The House of Representatives has voted overwhelmingly to keep the federal Terrorism Risk Insurance Program in place through 2034, a move supporters say is essential to stability in the commercial insurance market.
Lawmakers approved H.R. 7128, the TRIA Program Reauthorization Act of 2026, by a 373-15 vote. The bill, sponsored by Rep. Mike Flood, R-Neb., chairman of the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Housing and Insurance, now goes to the Senate.
Congress created the program after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, when private insurers pulled back from covering terrorism risk and commercial property markets seized up. Under the existing framework, insurers must offer terrorism coverage on property and casualty policies. If a certified act of terrorism produces losses above set thresholds, the Treasury Department shares those losses with private carriers. Insurers absorb the first layer of losses; the federal government steps in only for exceptionally large events. No claim has ever been paid under the program. Supporters cite that record as evidence that TRIA works mainly as a market stabilizer, not as a frequent payout vehicle.
House Financial Services Committee Chairman Rep. French Hill, R-Ark., framed the debate around the original statute. “The purpose of TRIA is spelled out in the original law,” Hill said. “The law states that TRIA is designed to provide for a transparent system of shared public and private compensation for insured losses resulting from acts of terrorism in order to protect consumers. That’s the goal here: to give policyholders access to the financial protection they need and the confidence they need to build skyscrapers, sports venues, and malls, and employ workers that drive our economy.”
Flood, the bill’s lead sponsor, argued that a long extension should come with updates. “This legislation would reauthorize TRIA, the program established by Congress in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, through 2034,” he said. “We are so fortunate that we have never seen a TRIA claim in the program’s entire history, and I hope that we never, ever see one. However, if this program is going to continue to exist with a public backstop, we should ensure we update its charter to protect taxpayers in the event of future claims, and we should work to ensure the certification process is transparent.”
The measure extends authorization seven years beyond the current December 31, 2027, expiration. It also raises the minimum insured-loss threshold for certifying an act of terrorism from $5 million to $10 million beginning in 2029, a change supporters describe as an inflation adjustment and a higher bar for federal involvement. The bill further gives Treasury explicit statutory authority to issue public notices about how it decides whether an event qualifies as terrorism under the program. Those notification rules are intended to make certification more transparent for insurers, lenders, and policyholders.
Industry groups including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the American Bankers Association backed the reauthorization. They argue that predictable terrorism coverage underpins commercial real estate lending, construction, and the operation of large venues and infrastructure. Without a credible backstop, they warn, some insurers could again restrict or price terrorism coverage more aggressively, raising costs or reducing availability in major cities and at high-profile sites. That market, supporters note, supports millions of jobs in construction, property management, retail, hospitality, and related industries.
The House passed the bill under suspension of the rules after the Financial Services Committee advanced it earlier in the year by a wide bipartisan margin. A Senate companion, S. 4395, has also been introduced, and some senators have sought to attach similar language to other must-pass legislation. Whether the Senate takes up the House bill as written or a cleaner extension remains the next question. For now, the House vote leaves little doubt that a large bipartisan majority still sees the terrorism backstop as unfinished but necessary business more than two decades after it was first enacted.
