While acts of terrorism and political violence are a significant threat to a company's global operations, the January authorization of the Terrorism Risk Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2015 (TRIPRA) helped prevent disruption and provided greater certainty to terrorism insurance markets in the United States, according to Marsh's "2015 Terrorism Risk Insurance Report." The report summarizes TRIPRA, provides benchmarking related to terrorism insurance take-up rates and pricing, and offers risk management solutions for terrorism risks that will be useful for organizations even if they purchase terrorism insurance.

Here are 16 key points insurance agents and risk managers need to understand about protecting a company's bottom line against terrorism and terrorism-related risks.

An FBI investigator investigates the scene of a shooting outside a military recruiting center on Friday, July 17, 2015, in Chattanooga, Tenn. Muhammad Youssef Abdulazeez of Hixson, Tenn., attacked two military facilities in a shooting rampage that killed four Marines. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)

1. U.S. government terrorism insurance program extended through 2020

The enactment in the U.S. of TRIPRA through 2020 brought greater certainty to organizations that depend on terrorism coverage and prevented any short-term increase in pricing that may have been caused by the law's lapse.

[Related: Better late than never: Obama signs TRIA into law]

In this Feb. 18, 2010, file photo, smoke billows from a seven-story structure after Joseph Stack III crashed his small plane into an IRS office building in Austin, Texas. (AP Photo/Jack Plunkett, File)

2. Terrorism insurance take-up rates have remained relatively stable since 2009

Terrorism insurance take-up rates—the percentage of companies buying property terrorism insurance—dropped off toward the end of 2014 due to the uncertainty stemming from TRIA's pending expiration. However, Congress passed TRIPRA in early 2015 and buyers of terrorism insurance have generally experienced a favorable rate environment that is expected to continue barring unforeseen events.

Police close off a section of Calhoun Street near the Emanuel AME Church following a shooting Wednesday, June 17, 2015, in Charleston, S.C. (AP Photo/David Goldman)

3. Captives

Although organizations can benefit from captive insurance companies' ability to access the federal terrorism insurance backstop, few U.S. captives used TRIA for that coverage in 2014. Of the 324 U.S.-domiciled captives that Marsh managed in 2014, 83 (22%) accessed TRIA for property coverage, writing terrorism coverage for conventional perils and for nuclear, biological, chemical and radiological perils that are commonly excluded by commercial insurers.

Organizations should work with their insurance brokers to evaluate whether using a captive for TRIPRA could provide a more effective solution for managing terrorism exposures.

Smoke and flames billow from the World Trade Center towers in this Sept. 11, 2001, file photo. (AP Photo/Chao Soi Cheong/FILE)

4. Large companies are more likely to purchase property terrorism insurance and to see the lowest cost as a percentage of overall property premiums

Median rates for the largest companies remained at $18 per million in 2014. No industry sectors showed decreases in the cost of terrorism insurance as a percentage of property premiums.

In this Oct. 10, 1995, file photo, federal investigators search for evidence at the scene of the Amtrak Sunset Limited wreckage near Hyder, Ariz. The FBI announced on Friday, April 10, 2015, a $310,000 reward for information leading to an arrest for the sabotage of an Amtrak train that derailed nearly 20 years ago. The Sunset Limited passenger train plunged into a dry gulch, killing a crewman and injuring 78 people about 70 miles outside Phoenix in the twilight hours of Oct. 9, 1995, while heading from Miami to Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Eric Drotter, File)

5. Education organizations had the highest take-up rates for terrorism insurance in 2014

Among industry sectors, financial institutions, real estate and technology/telecommunications companies had the next highest take-up rates among the 17 industry segments surveyed.

Manufacturing, chemicals and energy/mining were among the industry segments with the lowest take-up rates.

People rush to the scene of an explosion at the Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta early Saturday, July 27, 1996. A fire department spokeswoman said 150 to 200 people were injured when the explosion struck a tower near a stage where thousands of revelers were watching a concert at about 1:15 a.m. ET. (AP Photo/ACOG POOL)

6. Political violence coverage

Political violence insurance (PVI) provides coverage for terrorism and for exposures that are typically excluded within standalone terrorism policies, such as strikes, riots, civil commotion, rebellion, revolutions, war, civil war and insurrection.

Consideration of PVI is recommended for global insurance programs with significant emerging market exposures. Policies should be coordinated with property and standalone terrorism policies as well as local insurance pools.

In this image from video provided by WBZ TV, a bomb explodes near the finish line of the Boston Marathon in Boston on Monday, April 15, 2013. (AP Photo/WBZTV)

7. The maximum achievable limits in the standalone terrorism insurance market are approximately $4.3 billion

Available capacity is significantly lower for exposures in the central business districts of Tier 1 cities, which include Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, New York City, San Francisco and Washington D.C.

One of the blast sites on Boylston Street near the finish line of the 2013 Boston Marathon is seen in Boston, Tuesday, April 16, 2013, one day after bomb blasts killed three and injured more than 140 people. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola)

8. A higher percentage of companies in the Northeast—74%— purchased property terrorism insurance than in any other region of the U.S.

This is likely due to the Northeast's concentration of large metro areas and the perception that major cities may be at higher risk for a terrorist attack.

The South and West saw the lowest take-up rates in 2014, both at 54%.

Flag on a building across the street from Ground Zero, World Trade Center, on Sept. 20, 2001, in New York. (Larry Bruce/Shutterstock)

9. Property terrorism insurance rates typically decrease as the size of the company increases

This generally reflects overall insurance pricing patterns: Larger companies typically purchase more insurance, which leads to lower rates when compared with smaller companies. The cost as a percentage of overall property premiums was similar for all companies, regardless of total insurable value (TIV).

Medical workers aid injured people at the finish line of the 2013 Boston Marathon following an explosion in Boston, Monday, April 15, 2013. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

10. Overall, construction companies paid the most for their terrorism insurance in 2014, at a median rate of $77 per million

Median property terrorism insurance premiums decreased or stayed the same in 2014 for nine of 17 industry categories. Rates increased the most for media, hospitality and gaming, and construction organizations.

Energy and mining, public entity and nonprofit, and life sciences sectors experienced the most significant decreases.

In this May 5, 1995, file photo, a large group of the search and rescue crew attends a memorial service in front of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City. The blast killed 168 people—including 19 children—injured hundreds more and caused hundreds of millions of dollars in damage to structures and vehicles in the downtown area. (AP Photo/Bill Waugh, File)

11. Companies in the Midwest paid the lowest rates, on average, for property terrorism insurance in 2014

Based on median premium rates, terrorism insurance was most expensive in the South at $31 per million.

An FBI crime scene investigator documents evidence outside the Curtis Culwell Center in Garland, Texas, on May 4, 2015. A Phoenix-area man has been charged with helping plan the attack on a provocative Texas cartoon contest featuring depictions of the Prophet Muhammad that ended with the two shooters' deaths. (AP Photo/Brandon Wade, File)

12. Favorable pricing conditions

The authorization of TRIPRA, robust flows of capital in both the insurance and reinsurance segments, and moderate CAT losses, have combined to create pricing conditions favorable to most insureds.

Most insureds are seeing rate and premium decreases as well as coverage improvements, mostly driven by a competitive marketplace.

Demolished building after terror attack and bomb explosion in Levent HSBC Bank on Nov. 20, 2003, in Istanbul, Turkey. The blast killed 30 people and wounded 400 others. (Photo: Prometheus72 /Shutterstock)

13. The terrorism reinsurance market

TRIPRA capacity remains crucial to the insurance industry as private market reinsurance capacity is not sufficient to provide the same level of capacity as that offered by TRIPRA.

With a multi-year TRIPRA solution and incremental changes limiting the government's potential exposure over time, it's anticipated that the reinsurance market will continue to grow, develop and provide capacity for ceding companies that don't want to increase their net exposure to terrorism.

CID, police and prosecution at the site after the explosion that was targeting the Interior Minister in Mostafa el-Nahas St. in Nasr City, Cairo, Egypt, on Sept. 5, 2013. (Photo: Mohamed Elsayyed/Shutterstock)

14. Terrorism pools

Terrorism pools have been created internationally to help organizations manage the global threat of terrorism. Typically, each pool requires a declaration by the national government that a terrorist event has occurred to trigger coverage.

In the countries in which compulsory or optional terrorism reinsurance pools exist, property insurance policies can be extended to include terrorism coverage in accordance with the local pool.

(Photo: specnaz-Shutterstock)

15. Terrorism risk modeling and other analytical tools

Terrorism risk modeling and other analytical tools can help organizations determine how much coverage to purchase and whether capacity is in short supply, or not. Such models can help organizations better understand their financial exposure; determine appropriate insurance deductibles and limits; optimize risk finance strategies; rate the terrorism risk to negotiate insurance premiums; understand the risk's potential impact on capital; prioritize risk mitigation strategies; build efficient business continuity plans; and understand the correlation and potential benefits of diversification among sites, locations and regions.

(Image: Shutterstock)

16. Terrorist attack business continuity plan recommended

Organizations that review and update their business continuity plans to ensure they are prepared in the event of a terrorist attack can improve their risk profile for underwriters. To ensure that business continuity plans help preserve and protect operations and people, organizations should assess their plans and validate them through training and exercises. Such measure can help organizations think through their terrorism-related risks and get a better understanding of their exposures.

[Related: How TRIA can save sports, skyscrapers, and subways]