Insurance Information Institute President Robert P. Hartwig remembers being in the I.I.I. offices on William Street in New York City on Sept. 11, 2001. “We were on the 24th floor at the time and I watched the towers fall with my own eyes,” he says.

He recalls assuring a reporter from The Wall Street Journal that the insurance industry would respond to the events in the form of claims paid, and would not avoid payments based on terrorism or war exclusions.

“It was kind of a gutsy call on my part because there were some rumors of terrorism or war exclusions applying here,” Hartwig says, adding that his assessment turned out to be the right one.

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