"Even gaining access to the site may be difficult because it could be the subject of a police investigation, as was the case in the 9/11 catastrophe," Mr. Held noted. So the most basic hurdle of reaching and seeing the damage can be temporarily impossible, he pointed out.

"Search and rescue efforts must come first if injured people are on the site," Mr. Held said. Such activity, he said, is another circumstance that can delay getting to the damaged property for loss adjustment purposes.

Another unique issue for these types of losses is demolition and debris removal and the safety of those involved in this process, Mr. Held added. He noted that thousands of chemicals and other substances that no one ever expected in combination?such as jet fuel and office equipment?can burn, causing noxious gases, as happened in the World Trade Center attack.

"At the WTC site there was also asbestos. It was only in one-half of one of the buildings, but when everything becomes mixed together like that, it goes everywhere," he stated.

Mr. Held also noted that a "surgical dismantling" of a damaged structure, as is necessary when trapped victims or remains are being sought, is much more expensive and time-consuming than a regular debris removal process.

"At WTC, in the beginning, all work at the entire site came to a halt whenever a body part was found. Had that continued, the work would still be going on. Eventually they found a way to be respectful and still be able to get the job done, by stopping work only in the immediate area where human remains were found."

"Documentation of the loss can also pose problems," he said. He gave the example of a Trade Center tenant on a lower floor that kept its backup documents on one of the higher floors. "The possibility of total destruction of the building was never imagined," he noted.

Mr. Held said in instances where even backups are destroyed, adjusters may have to resort to obtaining whatever documents are available from public authorities such as building and fire departments, or architects, engineers, contractors, vendors and service providers used by the insured business.

Yet another problem in terrorism losses can be political and emotional issues in post-loss site design. For example, Mr. Held noted, the families of victims may want a memorial erected on a site where the insurance pays only to repair or replace the building that was damaged and destroyed.