R Street Co-Founder, Editor-in-Chief and Senior Fellow R.J. Lehmann participated in a panel organized by National Journal magazine and hosted at Chicago’s Soldier Field by Zurich North America on whether, and how, Congress should reauthorize the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act. Lehmann argued that — while some form of backstop may be necessary, particularly for workers’ compensation insurance — Congress should adjust the program’s trigger levels, industry deductible and recoupment mechanism to reflect that more capacity has entered the terrorism insurance market. He also questioned whether a backstop for commercial liability insurance is wise public policy, given that, by definition, it amounts to subsidizing behavior that a court has found reckless.

Lehmann was joined on the panel (which was moderated by Steve Clemons, editor-at-large of National Journal and The Atlantic) by Anne Gron, vice president of NERA Economic Consulting; Kyle Logue, professor at the University of Michigan Law School; Wisconsin Insurance Commissioner Ted Nickel; Kristin N. Pate, associate general counsel of General Growth Property Inc.; and Leigh Ann Pusey, president and CEO of the American Insurance Association. Below you can watch video of the discussion, along with a keynote speech by Rep. Randy Hultgren, R-Ill.

TRIA Triage Policy Summit from National Journal on FORA.tv

Featured Publications