Sen. Christopher Dodd (D-CT) recently introduced legislation to extend the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act of 2002 (TRIA). Now, hundreds of businesses have insurance to protect against terrorist attacks.
But a federal program that backs up that insurance is set to expire at the end of this year.
TRIA made it mandatory for all property insurance companies to offer terror insurance with regular policies.
The insurance industry lost an estimated $40 billion in the 2001 attacks.
The TRIA program provides government financial backup to those insurers for claims above $5 million so they don't suffer massive losses in terror attacks.
The U.S. Senate Banking Committee plans to schedule hearings this month on renewing the program after it expires at the end of the year.
In addition to extending TRIA for an additional two years, S. 467, the "Terrorism Risk Insurance Extension Act of 2005," calls for the Presidential Working Group on Financial Markets to consult with representatives of the insurance industry and policyholders and submit a report to Congress containing recommendations for legislation to address the long-term availability and affordability of insurance for terrorism risk.
BOMA International and the Coalition to Insure Against Terrorism (CIAT) will continue to actively work with members of the House and Senate to move this legislation forward, says BOMA.
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