TerraBites

A short newsletter of bite-size ideas to chew on for Terrafirma owner-member land trusts, released January, February, May, June, September, October and November.

 

Posts tagged insurance

Insurance is Complicated

Understanding what Terrafirma covers is important to know but equally important is knowing what Terrafirma doesn’t cover. To ensure you can have sufficient insurance protection, we wanted to highlight a few things that Terrafirma doesn’t cover:

  • Terrafirma doesn’t cover bodily injuries or property damage suffered by your staff, visitors or others while at any of your properties or when you are out monitoring. That is generally what general liability insurance covers.
  • Terrafirma doesn’t cover wrongful management decisions by your board, volunteers or staff, even if that management decision adversely affects your properties’ conservation purposes. That is generally what directors and officers (aka “D&O”) insurance covers.
  • Terrafirma doesn’t cover property damage caused by natural disasters or catastrophic events. That is generally what property insurance covers or other special property insurance policies (like flood insurance).
  • Having a Conserve-A-Nation® policy through Alliant or any other insurance policy from any other carrier does not include Terrafirma coverage.
  • The Land Trust Alliance does not have a policy to cover those organizations that do not enroll in Terrafirma.

 And finally, your land trust is only insured by Terrafirma if – and only if – your land trust applies for membership through Terrafirma’s website and meets eligibility requirements.

Looking for insurance that covers these things? Check out this handy guide to common types of insurance coverage.
 

We’re here to help! If you have any questions, please let us know. I know that insurance is complicated so please ask questions.

Thanks,
 

Tom Kester 
Operations Manager and Secretary
Alliance Risk Management Services LLC 
Manager for Terrafirma Risk Retention Group LLC

 

Uptick in extinguishment demands

Terrafirma is seeing an increase in extinguishment demands by successor owners and third parties. These extinguishment demands are often based on bad faith allegations of hardship, negligence or deceptive practices. 

We are also seeing these demands increase because of changes to the land resulting from extreme and unusual weather. They use this as an excuse to attempt to eliminate conservation easements and even to justify trespassing on preserves. The Land Trust Alliance recently published two new Practical Pointers to help land trusts adapt to changing conditions when drafting easements and when administering all conservation holdings.

Here are some additional risk mitigation steps that your land trust can take:

  • Ensure that you have ample insurance coverage (Terrafirma, title, general liability and directors and officers).
  • Carry out community outreach so that folks of all persuasions see you as an important ally.
  • File a Terrafirma claim at the first mention of hiring a lawyer, filing a lawsuit, demanding extinguishment/boundary adjustment by a landowner or neighbor, or any other possible damage or challenge. If you are not certain, then be safe and file a placeholder claim.

We're here to help! If you have questions, please contact us at .


Sincerely,

Hannah

Hannah Flake
Conservation Defense Specialist
ALLIANCE RISK MANAGEMENT SERVICES LLC
(202) 800-2248  |  

P.S. Remember to submit your Terrafirma application for the 2022 policy year by Tuesday, Feb. 1!
 

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