House subcommittee opens early push to reauthorize terrorism insurance backstop, witnesses urge long-term extension

The House Financial Services Subcommittee on Housing and Insurance convened a hearing on reauthorization of the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act (TRIA), with lawmakers and industry witnesses urging early, multi‑year renewal to preserve market stability and coverage availability.

Members said the program, enacted in 2002 after the Sept. 11 attacks, remains necessary because insurers cannot reliably price or model terrorism risk. "TRIA stabilizes not only the insurance sector, but the broader economy," said Andrew Mays, commissioner of the Connecticut Insurance Department, testifying on behalf of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC). Mays recommended a long-term reauthorization of seven to ten years to provide certainty for insurers, lenders and developers.

Witnesses described how TRIA functions as a federal backstop rather than a primary insurer. Barrett Weibel, a financial economics specialist at the Congressional Research Service, summarized the program's mechanics: a $200,000,000 annual program trigger, a 20% insurer deductible tied to prior-year earned premiums, an 80/20 federal/private cost‑share above the deductible, a $5,000,000 single‑event certification threshold, and a $100,000,000,000 cap above which no federal coverage applies. "This system has a lot of advantages," Weibel said, noting that because no event has met the trigger, Treasury has not made payouts but the program's existence has preserved an operating market.

Industry witnesses from a range of firms said TRIA enables insurers of all sizes to offer terrorism coverage and keeps premiums affordable for sectors that regularly buy the protection. Elizabeth Heck, chairman, president and CEO of Greater New York Mutual Insurance Company (testifying on behalf of the National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies), urged a 10‑year extension to avoid short‑term uncertainty. Michelle Sartain, president of Marsh U.S. and Canada, highlighted sector uptake statistics from Marsh research, including an approximate 61% uptake in health care and 47% in education, and warned that a reauthorization delay could cause insurers to withdraw or narrow coverage. "Uncertainty alone causes markets to withdraw coverage," Sartain said, citing the 2015 lapse as an example of market disruption.

Lawmakers pressed witnesses about specific program design issues — the role of captives, recoupment mechanics, indexing of numeric triggers, and the program's treatment of workers' compensation and NBCR (nuclear, biological, chemical, radiological) risks — but broadly signaled bipartisan support for timely renewal. Representative Maxine Waters and others said the certainty provided by a long reauthorization supports economic development, lending and large projects because insurance decisions and capital deployments are made months or years in advance.

Several witnesses recommended keeping the program's architecture largely intact while improving data collection and transparency. Weibel and others suggested that Congress assess Treasury's operational preparedness and reporting mechanisms ahead of any activation of the backstop.

With TRIA scheduled to expire at the end of 2027, members repeatedly urged the committee to act in 2026 so insurance contracts that renew annually will not be written amid uncertainty. The hearing record was left open for five legislative days for additional materials and the witnesses were asked to respond to follow-up questions by Oct. 22, 2025. The subcommittee adjourned after unanimous‑consent submissions were entered into the record.