190917 coalition terrorismriskinsuranceact uscongress

Published

September 17, 2019

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TO THE MEMBERS OF THE UNITED STATES CONGRESS:

          The undersigned organizations, representing a wide variety of business interests, urge Congress to work swiftly to pass a long-term reauthorization of the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act (TRIA) which is currently set to expire at the end of 2020.

          The tragic terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, fundamentally changed the landscape for insuring against the risk of terrorism in the United States. Struck with an inability to model frequency, location, and the potentially devastating scale of modern terrorism, insurers were forced to pull out of the marketplace, and in the months following the attacks, the inability of insurance policyholders to secure terrorism risk insurance contributed to a paralysis in the economy, especially in the construction, travel and tourism, and real estate finance sectors.

          Since its initial enactment in 2002, TRIA has served as a vital public-private risk sharing mechanism, ensuring that private terrorism risk insurance coverage remains available to commercial businesses, educational institutions and non-profit organizations at virtually no cost to the taxpayer.  According to a 2019 Marsh study, the education, media, financial institutions, real estate, hospitality and gaming, and health care sectors had the highest 'take-up' rates among the 17 industry segments surveyed – all above 70%. TRIA fosters certainty in the marketplace and allows all of these interconnected elements of the economy to continue to move forward. 

          In 2018, the Treasury Department reported that “the Program has made terrorism risk insurance available and affordable in the United States, and the market for terrorism risk insurance has been relatively stable for the past decade.” Absent TRIA, there is not sufficient insurance and reinsurance capital available to provide comprehensive terrorism coverage to U.S. insurance buyers.  

          To this end, the undersigned organizations urge Congress to promptly enact a “clean” long-term extension of this vital program.  Previous reforms to the program have minimized taxpayer exposure making further reforms unnecessary. In fact, the key “dials” are already effectively indexed to premium growth at both the company and industry level, and the federal share will continue to decrease in future years even if Congress makes no changes to the program beyond a simple change of the expiration date.

          Making changes to the TRIA mechanism to increase insurer retentions could affect the ability of many insurers, particularly smaller and mid-sized companies, to write risks or markets altogether, which ultimately impacts the ability of policyholders to secure adequate coverage. Maintaining a workable federal terrorism insurance mechanism is vital for our nation’s economic security, and without adequate coverage, our ability to mitigate further economic fallout in the event of an attack would be greatly impaired. There is no homeland security without economic security.

          The American business community remembers all too well the twelve-day lapse in the program in early 2015 and the disruption that lapse played in a variety of markets.  We urge Congress to help provide much needed certainty by passing a long-term reauthorization of this important program without delay.

Sincerely,

A.I.M. Mutual Insurance Companies

ACIG Insurance Company

Alliance Security

Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty

American Association of Port Authorities

American Bankers Association

American Council of Engineering Companies

American Council on Education

American Family Insurance

American Gaming Association

American Property Casualty Insurance Association

American Public Power Association

American Resort Development Association

American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association

Anderson Area Chamber of Commerce

Aon

Apache Junction Chamber of Commerce and Visitor Center

ARCTRUST

Argo Group

Arrow Mutual Liability Insurance Company

Associated General Contractors of America

Associated Wire Rope Fabricators

Association of American Railroads

Atlantic Charter Insurance Company

AvalonBay Communites Inc. 

AXA XL

Ballard Spahr LLP

Barron Mutual Insurance Company

Barton Mutual Insurance Company

Beacon Capital Partners, LLC

Beaver Creek Mutual Insurance Company

Benton Mutual Insurance Association

Black Hawk Mutual Insurance Company

Bloomfield Mutual Insurance Company

Boise Metro Chamber

Bolingbrook Area Chamber of Commerce

Boston Properties

Bradford Victor-Adams Mutual Insurance Company

Bremer Mutual Insurance Association

Broad Reach Retail Partners, LLC

Brookfield Properties

Broome Co-operative Insurance Company

Brotherhood Mutual Insurance Company

Buckeye Valley Chamber of Commerce

Bucksbaum Properties

Builders Mutual Insurance Company

California Association of Boutique & Breakfast Inns

California Hotel & Lodging Association

Camarillo Chamber of Commerce

CapSpecialty

CCIM Institute

Celina Mutual Insurance Company

Central Illinois Mutual Insurance Company

Century Mutual Insurance Association

Chautauqua Patrons Insurance Company

Chester County Chamber

Chubb

CM Group

CNA Financial

Coalition to Insure Against Terrorism (CIAT)

Columbia Insurance Group

Community Associations Institute

Community Insurance Company

Co-operative Insurance Companies

Corporate Office Properties Trust

Cousins Properties

Decatur Chamber of Commerce

CRE Finance Council

CSX

Cumberland Mutual Fire Insurance Company

CUNA Mutual Group

Cushman & Wakefield Inc.

Davis Chamber of Commerce

Donahue Schriber Realty Group

Draper Area Chamber of Commerce

Dundee Mutual Insurance Company

Dunham & Chemung Mutual Insurance Company

East Tennessee Mutual Insurance Company

Eastern Iowa Mutual Insurance Association

EastGroup Properties

Edison Electric Institute

Edwardsville/Glen Carbon Chamber of Commerce

El Centro Chamber of Commerce

El Dorado County Chamber of Commerce

Electric Insurance Company

Erie Insurance

Essex Property Trust, Inc. 

Extra Space Storage

Falls City Mutual Insurance Company Inc.

Farmers Home Fire Insurance Company of West Virginia, Inc.

Farmers Home Insurance Company

Farmers Insurance Company of Flemington

Farmers Mutual Fire Insurance Company of Marble

Farmers Mutual Insurance Company

Farmers Mutual Insurance Company Manchester

Farmers Pioneer Mutual Insurance Company

Farmers Protective Mutual Insurance Company

Farmers Union Mutual Insurance Company (AR)

Farmers Union Mutual Insurance Company (ND)

Farmers’ and Mechanics’ Mutual Insurance Company

Farmland Partners Inc.

First Maxfield Mutual Insurance Association

Food Marketing Institute

Foodservice Equipment Distributors Association (FEDA)

Forreston Mutual Insurance Company

Forward Mutual Insurance Company

Frankenmuth Mutual Insurance Company

Frederick Mutual Insurance Company

Gallagher Real Estate & Hospitality Services

General Reinsurance Corporation

German-American Farm Mutual Insurance Company

Gilroy Chamber of Commerce

Governmental Interinsurance Exchange

Grange Insurance 

Great American Insurance Group

Greater Boca Raton Chamber of Commerce

Greater Coachella Valley Chamber of Commerce

Greater Conejo Valley Chamber of Commerce

Greater Flagstaff Chamber of Commerce

Greater New York Mutual Insurance Company

Greater Phoenix Chamber of Commerce

Greater Springfield Chamber of Commerce

Greater Yakima Chamber of Commerce

Grinnell Mutual Reinsurance Company

Hamel Mutual Insurance Company

Hamlet Mutual Insurance Company

Hanover Area Chamber of Commerce

Harding & Perkins Farm Mutual Insurance Company

Harford Mutual Insurance Company

Hawaii Employers Mutual Insurance Company

Heritage Mutual Insurance Association

Hilton

Hochheim Prairie Farm Mutual Insurance Association

Horse Prairie Mutual Insurance Company

Host Hotels & Resorts

Hotel Association of Los Angeles

Household & Commercial Products Association

Hueneme Chamber of Commerce

Humboldt Mutual Insurance Association

Hutensky Capital Partners

International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC)

IFG Companies

Illinois Association of Mutual Insurance Companies

Illinois Chamber of Commerce

IMT Insurance Company

Independence Realty Trust

Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America

Indiana Chamber of Commerce

Innovative Signal Analysis

International Franchise Association

International Speedway Corporation

International Safety Equipment Association

Island Insurance Companies

Jo Daviess Mutual Insurance Company

Kane County Mutual Insurance Company

Kilroy Realty Corporation

Kite Realty

Lake Havasu Area Chamber of Commerce

Lamar Advertising Company

Lansing Regional Chamber of Commerce

LaPrairie Mutual Insurance Company

Laredo Chamber of Commerce

Las Vegas Metro Chamber of Commerce

Lexington Chamber of Commerce

Liberty Mutual Insurance

Liberty Property Trust

Lincoln City Chamber of Commerce

Lititz Mutual Insurance Company

Livingston Mutual Insurance Company

Lloyd's of London

Lodi Chamber of Commerce

Loews Hotels & Co

Long Beach Area Chamber of Commerce

Long Beach Hospitality Alliance

Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce

Lubbock Chamber of Commerce

LWD Inc.

Major League Baseball (MLB)

Marana Chamber of Commerce

Marriott International

Marshalltown Area Chamber of Commerce

Medical Properties Trust, Inc.

Mendota Mutual Insurance Company

Mennonite Mutual Insurance Company

Merchants Mutual Insurance Company

Mesa Chamber of Commerce

MetLife

MFS Mutual Insurance Company

MGM Resorts International

Mid-State Farmers Mutual Insurance Company

Millers Mutual Group

Monmouth Real Estate Investment Corporation

Mortgage Bankers Association

Mound Prairie Mutual Insurance Company

Mower County Farmers Mutual Insurance Company

MS & AD Insurance Group

Munich Reinsurance America, Inc.

Muscatine Mutual Insurance Association

Mutual of Indiana Insurance Company

Mutual of Wausau Group

NAMA—The National Automatic Merchandising Association

National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts (Nareit)

National Apartment Association

National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR)

National Association of College and University Business Officers (NACUBO)

National Association of Home Builders

National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies (NAMIC)

National Association of Professional Employer Organizations

National Association of REALTORS®

National Association of Surety Bond Producers

National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors

National Black Chamber of Commerce

National Electrical Contractors Association

National Fire & Casualty Company

National Fire & Indemnity Exchange

National Hockey League

National Investor Relations Institute

National Multifamily Housing Council

National Restaurant Association

National Retail Federation

National Rural Electric Cooperative Association

National Waste & Recycling Association

Nationwide Mutual Fire Insurance Company

New Prague-Ceska-Louisville Mutual Insurance Company

New Vienna Mutual Insurance Association

Nonprofits Insurance Alliance

Norfolk & Dedham Mutual Fire Insurance Company

North Country Chamber of Commerce

North Orange County Chamber

North Star Mutual Insurance Company

Northern Finnish Mutual Insurance Company

Norwegian Mutual Insurance Association

Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI)

Oakwood Mutual Insurance Company

Ohio Mutual Insurance Group

OneBeacon Insurance Group, LLC

Orthopaedic Research Society

Oxnard Chamber of Commerce

Palm Desert Area Chamber of Commerce

Park Hotels & Resorts

Partnership for New York City

Pasadena Chamber of Commerce

Patriot Insurance Company

Pella Mutual Insurance Company

Penn Charter Mutual Insurance Company

Penn National Insurance

Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry

Pennsylvania Lumbermens Mutual Insurance Company

Peoples Mutual Insurance Association

Peru Waltham Mutual Insurance

Pharmacists Mutual Insurance Group

Pioneer State Mutual Insurance Company

PMA Companies

Poweshiek Mutual Insurance Association

Prescott Valley Chamber of Commerce

Prophetstown Farmers Mutual Insurance Company

Rayonier, Inc.

Real Estate Board of New York

Regional Chamber of Commerce - San Gabriel Valley

Reinsurance Association of America

Reno + Sparks Chamber of Commerce

Restoration Risk Retention Group, Inc.

Riverton Chamber of Commerce

Rockford Mutual Insurance Company

Rolling Meadows Chamber

Rudin Management Company, Inc.

Safety National Casualty Corp.

Safety Specialty Insurance Company

San Gabriel Valley Economic Partnership

Schuylkill Chamber of Commerce

Seaview Investors LLC

SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment

SECURA Insurance Companies

Selma and Dallas County Chamber of Commerce and Tourism Information

Seneca, Sigel Mutual Insurance Company

Sentry Insurance

Shelbyville Mutual Insurance Company

Shelter Insurance

Shopping Center Interests, LLC

Sierra Vista Area Chamber of Commerce

Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA)

Society Insurance, A Mutual Company

South Jordan Chamber of Commerce

Southeast Mutual Insurance Company

Southern Company

Southwest California Legislative Council

Southwest Iowa Mutual Insurance Association

Spirit Realty Capital

Spring Vale Mutual Insurance Company

Starr Companies

Steele Traill County Mutual Insurance Company

Stephenson County Mutual Insurance Company

Sterling Insurance Company

Stirling Properties, LLC

STORE Capital 

Surprise Regional Chamber of Commerce

Svea Mutual Insurance Company

Sverdrup Mutual Insurance Company

Swiss Re Americas

Tama County Mutual Insurance Association

Taubman Centers

Tenaska

Texas Hospital Insurance Exchange

The Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) International

The Chamber of Medford/Jackson County

The Council of Insurance Agents and Brokers

The Durst Organization

The Gray Insurance Company

The Hanover Insurance Company

The Hartford

The Macerich Company

The MEMIC Group

The Philadelphia Contributionship

The Port Authority of New York, New Jersey

The Real Estate Roundtable

The Taubman Company 

The Travelers Companies, Inc.

The Victor Chamber of Commerce

The Walt Disney Company

Torrance Area Chamber of Commerce

Tucson Metro Chamber

Tulsa Regional Chamber

U.S. Chamber of Commerce

U.S. Travel Association

UDR, Inc.

UJA-Federation of New York

United Mutual Insurance Company

University Risk Management and Insurance Association, Inc. (URMIA)

Upland Mutual Insurance, Inc.

Utica First Insurance Company

Utica National Insurance Group

Valley Mutual Insurance Association

W. R. Berkley Corporation

Watseka Mutual Insurance Company

Wayne Mutual Insurance Company

Weingarten Realty Investor

Welltower, Inc.

Western Iowa Mutual Insurance Association

Western National Mutual Insurance Company

Westfield 

Westfield insurance Company

Westminster American Insurance Company

Wholesale & Specialty Insurance Association

Wisconsin Association of Mutual Insurance Companies

Zurich North America

190917 coalition terrorismriskinsuranceact uscongress