The property/casualty insurance data and rating organization ISO will collect and help analyze terrorism data this year for the U.S. Department of the Treasury, the federal agency charged with gauging the effectiveness of the federal terrorism risk insurance program.

ISO, a unit of Verisk Analytics, said it will collect premium, exposure, and policy data for 2015 from insurers participating in the program. The program, initially established in 2002 by the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act (TRIA), requires insurers to make available terrorism risk insurance with respect to commercial property/casualty losses and provides a mechanism for the federal government to share the risk of loss from terrorist attacks.

A spokesperson for ISO said the arrangement on terrorism data is an “extension of an existing long-term contract in which ISO, a sub-contractor, is the data aggregator in the event of an insured loss event.”

ISO is in the data collection business and maintains one of the world’s largest insurance databases. According to Beth Fitzgerald, president of ISO Solutions, ISO receives data from insurers containing more than 2.8 billion records of property/casualty insurance premiums and losses each year. ISO also provides insurers with tools to help them address terrorism exposures and changes in federal legislation.

“We’re honored to collect, report, and manage data about terrorism insurance on behalf of the U.S. Department of the Treasury,” said Fitzgerald. “It’s a testament to the knowledge and dedication of our staff and to the confidence that regulators have in using the data we collect because of our strong focus on quality.”

For this first collection of information under Section 111 of the Terrorism Risk Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2015, the Treasury Department is requesting, but not requiring, that insurers submit data. The deadline for insurers to report data this year is April 30.

Reporting insurers can register at https://www.tripsection111data.com/.

Terrorism Data

The Institute for Economics and Peace has been collecting economic data on terrorist attacks since 1997. In 2014, acts of terror cost the world $52.9 billion, according to a November, 2015 report by the international group, which calculates the value of property damage and the cost of death and injury, including medical care costs and lost earnings. It doesn’t take into account the increased number of security guards, higher insurance premiums, or city gridlock in the aftermath of an assault.

IEP also estimates the global national security expenditure to be approximately $117 billion.

In 2007, researchers at the University of Maryland launched a searchable global terrorism database was developed by START, the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism based at the University of Maryland, with funding from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

Source: ISO

*This story appeared previously in our sister publication Insurance Journal.