September 27, 2004—Hopes for passage of terrorism insurance legislation were recently given a big boost when Rep. Mike Oxley (R-OH), Chair of the House Financial Services Committee, scheduled a committee vote for September 29 on legislation to extend the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act (TRIA).
H.R. 4634, the Terrorism Insurance Backstop Extension Act of 2004, was introduced by Rep. Pete Sessions (R-TX) on June 22 and would extend TRIA through the end of 2007 (it is currently set to expire at the end of 2005) and expand coverage to include some group life insurance policies. The bill has 87 co-sponsors.
While the outlook for passage of this bill in the House this year is certainly possible, no action has yet been scheduled in the Senate and Senate leaders doubt there will be any movement this year.
Just a few days before Chairman Oxley placed the terrorism insurance issue on his committees calendar, a new study commissioned by financial and insurance groups was released. Conclusions in the study indicate that renewal of TRIA could significantly boost performance of the U.S. economy.
—From BOMA.org
