Business Insurance reports that the outlook for extending the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act (TRIA) looks positive. The bill was enacted to provide a $100 million federal backstop for insurers but it is set to expire at the end of next year. As we approach one of the primary policy renewal cycles, insurers are getting edgy about the idea of TRIA expiring.
Insurance Journal reports on testimony that the Council of Insurance agents & Brokers (CIAB) made before the Senate Banking Committee last week. Albert R. (Skip) Counselman, a former CIAB chairman and president and CEO of Riggs, Counselman, Michaels & Downes, Maryland’s largest independent brokerage firm, told the Senate that the private marketplace will not be prepared to take on the full risk posed by potentially catastrophic terrorism losses by the time the law expires on Dec. 31, 2005.
“Without the backstop, the economy could suffer significant damage as businesses pull back because the lack of insurance coverage makes them financially vulnerable.”
He noted that TRIA affects all parts of the country, and because of its enactment, the availability of terrorism coverage has grown, premium prices have dropped and nearly half of all insured are purchasing terror cover.
According to a study earlier this year by Marsh, Inc., the largest percentage of companies buying terrorism insurance were in the energy business, followed by the media, food and beverage, habitational/hospitality, health care and real estate industries.”
For more on this topic:
Terrorism Risk Insurance Act (TRIA) to expire
Terrorism risk and workers compensation
Workers Comp and Terror: The Long Shadow

Tags: terrorism, TRIA

This entry was posted on Monday, September 27th, 2004 at 11:45 am and is filed under Insurance & Insurers. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.