BIG “I”: TERRORISM BILL ENACTMENT HELPS SECURE COMMERCIAL MARKET
President’s signature keeps backstop in place to insure against catastrophic attacks
WASHINGTON, D.C., Dec. 22, 2005—With President Bush’s signing of S. 467, which modifies and extends the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act (TRIA), the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America (the Big “I”) has achieved a goal it has worked toward for more than a year.
The association, which lobbied hard for the new bill, was a leader in the industry’s efforts to get a new bill in place prior to TRIA’s expiration on Dec. 31. The bill, a leading priority for the Big “I” in 2005, extends the needed federal backstop to help insurers cover catastrophic terrorist acts.
“We commend President Bush for signing this much-needed bill into law,” says Big “I” CEO Robert A. Rusbuldt. “By doing so, the President has ensured that terrorism risk insurance is made available to all who require it, and that the marketplace has the support it needs to withstand a major terrorist attack.”
“When I talked to President Bush about terrorism risk insurance and the importance of this issue to independent agents and our business customers, he acknowledged that it was something that needed to get done,“ Rusbuldt says.
Big “I” President William G. Stiglitz III, an executive with the Louisville, Ky.-based Hyland, Block & Hyland agency, says the bill’s signing is of great importance not only to interests in major cities, but also to small businesses across America. The availability and affordability of terrorism insurance is a business customer issue throughout the nation, as terrorist attacks anywhere can have business and economic ramifications throughout the country.
“Main Street businesses all over America thank the President today for doing the right thing for our country, its businesses and all Americans,” Stiglitz says.
The diligent work of leaders in the House and the Senate will enable the bill to be enacted before the scheduled expiration of TRIA on Dec. 31.
“By working together, President Bush and leaders in Congress have provided a crucial safeguard for our nation’s economy and for the well-being of all Americans,” says Charles E. Symington Jr., Big “I” senior vice president for government affairs and federal relations. “We appreciate the President’s action, as well as the leadership shown in both chambers of Congress to get this bill enacted before the end of the year.”
Founded in 1896, IIABA (the Big “I”) is the nation’s oldest and largest national association of independent insurance agents and brokers, representing a network of more than 300,000 agents, brokers and their employees nationally. Its members are businesses that offer customers a choice of policies from a variety of insurance companies. Independent agents and brokers offer all lines of insurance—property, casualty, life, and health—as well as employee benefit plans and retirement products. Web address: www.independentagent.com.
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