[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 218 (Friday, November 9, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 56152-56154]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-24546]



[[Page 56152]]

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DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY


Terrorism Risk Insurance Program 2019 Data Call

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

ACTION: Request for comments.

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SUMMARY: Pursuant to the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act of 2002 
(TRIA),\1\ the Federal Insurance Office (FIO) requests public feedback 
on the proposed data collection forms for use in the 2019 Terrorism 
Risk Insurance Program Data Call (2019 TRIP Data Call). As was the case 
in connection with the 2018 TRIP Data Call, these forms will be 
utilized in connection with both the federal and state data calls 
regarding terrorism risk insurance. Copies of these forms and 
associated explanatory materials (including a document identifying 
specific changes to the reporting templates and instructions as 
previously used by Treasury) are available for electronic review on the 
Treasury website at https://www.treasury.gov/resource-center/fin-mkts/Pages/TRIP_data.aspx. State insurance regulators, through the National 
Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC), will also be separately 
seeking comment from stakeholders on the state data call.
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    \1\ Public Law 107-297, 116 Stat. 2322, codified at 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.

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DATES: Submit comments on or before January 8, 2019.

ADDRESSES: Submit comments electronically through the Federal 
eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov, 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 proposed data collection forms and collection 
process should be captioned with ``2019 TRIP Data Call Comments.'' 
Please include your name, group affiliation, address, email address, 
and telephone number(s) in your comment. Where appropriate, a comment 
should include a short Executive Summary (no more than five single-
spaced pages).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Richard Ifft, Senior Insurance 
Regulatory Policy Analyst, Federal Insurance Office, Room 1410 MT, 
Department of the Treasury, 1500 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 
20220, at (202) 622-2922 (not a toll-free number), or Lindsey Baldwin, 
Senior Policy Analyst, Federal Insurance Office, at (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 and Proposed Consolidated Approach

    TRIA created the Terrorism Risk Insurance Program (Program) within 
the U.S. Department of the Treasury (Treasury) to address disruptions 
in the market for terrorism risk insurance, to help ensure the 
continued availability and affordability of commercial property and 
casualty insurance for terrorism risk, and to allow for the private 
markets to stabilize and build insurance capacity to absorb any future 
losses for terrorism events. The Program has been reauthorized on a 
number of occasions, most recently in the Terrorism Risk Insurance 
Program Reauthorization Act of 2015 (2015 Reauthorization Act).\2\ 
Section 111 of the 2015 Reauthorization Act \3\ (Section 111) requires 
the Secretary of the Treasury (Secretary) to perform periodic analyses 
of certain matters concerning the Program. In order to assist the 
Secretary with this process, Section 111 requires insurers to submit on 
an annual basis certain insurance data and information regarding their 
participation in the Program. FIO is authorized to assist the Secretary 
in the administration of the Program.\4\
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    \2\ Public Law 114-1, 129 Stat. 3.
    \3\ TRIA sec. 104(h).
    \4\ 31 U.S.C. 313(c)(1)(D).
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    Treasury began collecting data from insurers in 2016 on a voluntary 
basis,\5\ and on a mandatory basis beginning in 2017.\6\ Treasury also 
arranged in 2017 for workers' compensation rating bureaus to provide 
most of the workers' compensation insurance data elements.\7\ 31 CFR 
50.51 requires insurers to submit the specified data no later than May 
15 of each calendar year.\8\ In 2018, Treasury and state insurance 
regulators (which also collect information on terrorism risk insurance 
in separate data calls) agreed on joint reporting templates 
substantially similar to those used by Treasury in prior years. For 
2019, Treasury and state regulators plan on a similar approach to the 
collection of terrorism risk insurance data, subject to a number of 
minor changes to the forms utilized in connection with the 2018 TRIP 
Data Call. Treasury identifies the proposed changes below.
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    \5\ 81 FR 11649 (March 4, 2016).
    \6\ A reporting exemption was extended to small insurers that 
wrote less than $10 million in TRIP-eligible lines premiums in 2016. 
See 81 FR 95310 (December 27, 2016); 82 FR 20420 (May 1, 2017).
    \7\ 82 FR 20420 (May 1, 2017).
    \8\ Treasury, through an insurance statistical aggregator, uses 
a web portal through which insurers must submit the requested data. 
All information submitted via the web portal is subject to the 
confidentiality and data protection provisions of applicable federal 
law.
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    Insurers subject to the consolidated data call will report on a 
group basis, if part of a group, and otherwise will report on an 
individual company basis.

II. Changes to Data Collection Templates

    Pursuant to Section 111 of the 2015 Reauthorization Act, Treasury 
has coordinated with publicly available sources to collect information 
for the 2019 TRIP Data Call. Information relating to workers' 
compensation exposures is available from the workers' compensation 
rating bureaus, and those entities have again agreed to provide that 
information on behalf of participating insurers. Treasury has 
determined, however, that all other data components remain unavailable 
from other sources. Accordingly, Treasury will continue to request this 
remaining data and information directly from insurers. By continuing to 
collect information on a consolidated basis with state regulators, 
however, a significant reduction in overall data collection burdens for 
participating insurers is achieved.
    After coordinating with state insurance regulators, Treasury again 
proposes to use four different data collection templates (see 31 CFR 
50.51(c)), depending upon the type of insurer involved. Insurers will 
fill out the template identified ``Insurer (Non-Small) Groups or 
Companies,'' unless the insurer meets the definition of a small 
insurer, captive insurer, or alien surplus lines insurer as set forth 
in 31 CFR 50.4. Such small insurers, captive insurers, and alien 
surplus lines insurers are required to complete separate tailored 
templates. Each template will be accompanied by separate instructions 
providing guidance on each data element.
    There are two principal changes to the proposed reporting templates 
for 2019. First, the exposures worksheet, which is included within all 
four reporting templates, will now include separate questions seeking 
information on the limits available under the policies of responding 
insurers for nuclear, biological, chemical and radiological (NBCR) 
exposures, as a subset of the

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total reported policy limits. Second, the reinsurance worksheet that is 
required for non-small insurers, alien surplus lines insurers, and 
captive insurers will include a new modeled loss question (which 
includes an NBCR component).\9\ In addition to these changes, the 
instructions for each reporting template will contain certain 
clarifications on how to report specific data elements.
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    \9\ Small insurers complete a separate reinsurance worksheet 
that does not contain a modeled loss question.
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    Otherwise, the reporting threshold for a small insurer has changed 
as well. For the 2019 TRIP Data Call (requesting insurer data for 
calendar year 2018), an insurer will qualify as a small insurer if it 
had both 2017 policyholder surplus and 2017 direct earned premiums in 
the TRIP-eligible lines of insurance of less than $800 million.\10\ 
Insurers above this threshold will report on the non-small insurer 
template, unless they are otherwise subject to reporting on either the 
captive insurer template \11\ or the alien surplus lines insurer \12\ 
template. Small insurers that had TRIP-eligible direct earned premiums 
of less than $10 million in 2018 will be exempt from the 2019 TRIP Data 
Call.\13\ Neither captive insurers nor alien surplus lines insurers are 
eligible for this reporting exemption.
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    \10\ Small insurers are defined in 31 CFR 50.4(z) as insurers 
(or an affiliated group of insurers) whose policyholder surplus for 
the immediately preceding year is less than five times the Program 
Trigger for the current year, and whose TRIP-eligible lines direct 
earned premiums for the previous year is also five times less than 
the Program Trigger. Accordingly, for the 2019 TRIP Data Call, an 
insurer qualifies as a small insurer if its 2017 policyholder 
surplus and 2017 direct earned premiums are less than five times the 
2018 Program Trigger of $160 million. The Program Trigger is the 
amount of aggregate industry insured losses that must be sustained 
in a calendar year before the Program will make any payments, even 
in connection with a participating insurer that has otherwise 
satisfied its individual deductible. TRIA sec. 103(e)(1)(B).
    \11\ Captive insurers are defined in 31 CFR 50.4(g) as insurers 
licensed under the captive insurance laws or regulations of any 
state. As in 2018, captive insurers that write policies in TRIP-
eligible lines of insurance are required to report in 2019, unless 
they do not provide their insureds with any terrorism risk insurance 
subject to the Program.
    \12\ Alien surplus lines insurers are defined in 31 CFR 
50.4(o)(1)(i)(B) as insurers not licensed or admitted to engage in 
the business of providing primary or excess insurance in any state, 
but that are eligible surplus line insurers listed on the NAIC 
Quarterly Listing of Alien Insurers. Alien surplus lines insurers 
that are part of a larger group classified as a non-small insurer or 
a small insurer should report as part of the group, using the 
appropriate template. Therefore, the alien surplus lines insurer 
template should only be used by an alien surplus lines insurer that 
is not part of a larger group subject to the 2019 data call.
    \13\ To the extent an insurer with less than this level of TRIP-
eligible lines direct earned premiums is part of a larger group that 
is required to report, the insurer must report as part of the group 
as a whole, even if it is under the $10,000,000 direct earned 
premium threshold on an individual basis. Individual company 
information for such entities must also be reported to state 
insurance regulators.
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    Reporting insurers can satisfy both the federal and state reporting 
obligations by completing the proposed collection forms, and separately 
submitting identical copies to the federal and state reporting portals. 
State insurance regulators will provide their own guidance regarding 
the submission of data to the state reporting portal.

III. Submission of Data

    Following registration with the data aggregator, all insurers will 
be provided with the appropriate reporting templates for completion 
through a secure web portal established by the data aggregator. 
Insurers will be required to submit the completed reporting templates 
through the same, secure web portal. All data must be provided no later 
than May 15, 2019, which will also be the reporting deadline for state 
insurance regulators. Treasury intends to provide training and provide 
additional resources throughout the data collection period to 
facilitate the proper completion of reporting templates. As was the 
case in 2018, insurers can report information in either Excel format or 
in .csv file format.
    Reporting under the 2019 TRIP Data Call will be mandatory for all 
commercial property and casualty insurers writing insurance in lines 
subject to TRIA, unless the insurer falls within the exceptions for 
certain small insurers and captive insurers identified above.

IV. Request for Comments

    To ensure efficient and accurate completion of the forms, Treasury 
is requesting public feedback on the content of the 2019 TRIP Data Call 
reporting templates. The proposed forms are available for review at 
https://www.treasury.gov/resource-center/fin-mkts/Pages/TRIP_data.aspx.

V. Procedural Requirements

    Paperwork Reduction Act. The collection of information contained in 
this notice will be submitted to the Office of Management and Budget 
(OMB) for review under the requirements of the Paperwork Reduction Act, 
44 U.S.C. 3507(d). Comments should be sent to Treasury in the form 
discussed in the ADDRESSES section of this notice. Comments on the 
collection of information should be received by January 8, 2019.
    Comments are being sought with respect to the collection of 
information in the proposed 2019 TRIP Data Call. Treasury specifically 
invites comments on: (a) Whether the proposed collection is responsive 
to the statutory requirement; (b) the accuracy of the estimate of the 
burden of the collections of information (see below); (c) ways to 
enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information 
collection; (d) ways to use automated collection techniques or other 
forms of information technology; and (e) estimates of capital or start-
up costs and costs of operation, maintenance, and purchase of services 
to maintain the information.
    Treasury has previously analyzed the potential burdens associated 
with the TRIP Data Calls. See 81 FR 95310, 95312 (December 27, 2016). 
The information sought by Treasury comprises data elements that 
insurers currently collect or generate, although not necessarily 
grouped together the way in which insurers currently collect and 
evaluate the data. Based upon insurer submissions to the 2018 TRIP Data 
Call, Treasury estimates that for purposes of the 2019 TRIP Data Call, 
approximately 100 Program participants will be required to submit the 
``Insurer (Non-Small) Groups or Companies'' data collection form, 200 
Program participants will be required to submit the ``Small Insurer'' 
form, 550 Program participants will be required to submit the ``Captive 
Insurer'' form, and 25 Program participants will be required to submit 
the ``Alien Surplus Lines Insurers'' form.
    Each set of reporting templates is expected to incur a different 
level of burden. The changes to the proposed data reporting elements in 
2019 are not anticipated to have a material impact on Treasury's prior 
burden estimates. Treasury anticipates approximately 75 hours will be 
required to collect, process, and report the data for each non-small 
insurer, approximately 25 hours will be required to collect, process, 
and report data for each small insurer, and 50 hours will be required 
to collect, process, and report data for each captive insurer and alien 
surplus lines insurer.
    Assuming this breakdown, and when applied to the number of 
reporting insurers anticipated in light of the experience of the 2018 
TRIP Data Call, the estimated annual burden would be 41,250 hours ((100 
insurers x 75 hours) + (200 insurers x 25 hours) + (550 insurers x 50 
hours) + (25 insurers x 50 hours)). At a blended, fully loaded hourly 
rate of $85, the cost would be $3,506,250 across the industry as a 
whole, or $6,375 per non-small insurer, $2,125 per small insurer, and 
$4,250 each per captive insurer or alien surplus lines insurer.


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    Dated: November 2, 2018.
Steven J. Dreyer,
Director, Federal Insurance Office.
[FR Doc. 2018-24546 Filed 11-8-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4810-25-P