Besides renewal of the current Terrorism Risk Insurance Program Reauthorization Act (TRIPRA), the insurance industry is asking Congress to expand and clarify the law to fill gaps in certification and coverage areas.

Duncan Ellis, Marsh's property practice leader, said yesterday in an interview during a Washington appearance that the fact that the Obama administration has been silent, despite industry prodding, in saying whether the Boston bombing last year was a terrorist event points out a primary industry concern about the current law. Philip Edmundson, co-founder of William Gallagher Associates, a Boston national brokerage firm, said in an interview with PC360, “It has been a year since the event, and yet the administration has not clarified whether the Boston bombing was a certifiable event.” Under the law, the Secretary of State, the Secretary of the Treasury, and the Attorney General must jointly make such a determination.

Edmundson said that as a result of the Boston bombing, he has “seen a continued increase in the number of small and medium-sized businesses that are purchasing terrorism risk insurance. They are now joining larger organizations in buying terrorism risk insurance.” He noted the original Terrorism Risk Insurance Act (TRIA) was enacted in late 2002 at urging of large commercial properties. “Now,” he said, “it seems concern about terrorism risk has spread, and that is an important change—more and more business rely upon the federal terrorism backstop for the security of their businesses.”