offers resources to help our firm continue to develop and improve its loss prevention programs.
- The value of our ownership in Terra has appreciated consistently, thanks to Terra's outstanding financial management.
- We have participated in Terra's retro program for more than ten years. The premium rebates make the actual cost of insurance considerably lower than market rates.
Terra is absolutely devoted to helping firms like GeoEngineers succeed. Terra is not just our insurer. Terra is our partner.
James A. Miller, L.G., P.E.
Chief Executive Officer
GeoEngineers, Inc.
Redmond, Washington
Terra has been GeoLogic's professional liability insurance partner for more than ten years. I call Terra our "insurance partner" because that is what the relationship has become. The loss prevention services offered by Terra, the funding it provides so we can attend professional meetings (an important benefit that a small firm such as ours could otherwise not afford), underwriting the cost of several Peer Reviews, and even preparing the initial information for underwriting have given us invaluable information to help keep us from having to use our professional liability insurance. (And as an investor in Terra, GeoLogic reaps the benefit of its own and other insureds' claims-free performance.) The services Terra provides us are exceptional. We are very pleased to be part of such a professional operation.
Marjory B. Rinaldo-Lee, P.G.
President
GeoLogic NY, Inc.
Homer, New York
NTH Consultants has been insured by Terra for more than 23 years. Why have we been so loyal for so long? Because, when it comes to responsiveness, guidance and support, loss prevention programs, and investment returns, Terra is exceptional. For example, whenever I or anyone else from NTH calls Terra, we get the feeling that Terra staff drops everything they're doing to take care of our needs. But excellent responsiveness is only the start. Terra gives us valuable legal advice, especially in the area of contract review, including the crafting of alternative provisions that satisfy the needs of our clients and NTH. Terra also gives us outstanding guidance and practical suggestions on how to keep molehills molehills, so that small problems don't grow into big ones. Terra also helps us prevent problems, through their own loss prevention programs and by underwriting the cost of others'. Terra has helped us improve our business practices, too, by underwriting the cost of our participation in Peer Review. I believe it's because of Peer Review and our project management and loss prevention training programs that we have experienced very few claims and have developed great relationships with our clients. This ultimately has had a positive impact on our bottom line. And this is even before we consider the value of Terra as an investment - it's one of the best investments NTH has ever made - and the significant returns we earn because of our retro policy. As I said, Terra is truly exceptional!
Benedict Tiseo, P.E.
Chairman of the Board
NTH Consultants, Ltd.
Farmington Hills, Michigan
Whenever I talk about the services provided by Terra, I'm forced to use superlatives. If I had to narrow down my choice to the best service of all, though, I'd have to single out what the Company does with contract review. Terra takes complex terms and conditions, analyzes them, and then gives me clear insights into what they really mean and whether or not we can accept them as is or seek changes. If we have to look for changes, Terra explains why, often giving us suggestions on why change would be in the client's best interests, too. I can say that the advice is so good that, more often than not, clients actually want to use the revised wording suggested by Terra. I can honestly say that the value of that service would be outstanding even if I had to wait for it. But I don't, which is really just so impressive. With no exceptions, I've gotten my response during the same business day or by the next morning. The service is just incredible. I wish my own firm could always be that responsive.
James L. Withiam, Ph.D.
Principal
D'Appolonia
Monroeville, Pennsylvania
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