WASHINGTON — The House of Representatives has voted overwhelmingly to keep the federal Terrorism Risk Insurance Program in place through 2034, sending a long-running post-9/11 backstop one step closer to another multiyear renewal.
Lawmakers approved H.R. 7128, the TRIA Program Reauthorization Act of 2026, by a 373–15 vote on June 29. The bill, sponsored by Rep. Mike Flood, R-Neb., chairman of the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Housing and Insurance, would extend a program now set to expire at the end of 2027. It later moved to the Senate and was referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.
Congress created the program after the September 11, 2001, attacks, when insurers pulled back from covering terrorism risk and commercial markets seized up. Under the current framework, private insurers must offer terrorism coverage. If a certified act of terrorism produces losses above set thresholds, the Treasury Department shares those losses with the industry. Insurers absorb the first layer. The federal government steps in only for exceptionally large events.
No claim has ever been paid under the program. Supporters treat that record as proof that TRIA works mainly as a stabilizer — keeping coverage available so lenders will finance towers, stadiums, malls and other large projects — rather than as a routine payout fund.
House Financial Services Committee Chairman Rep. French Hill, R-Ark., framed the bill around that original purpose. “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,” Hill said. The goal, he added, is to give policyholders “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 said the extension should come with tighter rules if taxpayers remain on the hook. “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,” he said. “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 bill does more than add years. Beginning in 2029, the minimum insured-loss threshold for certifying an act of terrorism would rise from $5 million to $10 million. It also gives Treasury clearer statutory authority to notify the public when it is deciding whether an event qualifies as terrorism under the program. Industry groups have also pointed to tighter timelines for certification decisions as a way to reduce uncertainty for carriers.
Business organizations including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the American Bankers Association backed the measure. They argue that predictable terrorism coverage underpins commercial real estate lending, construction and the operation of high-profile venues. Without a backstop, analysts have warned that insurers could again restrict coverage in major cities, raising costs or leaving gaps at the sites most exposed to catastrophic risk.
The Senate has a companion bill, S. 4395. Until both chambers agree and the president signs a reauthorization, the current program still expires Dec. 31, 2027. For now, the House vote keeps a familiar bargain in place: private markets write the policies, Washington stands behind only the worst certified losses, and commercial projects keep moving on the assumption that terrorism coverage will still be there.
