NFL Urges Lame-Duck Congress to Renew Terrorism Risk Insurance

The National Football League has joined a growing coalition of business groups across the country to urge Congress to pass during its lame-duck session a long-term reauthorization of the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act, The Hill reports.

Citing concerns over its more than 30 stadium facilities, where thousands attend games and hundreds more are employed, the league, along with a host of business groups including the powerful U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the National Association of Manufacturers, wants an insurance plan in place to protect their interests in the event of a mass terrorist attack, The Hill said.

The NFL has joined with other professional sports leagues and 80 business groups nationwide to form the Coalition to Insure Against Terrorism” (CIAT). It is working hard to urge Congress to fund a long-term reauthorization of the TRIA, rather than something short-term, the Hill said.

In June, interest in Congress grew for TRIA, Bloomberg reported, as the coalition expressed fears that without insurance protection, their interests could be destroyed by a mass terrorist attack.

Now the coalition is increasing the pressure in a "hail Mary"-style push before Congressional power shifts in January, The Hill said.

U.S. Rep. Peter King, Gen. Michael Hayden and others, in a joint column published by Politico on Nov. 18, urged Congress to act on TRIA, noting the impact of the 9-11 terrorist attacks on the insurance sector.

They wrote: "The Sept. 11 attacks resulted in $42 billion of insured losses — at the time, the largest insurance loss event in U.S. history. The insurance sector responded quickly to help businesses and the broader economy recover. However, Sept. 11 underscored the truth that terrorism is not a risk that can be absorbed by private markets alone. The unknowable nature of the severity, location and frequency of a terrorist attack made it virtually impossible to predict and underwrite, leading to rational caution by the insurance sector. As a result, new building projects across America were halted because developers could not get insurance for terrorism risk that lenders required."

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