Germany, Australia come up with terrorism backstop plans

Governments in Germany and Australia have beat the U.S. to the punch in devising terrorism backstop plans.The German plan has seen the government establish a new insurer, Extremus A.G., now offering up to Eur10 billion (Cdn$15.4 billion) in coverage for commercial property risks including property and business interruption coverage. The mechanism is actually a pool, with insurers and reinsurers accepting the primary layer of coverage, above self-insured retention of Eur25 million (Cdn$38.6 million), and the government offering excess coverage above Eur3 billion (Cdn$4.6 billion) up to Eur10 billion per year.Insurers, through their industry association Gesamtverband der Deutschen Versicherungswirtschaft e.V., note that Eur300 million in premiums must be collected to keep the pool in operation.In Australia, owners of “target” high-rise commercial properties may soon be able to take advantage of a similar pool mechanism. Insurers would pay AU$100 million (Cdn$85 million) in premiums each year for the next three years. A bank loan of AU$1 billion (Cdn$850 million) will augment this. Beyond this amount, the government will offer coverage up to Aus$9 billion (Cdn$769 million). The plan is outlined in a government discussion paper yet to be voted on.