The United States House of Representatives has voted to pass the Terrorism Rick Protection Act (H.R. 3210). According to the Mortgage Bankers Association of America (MBA), the real estate financing industry in Washington, D.C., the Nov. 29 passage of the bill is a step towards ensuring adequate insurance coverage for terrorism risks from terrorism.
In a written statement, the MBA thanked the House leadership, particularly Rep. Michael G. Oxley (R-Ohio) and Rep. Richard H. Baker (R-La.) MBA then asked the Senate to pass the legislation to ensure adequate coverage and to define the parameters of the federal program that would provide insurance assistance.
"It is critical to the economic well-being of this country that the federal government maintain its presence as a reinsurance backstop until a sufficient number of private insurers have returned to the marketplace," said James M. Murphy, MBA chairman.
According to the MBA, property owners’ inability to obtain insurance coverage for future terrorist acts or adequate insurance at economically and commercially feasible rates severely restricts future real estate transactions and makes undertaking transactions in certain markets unprofitable.