Insurers welcome unanimous vote for bill to extend TRIA

The insurance industry has welcomed the U.S. House Financial Services Committee voting by 57 votes to zero to advance a bill to extend the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act (TRIA).

The HSFC voted to pass H.R. 4634, the TRIA Act of 2019, as amended, which extends the TRIA for seven years. It now goes before the full House of Representatives for consideration.

The original TRIA was passed in 2002, largely in response to the events of September 11, 2001, which was costly for insurers and reinsurers. It has been renewed several times, though its critics say it transfers too much risk to the taxpayer.

Nat Wienecke, senior vice president at the American Property Casualty Insurance Association (APCIA) said the vote “is a positive step forward to ensure TRIA is in place without disruption to the marketplace and consumers.

“TRIA provides the vital economic protections against acts of terrorism that businesses of all sizes rely upon. The risk of terrorism is still very real, and the TRIA program is still needed to promote economic stability both before and after an attack. We urge the full House to take up and pass this bill quickly.”

Republican Maxine Waters, chairwoman of the committee is reported as having said: “Nearly two decades after TRIA was enacted, TRIA has thankfully never been triggered, and the program is working as intended, effectively protecting our economy from the costs of a terrorist attack and providing security for many of our nation’s hospitals, stadiums, schools and small businesses.

“Without a reauthorization, the program would expire at the end of 2020, but we could experience the harmful effects of a failure to reauthorize as soon as January of 2020.”

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