The Self-Insurance Institute of America has increased its lobbying efforts to push for passage of federal legislation to reauthorise the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act (TRIA).
H.R. 508 would extend the federal/private sector partnership by five years to ensure the continued accessibility of affordable terrorism coverage.
The bill is currently pending in the House Financial Services Committee.
The legislation is relevant as many corporations with significant real property holdings utilise captive insurance companies for terrorism related risks.
If the law is not extended by congress, these ‘TRIA captives’ will no longer be viable alternative risk transfer vehicles.
TRIA—first passed in 2002 and extended in 2005 and 2007—was enacted to address the disruption in the terrorism insurance market, caused by the attacks of September 11.
Over the past few weeks, SIIA lobbyists have met with key members of congress on the House Financial Services Committee to discuss the legislation and educate them about TRIA captives to dispel the perception that this legislation only benefits the commercial insurance industry.
As a result of these meetings, the SIIA has learned that many in congress are reluctant to support the reauthorisation, primarily due to increased skepticism of the federal government and its role in the private insurance marketplace.
While many lawmakers are unwilling to consider the impact of TRIA’s expiration, members from both parties have told SIIA that they are willing to extend the programme to ensure terrorism coverage does not become too costly or unavailable. Insiders confirmed that industry stakeholders will need to pressure committee and party leadership to understand the costs of the programme expiring.
