This Week…

Jonathan Rest

TWELVE months ago he was hailed as the saviour of the western world, but Barack Obama’s ego has had a week to forget. On Monday, the US president unveiled his fiscal year 2011 revenue proposals; within hours US insurance bodies had unveiled their fists. The biggest controversy surrounded plans to scrap the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act (Tria) programme that has provided vital cover to businesses in the wake of September 11, 2001. Obama proposed cutting $249m in subsidies to insurers providing terrorism cover, meaning higher deductibles and co-payments. The changes will also eliminate coverage for acts of domestic terrorism.