November 21, 2002—The U.S. Senate has passed the terrorism insurance bill by a wide margin, sending it to the President where, most legislators agree, he will sign it into law.
President Bush has long supported terrorism insurance legislation, although the issue of punitive damages—the liability of property owners in the event of such a disaster—threatened to derail the bill before the 107th Congress adjourned.
The punitive damage clause was finally omitted in the House version and passed last week. The bill did include a measure to consolidate civil lawsuits in a single court in the state where the attack took place. The Senate then approved the compromise legislation in a vote 86 to 11.
The bill would cover 90 percent of future terrorism-related insurance claims when terrorism-related losses exceed minimum levels of an insurance company’s premiums: 7 percent of premiums in the first year, 10 percent in the second year and 15 percent in the third year. Legislators estimate the costs of such aid to be approximately $100 billion.
In addition to assisting insurance companies and protecting businesses, this bill is regarded as a means of kick-starting the economy by allowing stalled construction projects to move forward.
The Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) International has lobbied on behalf of terrorism insurance and cites this latest passage as a huge victory for the commercial real estate industry and the entire business community.
“BOMA’s advocacy efforts have included dozens of face to face meetings with members of Congress, including members of the Conference Committee; meetings with key administration officials, including Treasury Secretary Paul O’Neill; and tremendous assistance from local BOMA associations. Our grassroots support from the BOMA membership was phenomenal. Over six hundred letters were sent just last week in response to our most recent call to action. BOMA’s public relations efforts also helped keep this issue on Congress’ radar,” said Karen Penafiel, Assistant Vice President, Advocacy.
