The House of Representatives has approved a long-term renewal of the federal terrorism insurance backstop, voting 373-15 for H.R. 7128, the TRIA Program Reauthorization Act of 2026. The measure, sponsored by Rep. Mike Flood (R-Neb.), chairman of the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Housing and Insurance, would keep the Terrorism Risk Insurance Program in place through 2034. The bill now goes to the Senate, where a companion proposal has already been introduced.
Congress created the program after the September 11, 2001, attacks, when private insurers pulled back from covering terrorism risk and commercial property markets faced severe disruption. Under TRIA, property and casualty insurers must make terrorism coverage available to policyholders. If the Treasury Department certifies an event as an act of terrorism and insured losses exceed defined thresholds, the federal government shares the cost of catastrophic claims. Insurers remain responsible for initial losses; the government steps in only for exceptionally large events. No claim has ever been paid under the program.
House Financial Services Committee Chairman Rep. French Hill (R-Ark.) used floor debate to return to that original purpose. “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, framed the legislation as both an extension and a modest update. “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 current authorization expires at the end of 2027. H.R. 7128 would add seven years. Beginning in 2029, it would also raise the minimum insured-loss threshold required to certify an event for program purposes, from $5 million to $10 million. The bill further gives the Treasury Department explicit statutory authority to issue public notices about how it decides whether an event qualifies as terrorism under TRIA, a change supporters say will make the process more transparent for insurers and policyholders.
Industry and business groups have backed the reauthorization, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the American Bankers Association, and commercial real estate and insurance associations. They argue that predictable terrorism coverage supports lending for commercial real estate, construction, and the operation of large venues and infrastructure. Mortgage bankers have pointed to more than $5 trillion in outstanding commercial and multifamily mortgage debt and warned that a lapse could raise costs and slow financing. Without a backstop, analysts have said insurers could restrict terrorism coverage in major cities and at high-profile sites.
Supporters describe the House bill as a prudent adjustment rather than a rewrite of the program. Raising the certification threshold would set a higher bar before federal involvement begins, reducing the chance that smaller events trigger government participation while preserving coverage for truly catastrophic losses. The commercial property sector tied to that coverage supports millions of jobs in construction, property management, retail, hospitality, and related industries.
The Senate companion, S. 4395, introduced by Sens. David McCormick (R-Pa.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), and Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.), would also extend the program through 2034. Sponsors of both measures have urged Congress to finish the work well before the 2027 deadline so lenders, developers, and insurers do not face a gap in coverage. The House bill was received in the Senate in mid-July and referred to the Banking Committee. Whether the chambers reconcile their versions this year will determine how soon the backstop is locked in through the next decade.
