Are we safer now?

Has Bush's anti-terrorist policies made us feel safer? American business doesn't think so. The following is from an article by Daniel Gross in Slate Magazine.

Judging by the latest report from insurance giant Marsh, Americans—at least American businesses—are feeling less and less safe. According to Marsh's 2006 report, 59 percent of companies bought terrorism insurance last year, up from 58 percent in 2005, even as prices for such policies rose by about 9 percent. In 2003, only 27 percent of Marsh clients bought such policies. 'I think it's fair to see this data as a reflection of greater concern,' said Jill Dalton, managing director at Marsh Inc. 'Our clients only have a certain amount of money to spend on insurance. And more of them are choosing to spend more on terrorism insurance.' …

Insurance is generally local. The damage wrought by Hurricane Katrina wouldn't necessarily cause flood insurance rates for a home in Minnesota to rise. But in terrorism, she notes, "pricing responds to global events rather than purely local events." In other words, the higher rates and higher volume of sales in the United States probably doesn't reflect concerns by American companies that the nation is less safe from terror than it used to be. Rather, it may reflect concern that the world is less safe from terror than it used to be. This concern is backed up by hard data. The State Department reported that terrorism attacks worldwide rose 25 percent in 2006.