"Congress' interest has been elsewhere, appropriately so," Simon says. "While I wish it [Hurricane Katrina] didn't happen, it's a real-life example of why TRIA is needed. Insurers haven't priced for terrorism. We're there to pay for floods, hurricanes, not for the unpredictable."

In a white paper, Swiss Re stressed the importance of renewing TRIA. And the Coalition to Insure Against Terrorism was among those groups testifying before Congress over the summer to stress the importance of renewing TRIA. This was in response to a June 30 US Department of the Treasury's report which concluded that the insurance industry is now capable of providing terrorism insurance on its own.

"Timing is critical. We will have some sort of 'Son of TRIA,'" Simon adds. "There's just less time to build consensus." Aspects of TRIA she says should be amended in a number of ways including upping the $5-million trigger, adding group life to the mix and including domestic acts of terrorism.