Congress Approves Terror Insurance Reauthorization
1/12/2015
Congress last week approved H.R. 26, reauthorizing the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act (TRIA) of 2002. With a 93-4 Senate vote and a 416-5 House vote, the federal backstop insurance program is now extended through December 31, 2020, with some revised requirements.
The new measure raises the federal coverage trigger from $100 million in losses to $200 million. The measure also gradually increases the industrywide deductible to $37.5 billion.
Senate Democrats, while not pleased with a provision in the legislation that exempts certain non-financial businesses from a 2010 Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform Law provision related to derivatives, voted for passage despite their reservations. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) offered an amendment to remove the provision, but it failed to garner enough votes for approval.
Efforts to reauthorize TRIA unraveled in December when senators failed to pass legislation extending it. Despite significant bipartisan support, retiring Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) successfully blocked a vote on the legislation based on an objection to an unrelated provision.
NACUBO, together with the American Council on Education and eight other associations representing colleges and universities, wrote to congressional leaders in 2014 in support of reauthorization of TRIA.
President Obama is expected to approve the measure.
