FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

NAIC APPLAUDS HOUSE SUBCOMMITTEES FOR TERRORISM INSURANCE HEARING

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (Sept. 27, 2006) – The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) commends the leadership and members of the Capital Markets, Insurance and Government Sponsored Enterprises Subcommittee and the Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee of the House Committee on Financial Services for holding a joint hearing today on the roles of the federal government and the private market in providing catastrophic terrorism insurance.

“I am pleased that the subcommittees are holding this hearing, as it is vital that we continue to explore how to best address terrorism risk. We can avoid market uncertainty and disruption by developing good policy before we get too close to the expiration of the existing TRIA (Terrorism Risk Insurance Act) program,” said Howard Mills, Superintendent of the New York Insurance Department and Chair of the Terrorism Insurance Implementation (C) Working Group of the NAIC.

The hearing featured witnesses representing a wide range of backgrounds, including the insurance and reinsurance industry, the travel industry, the World Trade Center properties, New York colleges and universities and the Real Estate Board of New York. Although the Government Accountability Office (GAO) did not testify, its recently released report to Congress on the insurability of nuclear, biological, chemical and radiological (NBCR) events was featured extensively in remarks from members and witnesses.

The consensus provided by the witnesses, and echoed by the GAO’s report, was that NBCR events are generally uninsurable given their potential catastrophic severity and scope, as well as the lack of historical experience and data required to accurately price such coverage.

“The federal government’s continued role in terrorism coverage is critical, as was underscored in the GAO report, which concluded that NBCR events are uninsurable,” Mills said.

The impending release of a report by the President’s Working Group on Financial Markets regarding the availability and affordability of terrorism insurance served as a backdrop to the hearing. The report is expected on Sept. 30, 2006.

About the NAIC

Headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri, the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) is a voluntary organization of the chief insurance regulatory officials of the 50 states, the District of Columbia and the five U.S. territories. The NAIC’s overriding objective is to assist state insurance regulators in protecting consumers and helping maintain the financial stability of the insurance industry by offering financial, actuarial, legal, computer, research, market conduct and economic expertise. Formed in 1871, the NAIC is the oldest association of state officials. For more than 135 years, state-based insurance supervision has served the needs of consumers, industry and the business of insurance at-large by ensuring hands-on, frontline protection for consumers, while providing insurers the uniform platforms and coordinated systems they need to compete effectively in an ever-changing marketplace. For more information, visit NAIC on the Web at: http://www.naic.org/press_home.htm

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2006 National Association of Insurance Commissioners. All rights reserved.