Senate passes terror cover extension
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The U.S. Senate on Thursday passed spending legislation that included a seven-year reauthorization of the federal terrorism insurance backstop, which is widely referred to as TRIA.
The U.S. House of Representatives passed the spending legislation Tuesday.
In addition to a longer duration than previous reauthorizations, the legislation, which the Senate passed 71-23, adds a provision for a study on cyber terrorism exposures.
The coverage backstop program, which was originally passed in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorism attacks in the United States, has been renewed three times, most recently on Jan. 12, 2015, via the Terrorism Risk Insurance Program Reauthorization Act, two weeks after the prior law expired.
The prior program was due to expire at the end of 2020.
The American Property Casualty Insurance Association praised the bill’s progress and urged the president to sign the bill.
“This is a great example of how Congress got their job done, on time, with the interest of the American people at the forefront,” Nat Wienecke, senior vice president of federal government relations for the Association, said in a statement Thursday. “Because TRIA is critical to the stability of the nation’s economy, businesses of all sizes, and the insurance markets, Congress enacted the Program well before it was set to expire.”
