NAMIC: Senate Committee Passage Should Spur Congress to Extend TRIA

Congress must act swiftly to extend the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act to ensure development projects and businesses across the country can obtain needed insurance coverage, the National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies said today following a Senate Banking Committee vote sending an extension to the Senate floor. Similar legislation was approved by the House in June by an overwhelming 373-15 vote.

“Every major construction project in the past quarter-century – every stadium, every office building, every factory, transit hub, or energy infrastructure – owes its existence in some part to the TRIA program,” said Jimi Grande, senior vice president of federal and political affairs for NAMIC. “The well-structured program has facilitated this at virtually no cost to taxpayers.”

Established in 2002 when lenders began mandating terrorism coverage in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks, the TRIA program requires insurance companies to offer terrorism coverage. In exchange, in the event of a terrorist attack, the federal government would provide up-front funding for a percentage of related losses. Insurers would pay an immediate deductible and subsequently repay the government for the remaining losses, with interest, over several years.

“Extending TRIA is critical because terrorism poses uniquely unpredictable risk. We don’t know where or when terrorists will strike, and unlike natural disasters, terrorists can and will adapt to counter any efforts to protect ourselves,” Grande said. “Unfortunately, we’re reminded 25 years later that the threat of terrorism, and the need for TRIA, remains as significant now as it did when the original bill passed.”

NAMIC began the press for a long-term TRIA reauthorization when the association’s former board chair, Elizabeth Heck, testified before a House committee in 2025 on the need for a swift, clean, and long-term extension for the program. Heck, the president and CEO of Greater New York Insurance Companies, explained to lawmakers that given the forward-looking nature of insurance contracts, Congress would have to act swiftly to avoid creating uncertainty in the marketplace.

“Insurance is sold on a forward-looking basis. The coverage you buy today protects you for the year ahead,” Grande said. “Insurers and their customers are already being forced to account for the possibility – however remote – that Congress’ inability to pass legislation could impact the TRIA program. TRIA has been among the most efficient government program in history, and extending it has broad support from both sides of the aisle. There’s no reason to wait, and we urge Congress to act as swiftly as possible.”