Dodd Keeps Quiet On House Terrorism Extension Efforts

A key player in the new House initiative is Rep. Gary Ackerman, D-N.Y., who represents a New York City district.

“The indication we have from [the Senate] is ‘take or leave it,’ but that’s not going to happen,” Ackerman said, according to an Ackerman spokesman. “We hope that this is sufficient and they accept it, but, realistically the clock is running.”

President Bush and many members of the Senate believe that the country should keep any federal terrorism risk protection program for insurers as small as possible.

Members of the Senate, facing a veto threat, have passed a short bill that excludes protection for group life insurers and other provisions of interest to insurers, and they have refused to hold a conference committee to iron out the differences between their bill and the longer, more expansive bill that the House originally passed.

The bill that the House will be considering next includes many of the Senate changes, such as the Senate’s 7-year lifespan for program authorization, rather than the 15-year authorization included in the original House bill, but it also includes protection for group life insurers; a reduction in the “trigger” for federal involvement to $50 million, from the Senate trigger level of $100 million; and a provision limiting life insurers’ ability to consider travel plans when considering coverage applications.

Because the revised House bill would add group life to the Senate limits on TRIA’s covered lines, it would create a separate $5 billion recoupment pool for group life. This apparently is a new wrinkle that would have the effect of reducing the cost of an attack on commercial insurance policyholders.