German companies are counting increasingly on being spared a major terrorist attack, according to data released yesterday by Germany's specialist terrorism insurance group.

Extremus, a government-backed partnership of 16 commercial insurers, said its premium income slumped 29 per cent last year to €60m ($74.2m), as financial services companies in particular relied more on self-insurance. It also found that competition, notably from specialist Lloyd's syndicates, had stiffened.