Unlike the House version, the Senate bill terminates the TRIA program on December 31, 2007. By contrast, the House bill contemplates either an insurance pooling mechanism or an extension of TRIA beyond that date with a scheduled increase in deductibles.

The Senate measure's terrorism event insurance loss levels that would trigger federal support remain the same as in the House bill, $50 million in 2006 and $100 million in 2007.

The House bill expands the lines of coverage, and adds group life, while the Senate bill reduces insurance lines with TRIA coverage.

The coverage areas removed from the Senate bill include commercial auto, professional liability, surety, burglary and theft, and farm owners' multi-peril.

The deductibles in the Senate version are lower and across the board as contrasted with the silo approach taken by the House version, which has different deductibles for each line of coverage.

The Senate bill calls for a 17.5 percent retention level for insurers across all lines of business in the first year, and 20 percent in the second year.

The House bill calls for different retention levels for industry based on lines of business.

Specifically, workers' compensation would have a 17.5 percent level the first year of renewal and 20 percent in the second year. Property would be 20 percent in the first year and 22.5 percent in the second year.

It calls for a retention for group life of 20 percent in the first year and 22.5 percent in the second year; casualty, 25 percent in the first year and 25 percent in the second year; and nuclear, biological, chemical and radiation protection, 7.5 percent in the first year and 8.25 percent the second year.

The House bill was drafted by staff for Rep. Richard Baker, R-La., chairman of the panel's Capital Markets Subcommittee.

Congressional staff said changes are expected to be made in the House bill before final passage in order to secure Democratic support.

A spokesman for Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., ranking minority member of the House Financial Services Committee, confirmed that talks are underway between Reps. Baker and Mike Oxley, R-Ohio, chairman of the committee, and Rep. Frank and other Democrats on the committee.

"We have concerns about some of the language," the staff official said. "We hope that those concerns can be addressed and we can be part of a bipartisan bill."

One of the concerns of the Democrats, insurance lobbyists said, is inclusion of group life insurance, which has broad support amongst rank-and-file members of Congress–but not the White House.

The Senate bill was negotiated by Sens. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, and Chris Dodd, D-Conn., a senior member of the committee.

Meanwhile, the Independent Insurance Agents and Brokers of America voiced strong support for the House bill.

"We are glad that Chairman Baker's bill, if it becomes law, will ensure terrorism insurance is not only made available, but also more affordable for the consumers our members serve," said Charles E. Symington Jr., senior vice president for government affairs and federal relations for the Independent Insurance Agents and Brokers of America.

David Winston, National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies senior vice president for federal government affairs, said Rep. Baker's bill while lessening government and taxpayer exposure, "reflects marketplace realities and is fair to regional and smaller insurers."

NAMIC, he said, is "gratified that Congress is taking action to extend TRIA in a meaningful way before it expires at the end of this year."

Julie Rochman, senior vice president of communications for the American Insurance Association, said that the "House bill contains features that we have long advocated," specifically, creation of silos that segregate risk by product line. "That bill looks to us to be very workable."