New York, NY —

Mayor Bloomberg and other local leaders urged members of Congress to extend TRIA, the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act. The program was created after 9/11, but is set to expire at the end of the year. WNYC's Arun Venugopal has more.

TRIA provides federal relief for insurance companies, in the event of a catastrophic terrorist act. According to the American Academy of Actuaries, the property and insurance losses from a single CNBR event - that's a chemical, nuclear, biological or radiological attack - would cost nearly $800 billion if it happened in downtown Manhattan. T

RIA was designed to minimize such risks for insurers and encourage them to provide coverage for real estate developers. Some critics say it's a subsidy for the most successful developers. But according to Mayor Bloomberg, it needs to be made permanent.

He also wants the law revised. Currently, it doesn't cover events caused by homegrown terrorists - only those born abroad. For WNYC, I'm Arun Venugopal.