[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 81 (Monday, April 27, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 23435-23436]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-08817]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY


2020 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 Act of 2002, as amended (TRIA), 
established the Terrorism Risk Insurance Program (TRIP or Program). 
TRIA requires the Secretary of the Treasury (Secretary) to submit a 
report to Congress by June 30, 2020 concerning the overall 
effectiveness of TRIP and other related matters. 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 June 11, 2020.

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 2020 
report on the effectiveness of the Program should be captioned with 
``2020 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, or 
Lindsey Baldwin, Senior Insurance Regulatory Policy Analyst, Federal 
Insurance Office, (202) 622-3220. 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

    TRIA \1\ 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 TRIP is 
administered by the Secretary with the assistance of FIO. TRIA Section 
104(h)(2) requires the Secretary to prepare and submit a report 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 
Effectiveness Report). TRIA was reauthorized in December 2019 with an 
additional requirement that Treasury analyze in the Effectiveness 
Report the availability and affordability of terrorism risk insurance, 
including specifically for houses of worship.\2\ The Effectiveness 
Report that is to be submitted by June 30, 2020 will also include an 
analysis of information that is being collected by Treasury through the 
2020 TRIP Data Call (including information relating specifically to 
houses of worship),\3\ as well as data that Treasury collected in prior 
TRIP Data Calls.\4\ Treasury structures its data calls to obtain 
information appropriate to analyze the effectiveness of TRIP and the 
competitiveness of small insurers in the terrorism risk insurance 
marketplace,\5\ as well as to assist Treasury more generally in the 
administration of TRIP.
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    \1\ Public Law 107-297, 116 Stat. 2322 (2002), as amended. The 
provisions of TRIA appear in a note of the United States Code (15 
U.S.C. 6701 note), and, therefore, references to the provisions of 
TRIA are identified by the sections of the law [e.g., ``TRIA Sec.  
102(1) (definition of an ``act of terrorism'')''].
    \2\ Public Law 116-94, 133 Stat. 2534.
    \3\ 2020 Terrorism Risk Insurance Program Data Call, 85 FR 15036 
(March 16, 2020).
    \4\ The requirements for TRIP Data Calls are set forth in TRIA 
Sec.  104(h)(1) and in Treasury regulations. See 31 CFR Subpart F.
    \5\ TRIA Sec.  108(h) requires the Secretary to submit a report 
to Congress every other year studying small insurers participating 
in the Program, and identifying any competitive challenges small 
insurers face in the terrorism risk insurance marketplace.
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II. Solicitation for Comments

    Treasury seeks comments on each of the following factors, which 
Treasury is required under TRIA Section 104(h)(2) to consider in the 
Effectiveness Report:
    1. The overall effectiveness of TRIP;
    2. The availability and affordability of terrorism risk insurance, 
including specifically for places of worship;
    3. Any changes or trends you have observed relating to the data 
Treasury collects in its annual TRIP Data Calls;
    4. Whether any aspects of TRIP have the effect of discouraging or 
impeding insurers from providing commercial property and casualty 
insurance coverage or coverage for acts of terrorism; and
    5. Any impact of TRIP on workers' compensation insurers in 
particular.
    By collecting information and views on the factors listed above, 
Treasury will enhance the accuracy and value of the Effectiveness 
Report to Congress. This request for comment will provide stakeholders 
the opportunity to provide qualitative feedback and analysis that may 
not be otherwise observable through the results of the TRIP Data Calls. 
Comments from insurers providing data, other stakeholders, and the 
public will assist the Secretary in the formulation of the 
Effectiveness Report and more generally in the administration of TRIP.
    In addition to seeking comments on the above factors outlined in 
Section 104(h)(2) of TRIA, Treasury also seeks comments on the 
following topics:
    1. Whether any lines of insurance or coverages within certain lines 
of insurance currently subject to the

[[Page 23436]]

Program do not require the support of TRIP;
    2. The market for standalone terrorism risk insurance that is 
written outside of TRIP, including the reasons such coverage is offered 
and obtained, and whether the existence of such insurance provides any 
insights into the effectiveness of the Program;
    3. The availability and affordability of private reinsurance, or 
capital markets support, for terrorism risk insurance exposures (both 
those exposures currently subject to TRIP as well as those otherwise 
held by insurers participating in TRIP);
    4. The extent to which reinsurance for terrorism risk is being 
obtained as part of overall catastrophe reinsurance programs, the 
reasons for obtaining reinsurance for terrorism risk in this manner, 
and how--if at all--this has affected market capacity for terrorism 
risk reinsurance generally;
    5. Any factors that impede private reinsurance or capital markets 
support for terrorism risk insurance;
    6. 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;
    7. Terrorism risk insurance issues presented by cyber-related 
losses, and the impact of TRIP in connection with such exposures, 
including your views as to the nature of the cyber-related terrorism 
losses that are included within TRIP; \6\
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    \6\ Treasury has previously addressed the application of TRIP to 
policies covering cyber-related losses. 81 FR 95312 (December 27, 
2016).
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    8. Any potential changes that would encourage the take up of 
insurance for cyber-related losses arising from acts of terrorism as 
defined under TRIA, including but not limited to the modification of 
the lines of insurance covered by TRIP, revisions to the current 
sharing mechanisms for cyber-related losses, and further changes to the 
certification process as it would apply to a cyber-related terrorism 
loss;
    9. Private reinsurance or capital markets support for cyber-related 
losses arising from acts of terrorism as defined under TRIA; and
    10. Any other issues relating to TRIP, terrorism risk insurance, or 
reinsurance that may be relevant to FIO's assessment of the 
effectiveness of TRIP in the Effectiveness Report.

    Dated: April 21, 2020.
Steven E. Seitz,
Director, Federal Insurance Office.
[FR Doc. 2020-08817 Filed 4-24-20; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4810-25-P