TRIA Supporters Claim Victory.

Washington -- Congress passed an extension of the federal terrorism re-insurance program so that commercial property owners can continue to obtain terrorism insurance for the next two years.

Financial services and real estate groups consider final passage and the president's signature of the bill to be a major legislative victory.

President George Bush signed the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act extension one week before the federal re-insurance program was due to expire on Jan. 1.

"It would have been difficult, if not impossible, for policyholders to obtain affordable terror coverage in the absence of such a program," according to the Coalition to Insure Against Terrorism.

The final bill (S. 467) increases property and casualty insurers exposure if there is another serious terrorist attack.

But to the dismay of House Financial Services Committee chairman Michael Oxley, R-Ohio, the TRIA extension largely reflects the Senate bill. House-passed provisions designed to help the insurance industry move toward a private solution to terrorism insurance were dropped during a House-Senate conference.

"In this short-sighted legislation, we have missed a golden opportunity to frame the TRIA program more effectively and to move toward a market-based solution," Rep. Oxley said.