Claims News Service, Apr. 19, 11:20 a.m. EDT -- Eleven years ago today, terrorism was largely considered a homegrown issue that involved local militias and rebels using guerrilla tactics. That's because today, April 19, 2006, is the anniversary of the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City by Timothy McVeigh, a veteran of the first Gulf War and anti-government extremist who loaded a truck full of explosives and destroyed a third of the seven-story building, killing 166 people.

According to the Insurance Information Institute, the bombing represented the eighth worst act of terrorism in the world in terms of insured property losses, which in 2005 dollars, amounts to approximately $155 million. Since the event occurred, five other terrorist attacks have joined it on I.I.I.'s list of worst terrorist attacks.

In 1995, terrorist attacks were covered under standard commercial policies. But after September 11, 2001, insurers began excluding coverage, requiring much more expensive additional coverage. The Terrorism Risk Insurance Act, which provides a governmental backstop for insurance companies to limit their losses in the case of large-scale terrorist attacks, is a temporary solution first implemented in November 2002 and extended in December 2005. It is set to expire at the end of 2007.