House Introduces Bill to Reauthorize Terrorism Risk Insurance Act

House Financial Services Committee Chairwoman Maxine Waters (D-CA) on October 16 introduced legislation that would reauthorize the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act (TRIA) program for another 10 years. The program is set to expire on Dec. 31, 2020. Other than extending the deadline, the bill makes no changes to the current program. The House Financial Services Committee held a hearing on the issue on the day it was introduced.

After 9/11, Congress adopted TRIA in December 2002 to incentivize private insurance companies to offer terrorism insurance policies by creating a federal backstop under which the government became the reinsurer of the policies sharing the liability for losses that would arise from a terrorist attack. Thus far, no claims have been made against the federal guarantee.