The former mayor said that a backstop plan should be in place, but confessed he did not know the details about legislation now being considered by Congress or how the risk should be spread around.

"I assume we will be attacked again," Mr. Giuliani said, quickly adding, "I hope not, but it would be irresponsible if we did not think it."

He said the risks involved, though they would be horrific and tragic, are not as great as some fear. In terms of other events that take people's lives on a daily basis, such as accidents, the risk of terrorism (from a reinsurance risk standpoint) is not as great.

"There is less risk than what we already face each day," explained Mr. Giuliani. "There is no question in my mind that there are more deaths due to drunk driving each year than due to terror. But that is not a significant catastrophic event."

Terrorists, he reasoned, are looking for one catastrophic event and are limited in the number of targets they can hit. With the number of buildings that need to be insured, there should be no reason why the risk cannot be spread around adequately enough to make a program possible.

"[The damage from a terror attack] has to be put into perspective," observed Mr. Giuliani. "It is greater than some and less than others. It is difficult to discuss [the prospects] but it should be done to help spread the risk around. When a way is figured out how to spread the risks around, it should work."