Terrorist Insurance Clause Invades U.S. Property Insurance Policies

Another Casualty of The Iraq War- Less Insurance Protection

We can expect the next several years spent debating whether the Iraq war was a war about oil, or humanity. For some, it was a right of self presevation to invade Iraq; a must in order to protect our domestic financial and economic position as well as our leadership position in the global economy.

George W. Bush’s decision to invade Iraq has sparked many a debate. However, one debate will stand out for years to come- are we safer from terrorist attacks today than before the Iraq invasion? Well, the insurance industry has already determined that we are not. With there catastrophy models and risk prediction calculations the insurance industry in the United States has answered the question by excluding terrorism from our personal property insurance policies. Even the insurance industry understood; the oldest organization analyzing risk that the Iraq war has increased the threat of terrorism; not decreased it.

The attack of 9/11 cost the insurance industry 31.7 billion. That and the uncertainty of another attack made it too difficult to determine how to increase premiums to cover a terrorist risk, therefore insurance companies decided to simply exclude it from yours and my home, condo or renters policy. The result- The Insurance Terrorist Clause.

Okay, so you and I are now left to deal with the financial catastrophy if we lose our homes due to a terrorist attack. What about the business sector? Before you start to shed a tear for big corporations that no longer have protection from a terrorist attack read on. December 26, 2007, the President of the United States signed into law the Terrorism Risk Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2007; extending the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act (TRIA) through December 31, 2014. The law extends the temporary federal Program that provides for a transparent system of shared public and private compensation for insured losses resulting from acts of terrorism.

With this federal support of your tax dollars, The United States insurance market continues to provide coverage for most large companies which have demanded it in their policies- the same corporate clients that ended up costing the insurance industry 31.7 billion from the 9/11 attack. So while you and I get coverage reductions in our homeowners insurance, we still end up paying for the coverage for big corporations via tax dollars. Another present for the American consumer from yours truly George W. Bush.