81 FR 11649 - Study on the Overall Effectiveness of the Terrorism Risk Insurance Program

DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY

Federal Register Volume 81, Issue 43 (March 4, 2016)

Section 111 of the Terrorism Risk Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2015 (Reauthorization Act) requires the Secretary of the Treasury (Secretary) to submit a report to the Congress addressing the overall effectiveness of the Terrorism Risk Insurance Program (Program) and trends the Secretary has observed within the Program. In order to assist the Secretary with the required report, Treasury requests that insurers submit certain insurance data and information regarding their participation in the Program.

[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 43 (Friday, March 4, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 11649-11650]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2016-04821]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY


Study on the Overall Effectiveness of the Terrorism Risk 
Insurance Program

AGENCY: Departmental Offices, U.S. Department of the Treasury.

ACTION: Request for data and information.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: Section 111 of the Terrorism Risk Insurance Program 
Reauthorization Act of 2015 (Reauthorization Act) requires the 
Secretary of the Treasury (Secretary) to submit a report to the 
Congress addressing the overall effectiveness of the Terrorism Risk 
Insurance Program (Program) and trends the Secretary has observed 
within the Program. In order to assist the Secretary with the required 
report, Treasury requests that insurers submit certain insurance data 
and information regarding their participation in the Program.

DATES: Data must be submitted not later than April 30, 2016.

ADDRESSES: Participating insurers may submit the requested data and 
information after registration at a Web portal that has been 
established for this data collection. A link to the Web site where 
participating insurers can commence the registration process can be 
found at https://www.treasury.gov/resource-center/fin-mkts/Pages/program.aspx.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Richard Ifft, Senior Insurance 
Regulatory Policy Analyst, Federal Insurance Office, Room 1410, 
Department of the Treasury, 1500 Pennsylvania Avenue NW., Washington, 
DC 20220, at (202) 622-2922 (this is not a toll-free number), or Kevin 
Meehan, Policy Advisor, Federal Insurance Office, 202-622-7009 (not a 
toll free number). Persons who have difficulty hearing or speaking may 
access these numbers via TTY by calling the toll-free Federal Relay 
Service at (800) 877-8339.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    Section 111 directs the Secretary, beginning in calendar year 2016, 
to ``require insurers participating in the Program to submit to the 
Secretary such information regarding insurance coverage for terrorism 
losses of such insurers as the Secretary considers appropriate to 
analyze the effectiveness of the Program[.]'' This information and data 
includes information regarding: (1) Lines of insurance with exposure to 
such losses; (2) premiums earned on such coverage; (3) geographical 
location of exposures; (4) pricing of such coverage; (5) the take-up 
rate for such coverage; (6) the amount of private reinsurance for acts 
of terrorism purchased; and (7) such other matters as the Secretary 
considers appropriate. Treasury plans to issue a Notice of Proposed 
Rulemaking proposing rules that expand upon this requirement for the 
submission of data by participating insurers in the near future.
    Section 111 also requires the Secretary to ``submit a report to the 
Committee on Financial Services of the House of Representatives and the 
Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate'' that 
includes: (1) An analysis of the overall effectiveness of the Program; 
(2) an evaluation of any changes or trends in the data collected by the 
Secretary; (3) an evaluation of whether any aspects of the Program have 
the effect of discouraging or impeding insurers from providing 
commercial property casualty insurance coverage or coverage for acts of 
terrorism; (4) an evaluation of the impact of the Program on workers' 
compensation insurers; and (5) in the case of the data collected by the 
Secretary regarding premiums earned on insurance coverage for terrorism 
losses, an estimate of the total amount earned by insurers since 
January 1, 2003. The initial report under this requirement is to be 
submitted not later than June 30, 2016.

II. Solicitation for Data

    Treasury must start collecting data for the initial report required 
under section 111 before Treasury is able to review comments on 
proposed regulations concerning data collection, including whether it 
has properly estimated the level of burden that this collection 
imposes. Based on interaction with stakeholders, Treasury anticipates 
that most participating insurers will be able to respond to this 
solicitation with all of the requested data in that the data requested, 
and the form in which the data is requested, conforms to industry's 
current practice. In order to avoid inadvertently imposing an 
unanticipated level of burden on participating insurers without due 
consideration, Treasury is requesting, and not requiring, that 
participating insurers submit the data enumerated in the section 111 
data collection authorized under this emergency approval. Making this 
collection voluntary also identifies to all participating insurers the 
types of information that Treasury will likely seek in future 
collections under section 111 and provides time to the extent necessary 
for insurers to make any adjustments to ease the burden of compliance 
with such collections.
    Treasury, through an insurance statistical aggregator, has 
established the web portal identified above, through which insurers 
will be able to submit the requested data. All information submitted 
via the web portal is subject to the confidentiality and data 
protection provisions of section 111 as well as to section 552 of title 
5, United States Code, including any exceptions thereunder. In 
accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act, (44 U.S.C 3501 et seq.), 
the information collected through the web portal has been approved by 
the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) under control number 1505-
0253. Treasury does not anticipate further requests for

[[Page 11650]]

information using this form during the approval period arising from 
emergency clearance, except as may be necessary to seek clarification 
respecting any responses that are provided. An agency may not conduct 
or sponsor and a person is not required to respond to a collection of 
information unless it displays a valid OMB control number.

Michael T. McRaith,
Director, Federal Insurance Office.
[FR Doc. 2016-04821 Filed 3-3-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4810-25-P