Bill Text: MO HCR22 | 2014 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Urges the United States Congress and the President of the United States to reauthorize the Terrorism Risk Insurance Program
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2014-05-13 - Referred: Senate Rules, Joint Rules, Resolutions, and Ethics(S) [HCR22 Detail]
Download: Missouri-2014-HCR22-Introduced.html
SECOND REGULAR SESSION
House Concurrent Resolution No. 22
97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
INTRODUCED BY REPRESENTATIVE WIELAND.
WHEREAS, insurance protects the United States economy from the adverse effects of the risks inherent in economic growth and development while also providing the resources necessary to rebuild physical and economic infrastructure, offer indemnification for business disruption, and provide coverage for medical and liability costs from injuries and loss of life in the event of catastrophic losses to persons or property; and
WHEREAS, the terrorist attack of September 11, 2001, produced insured losses larger than any natural or manmade event in history, with claims paid by insurers to their policyholders eventually totaling some $32.5 billion, making this the second most costly insurance event in United States history; and
WHEREAS, the sheer enormity of the terrorist-induced loss, combined with the possibility of future attacks, produced financial shockwaves that shook insurance markets, causing insurers and reinsurers to exclude coverage arising from acts of terrorism from virtually all commercial property and liability policies; and
WHEREAS, the United States Congress originally passed the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act of 2002, P.L. 107-297 (TRIA), in which the federal government agreed to provide terrorism reinsurance to insurers and reauthorized this arrangement via the Terrorism Risk Insurance Extension Act of 2005, P.L. 109-144, and the Terrorism Risk Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2007, P.L. 110-160 (TRIPRA); and
WHEREAS, under TRIPRA, the federal government provides such reinsurance after industry-wide losses attributable to annual certified terrorism events exceed one hundred million dollars; and
WHEREAS, coverage under TRIPRA is provided to an individual insurer after the insurer incurs losses related to terrorism equal to 20% of the insurer's previous year earned premium for property-casualty lines; and
WHEREAS, after an individual insurer reaches such threshold, the insurer pays 15% of residual losses and the federal government pays the remaining 85%; and
WHEREAS, the Terrorism Risk Insurance Program has an annual cap of one hundred billion dollars of aggregate insured losses, beyond which the federal program does not provide coverage; and
WHEREAS, TRIPRA requires the federal government to recoup 100% of the benefits provided under the program via policyholder surcharges to the extent the aggregate insured losses are less than twenty-seven billion five hundred million dollars and enables the government to recoup expenditures beyond that mandatory recoupment amount; and
WHEREAS, without question, TRIA and its successors are the principal reason for the continued stability in the insurance and reinsurance market for terrorism insurance to the benefit of our overall economy; and
WHEREAS, the presence of a robust private-public partnership has provided stability and predictability, and has allowed insurers to actively participate in the market in a meaningful way; and
WHEREAS, without a program such as TRIPRA, many of our citizens who want and need terrorism coverage to operate their businesses all across the nation would be either unable to obtain insurance or unable to afford the limited coverage that would be available; and
WHEREAS, without federally provided reinsurance, property and casualty insurers would face less availability of terrorism reinsurance and would therefore be severely restricted in their ability to provide sufficient coverage for acts of terrorism to support our economy; and
WHEREAS, unfortunately, despite the hard work and dedication of this nation's counterterrorism agencies and the bravery of the men and women in uniform who fought and continue to fight battles abroad to keep us safe here at home, the threat from terrorist attacks in the United States is both real and substantial and will remain as such for the foreseeable future:
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the members of the House of Representatives of the Ninety-seventh General Assembly, Second Regular Session, the Senate concurring therein, hereby urge the United States Congress and the President of the United States to reauthorize the Terrorism Risk Insurance Program; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Chief Clerk of the Missouri House of Representatives be instructed to prepare properly inscribed copies of this resolution for the President of the United States, the President Pro Tempore and Secretary of the United States Senate, the Speaker and Clerk of the United States House of Representatives, and each member of the Missouri Congressional delegation.
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