Treasury clarifies liability under terrorism reinsurance

Insurers writing monoline farm policies and incidental professional liability coverage may face additional work to clarify coverage for their insureds under the federal terrorism reinsurance program.

Officials of the U.S. Treasury Dept., which administers the program, recently offered clarifications regarding the modification of the U.S. Terrorism Risk Insurance Program (TRIP) during a conference call with the National Association of Insurance Commissioners and the American Association of Insurance Services.

Farm: Farm insurance whose premium is reported under “farm multi-peril” on insurer annual statements is no longer covered under the revised federal program. However, Treasury officials said that if premium for a farm policy is reported under a line still covered by TRIP, such as “fire” and “general liability,” that policy would still be covered under the program. Incidental professional liability: Treasury officials said that TRIP provides no coverage for any type of professional liability, including incidental professional liability built into or endorsed onto a policy for a line covered under TRIP. This clarification may allow insurers to exclude coverage for professional liability exposures from endorsements that provide TRIP coverage.

Auto coverage under commercial umbrellas: While the revised TRIP no longer covers commercial auto as a line, Treasury officials confirmed that commercial umbrella coverage that extends to auto exposures would still fall under the program if the premium is reported as general or excess liability.

Topics Catastrophe Natural Disasters Agribusiness Reinsurance