Category Archives: Terrorism

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TRIA Advocates Testify in Favor of Long-Term Extension

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On Tuesday, February 25, the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee held a hearing on “Reauthorizing TRIA: The State of the Terrorism Risk Insurance Market.” Witnesses from several industry groups advocated for a long-term, if not permanent, extension of the program beyond its current deadline of December 31, 2014.

“The availability and affordability of adequate insurance coverage for acts of terrorism is not only an insurance issue, but an economic one,” said RIMS President Carolyn Snow. “By providing a backstop, and assuming some of the market terrorism risk as a reinsurer, the federal government has freed up capacity in the private market that would not otherwise exist.”

Douglas Elliot, president of commercial markets for The Hartford Financial Services Group, and speaking on behalf of the American Insurance Association, argued against any sweeping changes to the current TRIA program. “A number of proposals that have been discussed could-in the name of increasing private market capacity for terrorism risk-actually lead the industry to a tipping point beyond which individual insurers would need to make difficult decisions to safeguard a company’s financial condition instead of maintaining the current level of exposure to catastrophic terrorism risk.”

Many witnesses, including W. Edward Walter, president and CEO of Host Hotels & Resorts, on behalf of the Coalition to Insure Against Terrorism, addressed the effect that TRIA’s uncertainty will have on the lending industry. “The lack of clarity around this issue will likely slow the pace of new financing, especially in the case of properties that are perceived to be a higher risk of terrorist attacks such as high profile buildings and real estate generally located in key gateway urban markets.”

When asked for the ideal duration of a TRIA extension, all of the witnesses asked for a permanent solution with ten years being a minimum timeframe for an extension.

This is the second hearing that the Senate Banking Committee has held on the issue. Committee leadership seemed to understand the urgency and expressed a desire to move on the issue sooner rather than later; however, House leadership has expressed a desire to make changes to the legislation which could slow action on an extension as those changes are debated.

Counterintelligence Now Riskier Than Terrorism, Intelligence Officials Report

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National Security

During a Senate hearing yesterday, top U.S. intelligence officials released a new threat assessment report that outlines the top risks to national security. While cybersecurity remains the greatest threat for a second year, the report said dangers from foreign spies and from leakers have surpassed terrorism as threats.

This revision follows a year that illustrated just how vulnerable the United States is to counterintelligence—both foreign spying and the leaking of information. In May, the Defense Department explicitly accused the Chinese government of launching cyberattacks against the U.S. government computer systems and defense contractors “in a deliberate, government-developed strategy to steal intellectual property and gain strategic advantage.”

According to Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Mich.), chair of the House Intelligence Committee, the theft of proprietary information and technology by the Chinese constitutes “the largest transfer of wealth illegally in the world’s history” and has cost the U.S. an estimated $2 trillion. “We are in a cyber war today,” Rogers said in July. “Most Americans don’t know it. They go about their lives happily. But we are in a cyber war today.”

Director of National Intelligence James Clapper also pointed to leaks from National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden to illustrate the danger posed by the exposure of classified information. Terrorists are “going to school” on the information revealed, he claimed, calling Snowden’s act the “most damaging theft of intelligence information in our history.”

According to Clapper’s report, the top five threats from 2013 and for 2014 are:

2013

  1. Cyber-attacks, cyber-espionage
  2. Terrorism and Transnational Organized Crime
  3. WMD Proliferation
  4. Counterintelligence
  5. Counterspace (attacks on satellites, communications)

2014

  1. Cyber-attacks, cyber-espionage
  2. Counterintelligence
  3. Terrorism
  4. WMD Proliferation
  5. Counterspace

TRIA Will be Renewed, P-C Panel Agrees

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Photo by Don Pollard

NEW YORK—Insurance industry experts in a panel discussion agreed that while terrorism risks are changing, they believe the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act (TRIA), set to expire Dec. 31, 2014, will be reauthorized by Congress. In fact, a poll taken at the annual Property/Casualty Insurance Joint Industry Forum found that 93% of attendees believe TRIA will be renewed.

“In the U.S., we’re moving away from the risk of catastrophic-scale terrorism. But we are probably more likely to have the Boston Marathon type of terrorism,” said Stephen Flynn, professor of political science and founding director of the Center for Resilience Studies at Northeastern University in Boston.

The reasons are that, “The know-how to carry out these low-end acts is pervasive and the opportunities for this type of terrorism are relatively high. Because they can be conducted on a small scale, they are difficult to plan for in advance and intercept,” he explained, adding, “In my mind there is no question that the feds need to play a backstop role. This isn’t a natural market. It’s not a natural disaster environment. The role an industry can play in educating about risk and engaging mitigation measures is a very useful public policy outcome of the feds playing a role as a backstop.”

The six-member panel was moderated by Julie Rochman, president and CEO of the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety.

Robert H. Easton,executive deputy superintendent of the insurance division at the New York Department of Financial Services [pictured above with John Huff, director of the Missouri Department of Insurance] said, “We would like to see TRIA in some form become permanent so we don’t have to have this discussion every few years.”

Easton added, “The political reality is that this is unlikely to occur, but our view is that if anybody should be taking one of the more extreme views it is New York. The program has been critical to insuring that there is sufficient capacity in the marketplace.”

Huff agreed that it needs to be renewed, but noted that TRIA should not be a “big state, small state issue.” Rather it should be supported by states of all sizes. “Missouri has a significant urban, suburban and rural presence,” he said.

Jay Gelb, managing director and senior equity analyst for Barclays believes TRIA will be reauthorized at the last minute. If reauthorization doesn’t happen, “It would be concerning from an investment viewpoint,” however, “Insurers could underwrite the exposure or limit their concentrations in target areas, especially in lines where losses cannot be excluded, such as workers compensation.”

Matthew Mosher, senior vice president and chief rating officer for the A.M. Best Company observed that while insurers can, indeed, manage the risk of terrorism, and even avoid it, “what does that do for the nation as a whole? When you look at the impact of TRIA, it comes down to how much risk you want individuals to absorb. At this point insurers are not able to provide a large amount of coverage without a backstop.”

In terms of adjustments to the program, Easton said, “We would like to see the inclusion of cyber as a risk that TRIA addresses. The cyber world is very different today than even 12 or 13 years ago.”

For the poll questions and full survey results, go to 2014 Property/Casualty Insurance Joint Industry Forum Questionnaire.

Workers Compensation Issues to Watch in 2014

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With 2013 behind us, here are my thoughts on some workers compensation issues to watch for in 2014:

Rates Continue to Climb

In most of the U.S., rates for workers compensation insurance continue to rise. Rates are being driven by rising medical costs, the low interest rate environment, and the general unprofitability of the line of business.

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Potential Expiration of TRIPRA

Unless Congress takes action, the Terrorism Risk Insurance Program Reauthorization Act (TRIPRA) will expire on Dec. 31, 2014. Companies with high employee concentrations in certain cities are already seeing fewer options, with some carriers scaling back their writings to reduce their exposure to a potential terrorism event.

Impact of the Affordable Health Care Act (AHCA)

There has been much speculation about the potential impact the AHCA will have on workers compensation. With a finite number of medical providers available to handle the increased utilization, it is imperative that workers compensation payers identify the providers who deliver the best clinical outcomes for injured workers.

Integrated Disability Management

More employers are realizing that the impact of federal employment laws, like the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Family and Medical Leave Act, must be considered on workers compensation claims. Companies are also recognizing the value of managing non-occupational disability so that valued employees can get back to the workplace and be productive. Integrated disability management programs are the next generation of claims-handling and will expand in the future.

State Legislative Issues

Several states that passed significant reform legislation in the last two years are working to implement those reforms. Passing a law is only the first step, as the rules, regulations, and implementation of those laws determine if they will achieve their intended purpose. The most significant states to watch are in California, New York, and Oklahoma.

When California passed SB 863 in 2012, the expectation from the state’s legislature was that it would increase benefits to injured workers, while lowering costs for employers in the state. Litigation and unanticipated consequences of the bill have resulted in increased complexity and continually rising insurance rates. There is currently talk of potential clean-up legislation to go along with continued efforts at implementation. We will know by the end of the year whether SB 863 will be able to produce the promised cost savings.

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New York streamlined its assessment process, resulting in a significant reduction of the assessment rate for most employers. Since these rates are adjusted annually, it remains to be seen if these assessment savings will continue into the future.

The big news in Oklahoma is the bill that allowed employers to opt-out of workers compensation starting in February 2014. There have been delays in developing the rules and regulations supporting the opt-out plans, and this has in turn delayed carriers’ development of policies to cover new benefit plans. It appears unlikely that everything will be in place in time for employers to opt out beginning in February.

Vendor consolidation

In the last few years, there has been significant vendor consolidation in the workers compensation industry. First on the third-party administrator side and most recently in medical management. All this consolidation is making buyers of these services uneasy.

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They question how this will impact the quality of the services they receive and wonder how their goals of reducing costs align with the vendors’ goals of increasing revenues.

Analytics

Despite the huge amount of premium, exposure and claims data produced by the workers compensation industry, many complain about the lack of actionable information. As an industry, we will see a continued focus on the use of more meaningful analytics that can assist in identifying savings opportunities, formulating action plans, and measuring the impact of change.

Assessing ROI for Medical Cost Management Efforts

Programs including bill review, utilization review, and nurse case-management are all necessary components of any successful workers compensation program. It is important, however, that these programs are constantly monitored to ensure they are being used appropriately.

Please join me Jan. 15, for a webinar discussing these issues and other potential legislative developments to watch in 2014.  Click here to register