Information Collections for Claims Processing and Other Purposes Under the Terrorism Risk Insurance Program

SUMMARY: The Secretary of the Treasury (Secretary) administers the Terrorism Risk Insurance Program (TRIP or Program), including the issuance of regulations and procedures regarding the Program. The Federal Insurance Office assists the Secretary in the administration of the Program. The Department of the Treasury (Treasury), as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork burdens, invites the general public and other Federal agencies to comment on: Approved information collections that are due for extension by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) (under OMB 1505-0200); the extension of certain additional information collections previously approved by OMB that lapsed pending recent revisions to the Program Rules; and the approval of three new information collections that are authorized under recent revisions to the Program Rules.

DATES: Written comments must be received not later than May 12, 2017.

ADDRESSES: Interested persons may submit comments electronically through the Federal eRulemaking Portal at http://www.regulations.gov, in accordance with the instructions on that site. Electronic submissions are encouraged; however, comments may also be mailed to the Terrorism Risk Insurance Program, Room 1410, U.S. Department of the Treasury, 1500 Pennsylvania Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20220.

All comments, including attachments and other supporting materials, are part of the public record and subject to public disclosure. You should submit only information that you wish to make available publicly. In general, the Department will post all comments to www.regulations.gov without change, including any business or personal information provided such as names, addresses, email addresses, or telephone numbers. The Department will also make such comments available for public inspection and copying in the Department of the Treasury's Library, Freedman's Bank Building, 720 Madison Place NW., Room 1020, Washington, DC 20220, on official business days between the hours of 10:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time. You can make an appointment to inspect comments by telephoning (202) 622-0990. All visitors to the Treasury must be cleared by the Secret Service. This process requires that requests for appointments must be made a minimum of one business day before a visit.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Richard Ifft, Senior Insurance Regulatory Policy Analyst, Federal Insurance Office, Room 1410, U.S. Department of the Treasury, 1500 Pennsylvania Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20220, at (202) 622-2922 (this is not a toll-free number), Kevin Meehan, Senior Insurance Regulatory Policy Analyst, Federal Insurance Office, Room 1410, U.S. Department of the Treasury, 1500 Pennsylvania Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20220, at (202) 622-7009 (this is not a toll-free number), or Lindsey Baldwin, Senior Policy Analyst, Federal Insurance Office, Room 1410, U.S. Department of the Treasury, 1500 Pennsylvania Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20220, at (202) 622-3220 (this is not a toll-free number). Persons who have difficulty hearing or speaking may access this number via TTY by calling the toll-free Federal Relay Service at (800) 877-8339.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Terrorism Risk Insurance Act of 2002, as amended (TRIA), /1/ established the Terrorism Risk Insurance Program (TRIP or Program). /2/ The Act establishes a temporary federal program of shared public and private compensation for insured commercial property and casualty losses resulting from an "act of terrorism," as defined by TRIA. In order for the Program to make payments, the losses from an event must exceed certain thresholds and be in excess of participating insurer deductibles. Only "acts of terrorism" that have been certified as such by the Secretary (in consultation with the Attorney General and the Secretary of Homeland Security) are subject to the compensation provisions of the Program. In the event Treasury does make payments under the Program, it may be required to recoup some or all of the Federal share of payments through surcharges imposed upon all commercial policyholders.

FOOTNOTE 1 15 U.S.C. 6701 note. Because the provisions of TRIA (as amended) appear in a note, instead of particular sections, of the United States Code, the provisions of TRIA are identified by the sections of the law. END FOOTNOTE

FOOTNOTE 2 See 31 CFR part 50. END FOOTNOTE

Beginning after the inception of the Program in 2002, Treasury has previously sought and obtained from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approvals for certain information collections that will be necessary if Treasury is to process claims from participating insurers for the Federal share of compensation, and potentially to recoup amounts expended as authorized under TRIA. Most of these information collections are managed through forms that have been developed by Treasury to permit participating insurers to demonstrate that they are entitled to payment of the Federal share of compensation.

In January 2015, the Terrorism Risk Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2015 (2015 Reauthorization Act) /3/ extended the Program until December 31, 2020. The 2015 Reauthorization Act reformed various operational matters respecting the Program. Among other changes, the 2015 Reauthorization Act mandated that Treasury issue final rules governing the certification process, and that Treasury collect from participating insurers such information and data as considered by the Secretary to be appropriate to analyze the effectiveness of the Program. /4/ In December 2016, Treasury issued revised Program rules incorporating the new financial and operational provisions mandated by the 2015 Reauthorization Act. /5/

FOOTNOTE 3 Public Law 114-1, 129 Stat 3. END FOOTNOTE

FOOTNOTE 4 Annual collections of information and data required by the 2015 Reauthorization Act for analyses of the effectiveness of the Program are being addressed in a separate notice and comment process. See 81 FR 95310 (Dec. 27, 2016). END FOOTNOTE

FOOTNOTE 5 See 81 FR 88592 (Dec. 7, 2016) (Certification Process Interim Final Rule); 81 FR 93756 (Dec. 21, 2016) (Final Rules governing balance of Program). END FOOTNOTE

The changes to the Program rules require revisions to currently effective Program forms to incorporate terminology and regulatory reference changes, and Treasury seeks to extend these previously approved collections subject to these minor revisions. No additional burdens are imposed by these changes, either in terms of the estimates of the number of insurers affected or time burdens for compliance. /6/ None of the identified information will need to be reported unless there is a certified act of terrorism, and the insurer in question is seeking payment of the Federal share of compensation. The forms are designed to identify elements that insurers already regularly collect in their ordinary course of business when handling insurance claims, which will minimize any burden associated with their completion in the event an insurer submits a claim for payment of the Federal share of compensation.

FOOTNOTE 6 The burden estimates set forth below are the same estimates previously used by Treasury when seeking approval of this information collection. END FOOTNOTE

In addition, certain other information collections (relating to such Program administrative matters as the approval of certain settlement, and recoupment of the Federal share of compensation) lapsed pending finalization of the revised Program rules. Now that the revised Program rules are effective, Treasury seeks to reinstate these information collections subject to minor revisions. Again, no additional burdens would be imposed by these changes, /7/ and none of the identified information will need to be reported, if at all, unless there is certification of an act of terrorism. As is the case with the Program claims forms, these forms are designed to identify information that insurers already regularly collect in their ordinary course of business, which will minimize any burden associated with their completion.

FOOTNOTE 7 The burden estimates set forth below are the same estimates previously used by Treasury when seeking approval of these information collections. END FOOTNOTE

Finally, Treasury seeks approval for three additional information collections that are authorized and necessary under the revised Program rules. These collections: (1) Will permit (but not require) Treasury to obtain appropriate information directly from participating insurers during a certification process; (2) require claims reporting after certification of an act as an act of terrorism, so that Treasury can determine whether the Program Trigger threshold /8/ has been reached and respond promptly to claims for payment of the Federal share of compensation; and (3) provide for the production of information in connection with a commutation payment after the Secretary determines a final netting date when claims relating to any insured loss or act of terrorism shall become final. /9/ As with the existing Program forms, these forms are designed to identify elements that insurers regularly collect in their ordinary course of business when handling insurance claims, which will minimize any burden associated with their completion. In addition, with respect to the possibility of a certification data call, the Program rules permit Treasury to obtain any necessary data through other means, which may obviate the need for a data call. /10/

FOOTNOTE 8 See 31 CFR 50.4(v). END FOOTNOTE

FOOTNOTE 9 The burden estimates for these collections as set forth below were originally identified by Treasury in its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking leading to the recent revision of the Program Rules. See 81 FR 18950, 18958-59 (Apr. 1, 2016). Treasury did not receive any comments concerning these burden estimate figures. END FOOTNOTE

FOOTNOTE 10 See 31 CFR 50.62(b). END FOOTNOTE

Further information concerning each of these requirements is provided below.

II. Information Collections

A. Existing Information Collections

OMB Number: 1505-0200.

Title: Terrorism Risk Insurance Program; Commercial Property and Casualty Insurers Submission for Federal Share of Compensation.

--This is a summary of a Federal Register article originally published on the page number listed below--

Request for comments.

Citation: "82 FR 13543"

Federal Register Page Number: "13543"

"Notices"