They voted against it, but don't fret over collateral damage if Kootenai County comes under attack.

The county commissioners voted on Tuesday against accepting terrorism coverage for the county, the same choice made for several years.

Their vote followed a recommendation by John Goedde, ICRMP (Idaho Counties Risk Management Program) representative, to not accept the insurance that would cost $113,764 a year and offer roughly $30 million in coverage.

Goedde pointed out to the officials that ICRMP already provides $20 million worth of collective terrorism coverage for all members of its insurance pool, which includes most counties and cities in the state.

"My reasoning is this insurance is duplication," said Goedde, also a state senator. "The $20 million offered to the pool is adequate to cover potential losses to the county."

The commissioners voted unanimously against the coverage.

"It's not cost effective," said Commissioner Todd Tondee. "And we already have coverage."

Commissioner Dan Green noted that a terrorism incident is probably not imminent here.

"I wouldn't think North Idaho would be a high priority for terrorists," Green said.

Insurance providers are mandated to offer terrorism coverage under the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act, Goedde said, passed by Congress after insurance questions surfaced over the destruction of the twin towers in 2001.

ICRMP started offering terrorism coverage to pool members individually about five years ago, he added, when the provider deemed that the group coverage didn't satisfy the law's requirements.

A variety of events could constitute as terrorist acts, Goedde said.

"Airplanes flying into buildings. Insurgents blowing things up," he spoke of better known examples.

There's a fine line between vandalism and terrorism, he added.

"If a vandal blows something up, it's not terrorism," he said. "But if it's a member of a terrorism group, that brings up questions."

But it's not just affiliation that makes the difference, Goedde said.

"It's really intent," he said.