The Terrorism Risk Insurance Reauthorization Act (TRIA) has received approval from the US Senate’s Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee.
The committee approved the act after a 22-to-one vote. If it is passed by the House of Representatives and the full Senate, it would extend TRIA for seven years.
Under the legislation, deductibles will increase over five years and the copayment will be increased to 20 percent. Thomas Stokes, managing principle and US consulting practice leader at JLT US, would like TRIA to be made “permanent”.
But full congressional support might be difficult, with a proposal on the table to raise TRIA’s trigger amount for qualified non-nuclear, biological, radiological and chemical incidents to $500 million (from $100 million) by 2019.
Former President George Bush passed TRIA after the 9/11 terrorist attacks in New York, to protect those who have incurred losses due to acts of terrorism.
Stokes added: “I’m optimistic we’ll see an extension by the end of this year. Hopefully changes will be minimal.”
TRIA is due to expire at the end of 2014.
