Chamber Praises Senate Support for Terrorism Insurance Bill

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The United States Chamber of Commerce today praised Senate support of the Terrorism Risk Insurance Extension Act (TRIA) of 2005 to continue to protect millions of American businesses from lawsuits that seek to blame them for terrorist acts.

"America's businesses must have the opportunity to obtain terrorism insurance," said Bruce Josten, Chamber executive vice president. "Failure to provide an insurance backstop would open companies to exorbitant costs and direct liability for future attacks."

The U.S. and global reinsurance industry does not have the capacity to provide protection against another attack, according to the Chamber. Many reinsurers have indicated that they plan to sharply reduce or eliminate coverage on potential terror targets, such as office towers, transportation hubs, sports arenas and critical infrastructure. Without reinsurance, primary insurers would be unable to shoulder the burden of full coverage.

The Chamber praised Minority Leader Sen. Harry Reid who signed on as co-sponsor along with Sens. Christopher Dodd (D-CT) and Robert Bennett (R-UT), the lead sponsors of the bill, as well as Charles Schumer (D-NY) and Jack Reed (D-RI).

The Chamber is urging Congress to pass a terrorism insurance bill with reasonable liability provisions that treat all businesses equally. "Acts of terrorism must not become a windfall for personal injury lawyers," said Josten. "Without congressional action, some trial lawyers exploit future terrorist attacks, enriching themselves at the public's expense."

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is the world's largest business federation, representing more than three million businesses of every size, sector, and region.

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