More And More Companies Taking Out Terrorism Insurance
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — Health, life, car, home...you can get an insurance policy for all.
More and more, companies are opting to also get terrorism insurance.
KCAL9's Laurie Perez reports six in 10 large US companies have taken out such policies. This information comes from the Insurance Information Institute.
The Inland Regional Center in San Bernardino, the site of the December 2 massacre that left 14 dead and 31 injured, has such a policy.
But Perez reports while the policies are becoming more common and widespread, they are rarely ever used and likely won't be in San Bernardino either.
After the Boston Marathon bombing and the recent terror attack in San Bernardino, insurance companies saw a spike in requests for terror insurance, mostly against damage claims.
Bob Hartwig, president of the Insurance Information Institute, says it's easy, inexpensive, extra protection that any company big (as in international) or small (as in mom and pop) can get.
"Something like $15 per million dollars of coverage in many cases," Harwig said.
A terrorism claim will only kick in if damages reach $5 million. And the US Treasury Secretary also has to certify the act as an act of terrorism. And it uses a very specific definition.
As tragic as the San Bernardino situation is, and was, it might not qualify for a claim.
"The event is not of the magnitude that is likely to trigger the program," said Hartwig.
He believes the IRC's standard commercial policy will cover damages to the building and to worker's compensation claims -- those will pay for the slain and injured workers.
But Hartwig says that doesn't mean businesses should forgo the terrorism insurance. Why? Because if something big were to happen -- that would also be certified as terrorism -- and you don't have it, your business could be in big trouble.
"In the wake of 9/11, insurers fearing another 9/11-like attack or a sequence of attacks actually began to exclude terrorism coverage from standard business property policies that businesses had - and have always had - and that created a coverage issue," Hartwig says.
