Bill Text: OH HCR17 | 2013-2014 | 130th General Assembly | Comm Sub

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Bill Title: To urge the Congress of the United States to

Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Republican 22-13)

Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2013-06-27 - To Insurance & Financial Institutions [HCR17 Detail]

Download: Ohio-2013-HCR17-Comm_Sub.html

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As Reported by the House Insurance Committee

130th General Assembly Regular Session 2013-2014

Sub. H. C. R. No. 17

Representatives Stinziano, Hackett 

Cosponsors: Representatives Grossman, Mallory, Retherford 

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A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION

To urge the Congress of the United States to

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reauthorize federally provided terrorism

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reinsurance for insurers in order to maintain

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stability in the insurance and reinsurance markets

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to continue to deliver substantive, direct

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benefits to businesses, workers, consumers, and

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the economy overall in the aftermath of a

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terrorist attack on the United States.

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BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF OHIO
(THE SENATE CONCURRING):

WHEREAS, Insurance helps protect the United States economy	9
from the adverse effects of the risks inherent in economic growth	10
and development while also providing the resources necessary to	11
rebuild physical and economic infrastructure, offer	12
indemnification for business disruption, and provide coverage for	13
medical and liability costs from injuries and loss of life in the	14
event of catastrophic losses to persons or property; and	15

WHEREAS, The terrorist attack of September 11, 2001, produced	16
insured losses larger than any natural or man-made event in	17
history, with claims paid by insurers to their policyholders	18
eventually totaling some $32.5 billion, making this the second	19
most costly insurance event in United States history; and	20

WHEREAS, The sheer enormity of the loss, combined with the	21
possibility of future attacks, produced financial shockwaves that	22
shook insurance markets causing insurers and reinsurers to exclude	23
coverage arising from acts of terrorism from virtually all	24
commercial property and liability policies; and	25

WHEREAS, The lack of terrorism risk insurance contributed to	26
a paralysis in the economy, especially in construction, tourism,	27
business travel, and real estate finance; and	28

WHEREAS, The United States Congress originally passed the	29
Terrorism Risk Insurance Act of 2002, Pub. L. 107-297 (TRIA), in	30
which the federal government agreed to provide terrorism	31
reinsurance to insurers and reauthorized this arrangement via the	32
Terrorism Risk Insurance Extension Act of 2005, Pub. L. 109-144,	33
and the Terrorism Risk Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of	34
2007, Pub. L. 110-160 (TRIPRA); and	35

WHEREAS, Under TRIPRA the federal government provides such	36
reinsurance after industry-wide losses attributable to annual	37
certified terrorism events exceed one hundred million dollars; and	38

WHEREAS, Coverage under TRIPRA is provided to individual	39
insurers after the insurer has incurred losses related to	40
terrorism equal to twenty per cent of the insurer's previous year	41
earned premium for property-casualty lines; and	42

WHEREAS, After an individual insurer has reached such a	43
threshold, the insurer pays fifteen per cent of residual losses	44
and the federal government pays the remaining eighty-five per	45
cent; and	46

WHEREAS, The Terrorism Risk Insurance Program has an annual	47
cap of one hundred billion dollars of aggregate insured losses,	48
beyond which the federal program does not provide coverage; and	49

WHEREAS, TRIPRA requires the federal government to recoup one	50
hundred per cent of the benefits provided under the program via	51
policy holder surcharges to the extent the aggregate insured	52
losses are less than twenty-seven billion five hundred million	53
dollars and enables the government to recoup expenditures beyond	54
that mandatory recoupment amount; and	55

WHEREAS, Without question, TRIA and its successors are the	56
principal reason for the continued stability in the insurance and	57
reinsurance market for terrorism insurance to the benefit of our	58
overall economy; and	59

WHEREAS, The presence of a robust private/public partnership	60
has provided stability and predictability and has allowed insurers	61
to actively participate in the market in a meaningful way; and	62

WHEREAS, Without a program such as TRIPRA, many of our	63
citizens who want and need terrorism coverage to operate their	64
businesses all across the nation would be either unable to get	65
insurance or unable to afford the limited coverage that would be	66
available; and	67

WHEREAS, Without federally provided reinsurance, property and	68
casualty insurers will face less availability of terrorism	69
reinsurance and will therefore be severely restricted in their	70
ability to provide sufficient coverage for acts of terrorism to	71
support our economy; and	72

WHEREAS, Unfortunately, despite the hard work and dedication	73
of this nation's counterterrorism agencies and the bravery of the	74
men and women in uniform who fought and continue to fight battles	75
abroad to keep us safe here at home, the threat from terrorist	76
attacks in the United States is both real and substantial and will	77
remain as such for the foreseeable future; now therefore be it	78

RESOLVED, That we, the members of the 130th General Assembly	79
of the State of Ohio, urge the United States Congress and the	80
President of the United States to reauthorize the Terrorism Risk	81
Insurance Program; and be it further	82

RESOLVED, That the Clerk of the House of Representatives	83
transmit duly authenticated copies of this resolution to the	84
President of the United States, the Speaker and Clerk of the	85
United States House of Representatives, the President Pro Tempore	86
and the Secretary of the United States Senate, the members of the	87
Ohio Congressional delegation, and the news media of Ohio.	88