Case Histories—Learning from Our Mistakes

Abstract

In 1968, a group of 10 principals of consulting soil and foundation engineering firms met in Chicago to deal with the loss of professional liability insurance in their field. The group of 10 consulting firms created the Association of Soil and Foundation Engineers (ASFE) to provide professional liability insurance for these firms on a “mutual insurance company” concept. This insurance program, now operating as Terra Insurance Company, is a very successful operation in providing professional liability insurance coverage for those firms, now approximately 90 in number, who have been accepted by Terra. However, more importantly, Terra Insurance Company, particularly in recent years, is insisting on implementation of ASFE loss prevention programs, directed primarily at