Reauthorizing Federal Terrorism Insurance – The Real Estate Roundtable

Position

Reauthorize and Strengthen TRIA: TRIA has been a tremendous success. It is a comprehensive plan to provide for economic continuity and recovery in the wake of a major terrorist attack, while simultaneously protecting taxpayers via a mandatory recoupment mechanism. We urge Congress to promptly enact a long-term reauthorization of this important program.

TRIA has been, and remains, extremely effective in achieving its primary purpose. The purpose was to stabilize the market following 9/11 and to ensure the continued availability of terrorism coverage for commercial policyholders in the future.
America needs a stable and reliable terrorism insurance market. As part of its national economic security, the country must ensure that employers can invest in assets and create jobs without assuming the risk and liabilities of a terrorist attack. At almost no cost to the taxpayer, the program has been the key factor in ensuring that the private insurance market has remained intact and continues to meet the needs of commercial policyholders during the ongoing threat of a future terrorist attack.
Allowing the program to sunset would threaten economic and homeland security. Should the program be allowed to sunset, we would expect a period of profound economic slow-down—posing a very real threat to our economic and homeland security. American businesses, schools, real estate owners, bond holders, and the entire financial services system all depend on their ability to finance insured collateral. Without the ability to maintain adequate insurance coverage, a business or a property owner’s capacity to finance is materially impaired and its liquidity is jeopardized.
The absence of terrorism insurance had significant economic and employment impacts. Due to deferred construction investment, the White House Council of Economic Advisors estimated that there was a direct loss of 300,000 jobs during the 14 months between 9/11 and TRIA’s enactment. In short, the lack of availability of terrorism insurance for commercial policyholders had a very real and far-reaching impact on the economy.
Federal analysis confirms TRIA’s ongoing effectiveness. RER concurs with the 2024 Department of Treasury Federal Insurance Office’s Report on the Effectiveness of the Terrorism Risk Insurance Program, which concluded that the current terrorism risk insurance program is “effective in making terrorism risk insurance available and affordable in the insurance marketplace,”6 and that there is insufficient “private reinsurance capacity for the exposure the Program currently supports in connection with a catastrophic terrorism loss.”7 There has been no evidence that private markets can develop adequate terrorism risk capacity without some type of federal participation.
Letting TRIA lapse would destabilize the market and limit coverage. Without TRIA in place, we believe the availability of terrorism risk coverage will diminish, or insurers will simply stop offering the coverage altogether. CIAT members have seen evidence of this each time that TRIA has been up for renewal (most recently in 2019). In each instance, policy renewals often included “springing exclusions,” which would have voided terrorism coverage upon the expiration of TRIA.

Background

Terrorism Risk Requires a Federal Insurance Backstop

For commercial real estate properties of all types—from hospitals and museums to public utilities and manufacturing facilities—maintaining adequate levels of insurance is essential to managing risk and protecting assets from all potential perils, including terrorism. These business consumers cannot properly manage the risks of today’s world if terrorism insurance coverage is not available.
To help protect the economy from this peril, the nation’s current terrorism risk insurance program provides continuity to the marketplace so that policyholders—American businesses large and small—are able to obtain the insurance coverage they need to manage terrorism risk, grow their businesses, create jobs, and protect the workers they employ.
Unfortunately, the nation’s federal terrorism risk insurance program established by TRIA and its subsequent extensions is scheduled to sunset at the end of 2027. Because a viable private sector marketplace for this coverage does not yet fully exist, the program’s expiration would leave policyholders and taxpayers exposed and unprotected—just as they were after 9/11. The Government Accountability Office (GAO), President’s Working Group on Financial Markets and other terrorism risk observers have consistently concluded that “acts of terrorism” are uninsurable risks.
Terrorism is not aimed at a specific business or property owner; it is aimed at America, our government, our people and our way of life. Maintaining a workable federal terrorism insurance mechanism is vital for the nation’s economy, and private markets alone cannot and will not provide the level of terrorism insurance our economy demands.
Some 22 other nations recognize that private markets alone cannot underwrite this risk, and each has a permanent terrorism insurance program.
RER helped establish the Coalition to Insure Against Terrorism (CIAT) in 2002. CIAT is a broad coalition of commercial insurance consumers formed immediately after 9/11 to ensure that American businesses could obtain comprehensive and affordable terrorism insurance.
In the aftermath of 9/11, it was virtually impossible for commercial policyholders to secure coverage against terrorism risk; however, banks and other capital providers would not provide financing without it. According to an RER survey, over $15 billion in real estate-related transactions were stalled or even cancelled because of a lack of terrorism risk insurance in the 14 months between 9/11 and TRIA’s
enactment.
CIAT’s diverse membership represents key elements of the commercial facilities sector, including commercial real estate, banking, energy, construction, hotel and hospitality, higher education, manufacturing, transportation, entertainment, the major league sports and racing, as well as public sector buyers of insurance. According to a 2019 Marsh study, the education, health care, financial institutions, and real estate sectors had the highest “take-up” rates among the 17 industry segments surveyed—all above 70 percent.
The House Financial Services Subcommittee on Insurance, Housing, and Community Opportunity held a hearing on Sept. 17, 2025, just after the 24th anniversary of the September 11th attacks, to examine the terrorism risk capacity of the insurance industry and to discuss the future of the nation’s federal terrorism risk insurance program. CIAT submitted a statement to the Subcommittee stressing the importance of enacting a long-term reauthorization well in advance of the sunset date. This hearing was just the first step in a much longer journey to extend the federal government’s role in the terrorism risk insurance market.
Despite our successful legislative efforts in 2002, 2005, 2007, 2015, and 2019, and the fact that terrorism remains a clear and present danger, we appreciate the work of the Subcommittee to focus on the importance of reauthorizing TRIA on a timely basis. While the program does not sunset until 2027, efforts to reauthorize the federal program have already begun.

Resources

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Fact Sheet

Reauthorizing Federal Terrorism Insurance Fact Sheet

November 7, 2025

MORE ISSUES

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Addressing the Wave of Maturing CRE Debt and Pro-Cyclical Regulatory Policy

Commercial Insurance Coverage in an Evolving Threat Environment

Beneficial Ownership & the Corporate Transparency Act

Real Estate Capital Formation

Gold and Platinum “Trump Cards” and the EB-5 Visa

Reauthorizing Federal Terrorism Insurance

Capital & Credit

Addressing the Wave of Maturing CRE Debt and Pro-Cyclical Regulatory Policy

Summary

More than $950 billion of U.S. commercial real estate mortgages are estimated to mature in 2025. To help rebalance the wave of maturing loans, it is important to advance measures that will encourage additional capital formation and loan restructuring.

As urged by RER, a policy statement—Policy Statement on Prudent Commercial Real Estate Loan Accommodations and Workouts—issued by regulatory agencies encouraging financial institutions to work constructively with creditworthy borrowers on CRE loan workouts is helping to see loans through the current environment.
Many of these loans require additional equity, and borrowers still need time to restructure this debt.
Capital formation is vital to help restructure maturing debt and fill the equity gap.

It is also important to avoid pro-cyclical regulatory actions such as the Basel III Endgame.

A revised Basel III Endgame proposal announced in September 2024 would have increased Tier 1 capital requirements for global systemically important banks by roughly 9 percent. Concerns remain that any increase in capital requirements will have a pro-cyclical impact on credit capacity and carry a cost to commercial real estate and the overall economy, increasing the cost of credit and constraining capacity. Implementation remains uncertain.

In a January 2024 letter, RER raised industry concerns about the negative impact of the Basel III Endgame proposal, including the higher cost of credit and diminished lending capacity, and requested that the proposal be withdrawn.

The Fed and other regulators remain deadlocked on advancing the revised proposal. With the appointment of Michelle Bowman to the post of Vice Chair for Supervision, however, there is speculation that the proposal could ultimately be withdrawn or end up being capital neutral.

Key Takeaways

Providing banks with the flexibility to work constructively with their borrowers during times of economic stress has led to billions of dollars of loan restructurings and reduced undue stress in bank loan portfolios.

The proposed Basel III Endgame regulations would come at a significant economic cost without clear benefits to the economy.

The largest U.S. banks’ capital and liquidity levels have grown dramatically since the original Basel III standards were implemented in 2013 in response to the 2008 Global Financial Crisis. Since 2009, Tier 1 capital has increased by 56 percent and Common Equity Tier 1 capital has tripled. Today, as the Federal Reserve recently observed, the U.S. “banking system is sound and resilient, with strong capital and liquidity.”

Further, it is important to bring more foreign capital into U.S. real estate by lifting legal barriers to investment, as well as repealing or reforming the archaic Foreign Investment in Real Property Tax Act (FIRPTA).

See the full fact sheet.

Capital & Credit

Commercial Insurance Coverage in an Evolving Threat Environment

Summary

The proliferation of natural catastrophe threats has raised concerns about commercial insurance coverage for real estate. These concerns have highlighted the lack of—and need for—insurance capacity and various lines of commercial insurance. Risks from natural disasters like floods, hurricanes, wildfires, hail, tornadoes, and drought cost the U.S. billions of dollars each year. Even if policyholders are able to find coverage for these various lines, prices are increasing dramatically. A lack of adequate coverage will lead to economic uncertainty, harm stakeholders, and undermine the growth of communities.

The budget debate in Congress has called into question the future of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), which is subject to temporary funding extensions. A federal government shutdown began on Oct. 1, 2025, after Congress failed to pass a budget for the new fiscal year. As a result of this funding lapse, the NFIP has also expired, halting the sale and renewal of millions of flood insurance policies.

RER, along with its industry partners, continues to work constructively with policymakers and stakeholders to address market failure and enact a long-term reauthorization of an improved NFIP.

Key Takeaways

The increased frequency and severity of natural disasters is leading to increased premiums for commercial properties.

As economic losses caused by disasters increase, it is important to find new strategies in order to effectively manage natural catastrophe risk.

Expanding coverage gaps and increased costs present challenges for businesses across many industries, including real estate.

Without adequate coverage, the vast majority of natural catastrophe losses are likely to be absorbed by policyholders. These widening coverage gaps and price hikes bring about serious economic concerns about protection gaps, coverage capacity, and increased costs from natural catastrophes and business interruption losses.

Commercial property owners can take steps to mitigate the risk of natural disasters and potentially lower their insurance costs.

See the full fact sheet.

Capital & Credit

Beneficial Ownership & the Corporate Transparency Act

Summary

The Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) requires certain companies to disclose information about their beneficial owners to the Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN). The goal was to create a national directory of beneficial owners to curb illicit finance, drug cartels, terrorist groups, and other harmful activities.

As of March 2025, the Treasury Department announced it will suspend enforcement of the CTA against U.S. domestic reporting companies and their beneficial owners, focusing solely on foreign entities. This means U.S. commercial real estate entities are now exempt from providing beneficial ownership information to FinCEN.

FinCEN intends to issue new rules to narrow the scope of the CTA’s reporting requirements to only apply to foreign-formed companies that have registered to do business in the U.S.

The Real Estate Roundtable continues to work with policymakers in support of a balanced approach that would inhibit illicit money laundering activity without the imposition of costly reporting requirements for real estate investors.

Key Takeaways

Thanks to the Treasury’s action to suspend CTA enforcement for domestic reporting companies, much of the concern about the CTA’s far-reaching scope and its impact on many commercial and residential real estate businesses that use the LLC structure for conducting business is allayed.

See the full fact sheet.

Capital & Credit

Real Estate Capital Formation

Summary

In 2023, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) proposed changes to require SEC-registered investment advisers to put all their clients’ assets, including all digital assets like Bitcoin and certain physical assets like real estate, with “qualified custodians.” The proposal would also require a written agreement between custodians and advisers, expand the “surprise examination” requirements, and enhance recordkeeping rules. These rules were originally designed for digital assets. “Reasonable” safeguarding requirements is ambiguous as applied to real estate. Furthermore, the SEC’s release contains an inaccuracy regarding the way deeds evidencing ownership of real estate are recorded.

RER sees no policy reason to impose the proposed rule on real estate and has advocated for an exception for real estate.

Key Takeaways

Due to a variety of factors, real estate cannot readily be stolen, making the rule seem irrelevant to this asset class.

In addition to the proposed Custody Rule, the SEC has a number of proposed rulemaking measures that could have a chilling effect on real estate capital markets, further impair liquidity, and be a “death by a thousand cuts” for commercial real estate.

Capital formation is vital when credit markets tighten to restructure maturing debt.

See the full fact sheet.

Capital & Credit

Gold and Platinum “Trump Cards” and the EB-5 Visa

Summary

On Sept. 19, 2025, the White House released an Executive Order, fact sheet, and website announcing Gold and Platinum “Trump Cards.” The program is intended to grant permanent residency in the U.S. for immigrants with high net worth. The administration’s announcement directs the Secretaries of Commerce, State, and Homeland Security to coordinate and establish a program that expedites “green cards” issued under the EB-1 and EB-2 visa categories for foreign nationals who make a “significant financial gift to the Nation.”

This new green card program raises important questions:

Will Trump Cards appeal to overseas investors and American employers as viable options for permanent residency in the U.S.?

Will Trump Cards impact the separate EB-5 “regional center” program, which confers green cards on foreign investors who make capital commitments to finance job-creating projects in the U.S.?

Will Trump Cards speed up backlogs for visas—particularly in markets like China, India, and other countries—where investors must wait years to advance in the process to get a green card?

It will take some time to see how Trump Cards resonate in foreign capital markets, and what further program guidelines entail, before these and similar questions are fully sorted out.

Key Takeaways

The new Trump Cards and the EB-5 visa program should play complementary roles in efforts to attract global capital and top-tier talent. By supplementing the existing EB-5 program, the Trump Cards can accelerate private investments to create jobs for American workers.

Trump Cards do not replace EB-5 visas. However, it is not yet clear how or whether EB-5 investors will be able to take advantage of the Trump Card program.

The value of Trump Cards to foreign investors, U.S. developers, and employers will likely depend on the varying country-specific backlogs and wait times for EB-1 and EB-2 visas, and how quickly extra Trump Card payments can speed up visa issuance.

The EB-5 program is the established, statutorily authorized pathway to attract foreign investors to the U.S. It has delivered $350 billion in economic impact and created over 1.5 million American jobs—at no cost to taxpayers—and should continue to be fully supported by Congress and the administration.

See the full fact sheet.

Capital & Credit

Reauthorizing Federal Terrorism Insurance

Summary

Today, the risk of terrorism remains as strong as ever. According to the 2025 Annual Threat Assessment from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), “A diverse set of foreign actors are targeting U.S. health and safety, critical infrastructure, industries, wealth, and government. State adversaries and their proxies are also trying to weaken and displace U.S. economic and military power in their regions and across the globe.”

For more than two decades, at almost no cost to the taxpayer, the national terrorism insurance program established by the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act (TRIA) in 2002 has made it possible for businesses to purchase the terrorism risk coverage they need. Threatened with acts of terrorism, and in the absence of a viable private market, business insurance consumers would be unable to secure adequate coverage without such a program. The Real Estate Roundtable supports a long-term reauthorization of TRIA and urges prompt congressional action to renew this critical program in advance of its expiration on Dec. 31, 2027.

Key Takeaways

Terrorism risk is a national security challenge that requires a federal solution.

TRIA has successfully maintained market stability for over 20 years at minimal taxpayer cost.

Without TRIA, terrorism risk coverage would become scarce or unaffordable, threatening economic resilience and recovery.

Should a terrorist attack occur without adequate coverage in place, underinsured businesses will face the risk of ruin, with potentially catastrophic local economic effects, and the federal government will face significant pressure to hastily assemble financial assistance to underinsured victims.

Early reauthorization will ensure continued business confidence and prevent market disruption as the program approaches its 2027 expiration.

See the full fact sheet.