HOUSE APPROVES TERRORISM RISK INSURANCE ACT PROGRAM REAUTHORIZATION

The following information was released by the American Public Power Association:

June 30, 2026

Paul Ciampoli

The House on June 29 approved H.R. 7128, the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act (TRIA) Program Reauthorization Act of 2026, by a vote of 373-15. APPA supports the bill.

The bill was approved by the House Financial Services Committee in January. The bill text has been updated slightly at Treasury's request, to offer additional flexibility in the timeline for certifying an event. The updated text can be found here.

The Senate companion bill, S. 4395, currently has 31 cosponsors (16 Republicans and 15 Democrats). S. 4395 has been introduced as an amendment to the Fiscal Year 2027 National Defense Authorization Act by Senators Dave McCormick (R-PA), Tina Smith (D-MN), Tom Tillis (R-NC) and Ruben Gallego (D-AZ).

TRIA was signed into law in the wake of the September 11, 2011 terrorist attacks. The act established the Terrorism Risk Insurance Program (TRIP) to stabilize the market for terrorism risk insurance.

TRIA/TRIP does not cover terrorism losses directly, but instead reimburses private insurers for a portion of their losses and is limited to commercial property and casualty insurance.

Under TRIA, private insurers are required to make terrorism coverage available under essentially the same terms and conditions as for other types of insurance (there is no requirement, however, for an entity to buy terrorism coverage). For example, if a policy covers loss resulting from an accidental fire, the insurer must offer a policy that covers losses from a fire due to terrorism.

An individual act of terrorism must be certified by the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of Homeland Security and Attorney General, and losses must exceed certain thresholds for TRIA to be triggered. While the U.S. has suffered terrorist attacks since the passage of TRIA, no acts of terrorism have been certified and no federal payments to insurers have occurred under TRIA.

Congress has reauthorized the program four times: in 2005, 2007, 2015 and 2019. The current authorization is set to expire on December 31, 2027.