ShareOn September 17 NAR joined a stakeholder coalition letter to all Members of the U.S. Congress urging a long-term reauthorization of the Terrorism Risk Insurance Program (TRIP) before its expiration at the end of 2020. The letter stresses the need for a clean reauthroization, as previous reforms have minimized taxpayer exposure and further adjustments to it could reduce its availability and effectiveness. NAR is a Steering Committee member of the Coalition to Insure Against Terrorism (CIAT), which spearheaded the letter.
TRIP was first enacted in 2002, in reaction to the insurance industry no longer offering terrorism insurance coverage following the September 11, 2001 attacks. In the rare event that it was offered, the cost was prohibitively high. Terrorism insurance is a vital aspect of financing for many commercial properties, and without it, many borrowers would find themselves in technical default of their financing agreements. TRIP creates a risk-sharing partnership that allows the federal government and private insurance companies to share losses in the even of a major terrorist attack. It mandates that private insurers make terrorism coverage available along with property and casualty lines, and in return the U.S. government provides a federal "backstop" for losses above a triggering amount ($180 million in 2019, which will go up to $200 million in 2020) from a certified terrorist attack. The program has been reauthorized three times already: in 2005, 2007, and 2015.