Senate Passes TRIP Reauthorization as Captives Remain Key Participants

Congress has moved closer to extending the Terrorism Risk Insurance Program (TRIP), with both the House and Senate passing legislation that would continue the federal terrorism insurance backstop through 2034.

The Senate passed SB 4395, the Terrorism Risk Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2026, on September 28. The legislation would provide a 7-year extension of the program, which is currently scheduled to expire at the end of 2027.

The House passed its version, HR 7128, by a 373–15 vote on June 29. While both bills would extend TRIP through 2034, the House legislation includes additional changes to the process for certifying acts of terrorism that are not included in the Senate bill.

TRIP was established under the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act of 2002 (TRIA) following the September 11 terrorist attacks. The program provides a federal backstop for certain insured commercial property and casualty losses resulting from certified acts of terrorism. It has been extended several times since its creation, most recently through the Terrorism Risk Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2019.

Under the current program, participating insurers are responsible for losses up to an insurer-specific deductible before federal loss sharing applies. The program also includes an industrywide trigger and an annual cap on insured losses.

House and Senate Bills Differ

The Senate legislation largely maintains the existing TRIP framework. In addition to extending the program through 2034, SB 4395 adjusts statutory dates associated with the program's mandatory recoupment provisions to account for the 7-year extension.

The House legislation goes further: HR 7128 would increase the minimum insured-loss threshold for an event to qualify as a certified act of terrorism from $5 million to $10 million beginning in 2029.

The House bill would also establish new requirements governing the Treasury's review of potential terrorism events. The Treasury generally would be required to publish a Federal Register notice within 30 days after beginning a certification review and conclude the review within 90 days after publishing that notice. The bill would allow an extension when the Treasury determines that insufficient information is available, with the certification process extending no later than 365 days after the damage occurred.

The legislation would also require additional reporting on events reviewed for possible certification, including final determinations or an explanation when the Treasury does not issue a final determination.

Captives Continue to Participate in TRIP

Captive insurers remain participants in the federal terrorism insurance program. The Treasury's annual TRIP data collection includes a separate reporting template for captive insurers writing eligible commercial property and casualty lines. Captives that write TRIP-eligible lines but do not provide terrorism coverage subject to the program are exempt from the annual reporting requirement.

The Treasury's June 2026 Report on the Effectiveness of the Terrorism Risk Insurance Program provides the latest assessment of participation and market conditions under TRIP. The report is based in part on information collected through the Treasury's annual data call covering insurers participating in the program.

The report found that 647 captive insurers wrote terrorism risk insurance subject to TRIP in 2025. The Treasury estimated that those insurers represented approximately 19 percent of US-domiciled captive insurers based on the most recent comprehensive count available.

Captives reported approximately $17.4 billion in direct earned premium in TRIP-eligible lines in 2025, according to the Treasury. Approximately half of that premium was associated with conventional policies and half with deductible reimbursement policies, with workers' compensation accounting for the largest portion of captive deductible reimbursement premium.

The Treasury also noted the role captives can play in providing terrorism coverage for exposures that may be more difficult to insure in the commercial market, including properties in higher-risk urban locations and certain nuclear, biological, chemical, or radiological terrorism exposures.

The report found that 11 percent of captive insurers participating in the 2026 TRIP data call reported purchasing reinsurance covering certified acts of terrorism, compared with 14 percent in the previous data call and 15 percent the year before.

The Treasury concluded in its 2026 report that TRIP continues to meet its statutory objectives and that terrorism risk insurance remains generally available and affordable in the United States.

Reauthorization Process Continues

The House and Senate have now each approved a 7-year extension, but they have not passed identical legislation. The House version contains the certification threshold, review process, and reporting changes, while the Senate-passed bill focuses on extending the program and updating dates associated with mandatory recoupment provisions.

Those differences must be resolved before identical legislation can clear both chambers and be sent to the president. Until then, the existing program remains scheduled to expire December 31, 2027.