Insurance Rate Reduction for Small Land Trusts

The Land Trust Alliance is pleased to announce that we have successfully negotiated significant rate reductions in the minimum premiums for our current comprehensive insurance package and for our Directors and Officers (D&O) insurance.  For any land trust renewing its insurance on or after November 1, 2003, this means a savings of $350 on the comprehensive package (a 35% reduction) and a savings of $150 (a 14% reduction) on D&O, a combined savings of $500. 

Although we have worked hard to lower the rates across the board – for both small and large land trusts – we were only able to get the premium reduced for those land trusts that purchase minimum coverage at this time.  Because many of the large land trusts are assessed for insurance coverage on a case-by-case basis, the insurance company was not able to lower those rates as a group.  We are continuing to analyze and assess opportunities for further savings throughout the entire range of land trust insurance needs and will henceforth be reviewing our insurance package on an annual basis.

Our current program, Conserve-A-Nation®, was initially developed specifically for land-based groups like land trusts because the needed coverage was not available elsewhere.  The Nature Conservancy and the Audubon Society, along with all of their state and affiliate groups, have participated in this program from its start in 1994 and continue to do so.  The policies are underwritten by The Chubb Group of Insurance Companies, a multi-billion dollar insurance organization that has earned the industry's highest ratings for financial stability and operating performance.

The Conserve-A-Nation® Insurance Program offers a wide range of coverage including a basic program that consists of general liability insurance, non-owned and hired auto liability, and property coverage.  Additionally, the program offers optional insurance including umbrella coverage that provides an added layer of protection against liability.  Other coverage includes Worker's Compensation/Employer's Liability and Volunteer Workers Accident coverage.  Your land trust can also access one of the most important coverages for a nonprofit organization, Directors and Officers insurance.  This coverage affords protection against claims arising from "wrongful acts" and poor business decisions made by a director, officer, employee, volunteer or the organization itself.

The chart below shows the Land Trust Alliance rate history for minimum policies, along with new rates:

*The new minimum D&O rate varies with the size of your organization’s assets.  The savings negotiated by Land Trust Alliance apply only at the lower-end of that range as follows:

For more information, please contact the Membership Coordinator, at membership@lta.org or 202-638-4725 x337.  You may also contact Jim Meshanko, insurance broker at Franey, Parr & Muha, Inc., at 800-298-7373 or jmeshanko@franeyparrmuha.com.

posted 11/7/2003