Benjamin Lawsky, the superintendent of financial services for New York, has urged insurers based in the state to respond in writing to a number of questions related to the expiration of the Terrorism Risk Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2007 (TRIA).
After the US Congress allowed TRIA to run out on 31 December 2014, New York’s Department of Financial Services has stated that it is “deeply concerned” about the negative economic impact this could have on New York's construction and insurance industries, as well as other related sectors.
In a letter from 26 December 2014, Lawsky stated: “This request is being addressed to all insurers that are licensed to write lines of commercial property or liability business, including workers compensation, in the state of New York, and is limited to information concerning risks domiciled or written in the State of New York.”
The relevant insurers have been asked to provide the information no later than 12 January 2015 in order to, as Lawsky puts it, “better assess the pending damage—economic and otherwise” from the expiration of TRIA.
The questions put forward by Lawsky are concerned with whether the insurers plan to non-renew any insurance policies that are presently subject to coverage under TRIA, what the nature of their current terrorism coverage is, and what they perceive to be the impact of TRIA's non-renewal on their financial condition.