Each year Terrafirma sees an increase in claims. If you have already submitted one, you’re in good company – 281 other land trusts have too, or over half of Terrafirma members.

Accredited land trusts are the most likely to submit a claim. You don’t have to be accredited to be in Terrafirma, but 68% of members are.

Terrafirma received 204 claims for the 2018 policy year, up from 182 in the 2017 policy year. The 2018 grace period for submitting claims ended on April 30. Not sure when to file, or if you need to? You can see our handy primer here, and reach out with questions at any time.

Terrafirma members are doing their job by diligently monitoring issues and submitting them to Terrafirma in the claims year that they were first discovered. Thank you all for submitting your claims, and keep up the good work!

We’re here to help! If you have any questions, please let us know. You can e-mail us directly or call 202-800-2248 for Hannah or 802-262-6051 for Leslie.

Thank you,

Hannah

Note: The process to close a claim has changed since this post was written in 2019. Instead of sending an e-mail, please update the status of your claim online to let the ARMS team know that you are ready to close the claim.

When you file a claim at www.terrafirma.org, you’ll see two options – one for a “placeholder” claim, and one that just says claim. Do you know the difference? You’ll want to know by 4/30, which is the deadline to file claims under your 2018 Terrafirma policy.

While both a claim and a placeholder claim satisfy the requirement to give notice to Terrafirma, a placeholder claim is not automatically evaluated and brought before the Terrafirma Claims Committee. 

When you file a placeholder claim, you’ll receive an e-mail every quarter asking for an update status on the claim. When you want to close the claim or have it seen by the committee, all you have to do is send an e-mail. There’s no need to switch status from placeholder claim to normal claim, or to re-file.

Don't wait until you have to hire a lawyer to file a claim. File a placeholder claim right away to make sure that if you need to switch the status to a normal claim, you can. Remember, if you don’t file 2018 policy year claims by 4/30, you will not be able to file them later.

We’re here to help! If you have any questions about when to file a claim, please let us know. You can email us directly or call 202-800-2248 for Hannah or 802-262-6051 for Leslie.

Thank you,

Hannah

Conservation Defense Coordinator
ALLIANCE RISK MANAGEMENT SERVICES LLC
(202) 800-2248  | 

Terrafirma is a unique insurance company – a nonprofit, member-owned risk retention group, created specifically to help land trusts. Being so different can lead to some confusion. We'd like to address a few common questions and misconceptions:

• You must file a claim when you first learn of the incident – not when litigation starts. For example, if a land trust discovers a trespass involving cut trees in January of 2019, but waits until after April 30 (the end of the 2018 grace period for filing claims) to file the claim, they will likely be barred from coverage for not reporting in time.
• The policy year is not the same as the calendar year – it is March 1 to March 1. There is a 60 day grace period at the end of each policy period.
• Rates won’t go up because you filed a claim. Claim history and rates are completely independent - $63 per parcel for everyone, minus any discounts.
• A placeholder is a full claim, and there is no need to re-file the claim to be heard for a coverage determination. Just send us a quick e-mail! See more information on placeholder versus regular claims here.
• Everything is online except for payments, which must be sent in via check. We use check payments for maximum security and cost efficiency.

As a member of Terrafirma and the Land Trust Alliance, you have access to many great resources — plus help from dedicated staff!

On The Learning Center:

• A Guide to Risk Management for Land Trusts is a quick, fun course that lets you easily customize a plan for your land trust
• The Legal Defense Reserves Calculator helps you plan your legal reserves
• The Conservation Defense Clearinghouse houses a collection of helpful documents
• Ask an Expert features experts from around the country

On the Nonprofit Risk Management Center:

Log on as a Land Trust Alliance affiliate by clicking on this logo on the right side of the Conservation Defense Clearinghouse home page and get free and discounted risk and insurance resources.