[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 52 (Friday, March 16, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 11815-11816]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-05433]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY


2018 Report on the Effectiveness of the Terrorism Risk Insurance 
Program

AGENCY: Departmental Offices, U.S. Department of the Treasury.

ACTION: Request for comment.

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SUMMARY: The Terrorism Risk Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 
2015 (Reauthorization Act), which extended and amended certain 
provisions of the Terrorism Risk Insurance Program (TRIP or Program), 
requires the Secretary of the Treasury (Secretary) to submit a report 
to Congress by June 30, 2018 concerning, in general, the overall 
effectiveness of TRIP. To assist the Secretary in formulating the 
report, the Federal Insurance Office (FIO) within the Department of the 
Treasury (Treasury) is seeking comments from the industry and other 
stakeholders on the statutory factors that the report must analyze, as 
well as any other feedback about the effectiveness of TRIP.

DATES: Submit comments on or before April 30, 2018.

ADDRESSES: Submit comments electronically through the Federal 
eRulemaking Portal at http://www.regulations.gov, in accordance with 
the instructions on that site, or by mail to the Federal Insurance 
Office, Attn: Richard Ifft, Room 1410 MT, Department of the Treasury, 
1500 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20220. Because postal mail 
may be subject to processing delays, it is recommended that comments be 
submitted electronically. If submitting comments by mail, please submit 
an original version with two copies. Comments concerning the 2018 
report on the effectiveness of the Terrorism Risk Insurance Program 
should be captioned with ``2018 TRIP Effectiveness Report.'' In 
general, Treasury 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. 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. Where 
appropriate, a comment should include a short Executive Summary (no 
more than five single-spaced pages).
    Additional Instructions. Responses should also include: (1) The 
data or rationale, including examples, supporting any opinions or 
conclusions; and (2) any specific legislative, administrative, or 
regulatory proposals for carrying out recommended approaches or 
options.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Richard Ifft, Senior Insurance 
Regulatory Policy Analyst, Federal Insurance Office, (202) 622-2922 
(this is not a toll-free number) or Lindsey Baldwin, Senior Policy 
Analyst, Federal Insurance Office, (202) 622-3220 (not a toll free 
number). Persons who have difficulty hearing or speaking may access 
these numbers via TTY by calling the toll-free Federal Relay Service at 
(800) 877-8339.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    The Terrorism Risk Insurance Act of 2002, as amended (TRIA), 
requires participating insurers to make insurance available for losses 
resulting from acts of terrorism, and provides a federal government 
backstop for the insurers' resulting financial exposure. TRIA 
established TRIP within Treasury, and the Program is administered by 
the Secretary with the assistance of FIO. Section 111 of the 
Reauthorization Act (Pub. L. 114-1) requires the Secretary to prepare 
and submit reports to the Committee on Financial Services of the House 
of Representatives and the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban 
Affairs of the Senate on, among other things, the impact and 
effectiveness of TRIP. The report which is to be submitted by June 30, 
2018 will also include an analysis of information that is being 
collected by Treasury through the 2018 TRIP Data Call,\1\

[[Page 11816]]

which will gather certain data appropriate to analyze the effectiveness 
of TRIP.
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    \1\ The proposed data collection for Calendar Year 2018 that 
Treasury will use in analyzing the Program has been described by 
Treasury in a separate notice. 82 FR 56328 (November 28, 2017). 
Treasury will also discuss the results of the prior 2017 TRIP Data 
Call in this report on the effectiveness of the Program.
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II. Solicitation for Comments

    The Section 111 factors that must be considered in the report and 
on which Treasury seeks comments include:
    1. The overall effectiveness of TRIP;
    2. Any changes or trends you have observed relating to the data 
Treasury is collecting under Section 111 of the Reauthorization Act;
    3. Whether any aspects of TRIP have the effect of discouraging or 
impeding insurers from providing commercial property casualty insurance 
coverage or coverage for acts of terrorism; and
    4. Any impact of TRIP on workers' compensation insurers in 
particular. Collecting information and views via this request for 
comments on the matters that must be addressed in the report will 
enhance the accuracy and value of the report to Congress, by offering 
qualitative feedback that may not be otherwise observable through the 
results of the TRIP Data Calls. Comments from insurers that are 
otherwise providing data, from other stakeholders, and from the public 
at large will assist the Secretary in the formulation of the report. In 
addition to comments on the above statutory factors, Treasury also 
seeks comments on:
    5. The availability and affordability of terrorism risk insurance 
coverage, both nationally and in particular geographic areas;
    6. Whether any lines of insurance or coverages within certain lines 
of insurance currently subject to the Program do not require the 
support of TRIP;
    7. The market for standalone terrorism risk insurance that is 
written outside of TRIP, the reasons such coverage is offered and 
obtained, and whether the existence of such insurance provides any 
insights into the effectiveness of the Program;
    8. The availability and affordability of private reinsurance, or 
capital markets support, for terrorism risk insurance exposures (both 
those which are currently subject to support under TRIP as well as 
those otherwise held by insurers participating in TRIP);
    9. The extent to which reinsurance for terrorism risk is being 
obtained as part of catastrophe reinsurance programs generally, the 
reasons for this, and how if at all this has affected market capacity 
for terrorism risk reinsurance generally;
    10. Any factors that impede private reinsurance or capital markets 
support for terrorism risk insurance;
    11. The availability of terrorism risk insurance coverage for 
losses arising from nuclear, biological, chemical, or radiological 
(NBCR) exposures, and the availability of private reinsurance or 
capital markets support for such terrorism risk insurance;
    12. Terrorism risk insurance issues presented by cyber-related 
losses, the impact of TRIP in connection with such exposures, and any 
reforms that would encourage the take up of insurance for cyber-related 
losses arising from acts of terrorism within the meaning of TRIA; \2\
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    \2\ Treasury has previously addressed the application of TRIP to 
policies covering cyber-related losses. 81 FR 95312 (December 27, 
2016).
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    13. Private reinsurance or capital markets support for cyber-
related losses arising from acts of terrorism within the meaning of 
TRIA; and
    14. Any other issues relating to TRIP or terrorism risk insurance 
or reinsurance that may be relevant to an assessment of the 
effectiveness of TRIP in the report.

    Dated: March 12, 2018.
Steven E. Seitz,
Deputy Director, Federal Insurance Office.
[FR Doc. 2018-05433 Filed 3-15-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4810-25-P