Rep. Steve Stivers (R-OH), the Ranking Member on the House Financial Services’ Subcommittee on Housing, Community Development and Insurance, was interviewed by The Real Estate Roundtable’s President and CEO Jeff DeBoer on Sept 22 on the prospects for developing and enacting a federal pandemic risk-business continuity insurance program. Rep. Stivers played a key role in last year’s reauthorization of the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act (TRIA), and has expressed a strong interest in establishing a federal business continuity insurance program before there is a recurrence of pandemic or government-ordered shutdown in response to a different natural catastrophe. Rep. Stivers said he believes the upcoming Lame Duck session may consider a pandemic relief bill that, in his opinion, would require bi-partisan support in order to be successful. Mr. DeBoer mentioned to Rep. Stivers that the Roundtable is working with industry partners such as Nareit and other stakeholders through the newly formed Business Continuity Coalition (BCC) to develop with policymakers an effective federal insurance program that provides the economy with the coverage it needs to provide business continuity coverage in the face of pandemic risk.
- BCC Staff