Nat'l Underwriter Says Crisis Looms w/o Backstop

The National Underwriter Company says that unless Congress enacts a federal backstop for terrorism losses there will be a crisis in the commercial insurance market. At a recent hearing before the Reinsurance Task Force of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, representatives of primary insurers and reinsurers noted that since Jan. 1, 2002, terrorist acts have largely been excluded in reinsurance agreements. This failure in the reinsurance market has forced primary insurers to either not renew policies, exclude terrorism coverage where possible, or limit primary coverage...