A Firm Foundation: How Insurance Supports the Economy

Nearly 3,000 people perished in the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania, excluding the 19 hijackers. Total insured losses from the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City and the Pentagon were about $50 billion in 2021 dollars, including property, life, and liability insurance claim costs. It is the worst terrorist attack on record in terms of fatalities and insured property losses, which totaled about $29 billion in 2021 dollars, according to Swiss Re data. Other organizations may have different estimates for this event.

Both the difficulties of insuring terrorism risk and concerns about the limited availability of terrorism coverage after the 9/11 attacks led to the enactment in 2002 of the Terrorisms Risk Insurance Act (TRIA). The act created the Terrorism Risk Insurance Program (TRIP), a federal loss-sharing program for certain insured losses resulting from a certified act of terrorism.