Posted On: June 30, 2005, 1:06 pm CDT

Posted By: jONATHAN

The insurance industry needs to take a step back from the politics of this. In risk terms it is a stupid decision, but it is a political not insurance decision.

Now the industry will bring in terrorism exclusions from Jan 1 and the reinsurance industry will continue to avoid terrorism risks. The result will be a shortfall in available terrorism coverage - that is not a problem for insurers, but for insureds, who can then take the matter up with their politicians.

In the meantime we will all be relieved from having to get meaningless TRIA acceptance / rejection forms on every small commercial / GL / professional risk, with a huge resultant saving in costs, time and paper usage. No longer will we have to decline to bind a risk because of the lack of a TRIA form. Yippee for all the assistants out there whose lives will now be so much easier. We can all get on with the job of writing the risks in the way we wish to, not as the government dictates.

And those who want terrorism covered in TRIA form or as a Pool can go lobby the government next year. It is not (apart from Comp insurers) an insurance problem - it's political and if we as an industry could keep out of the lobbying, we will do ourselves a lot of good.