WASHINGTON (Reuters) ? The US House of Representatives yesterday voted overwhelmingly in favour of extending a federal programme that guarantees the government will cover some losses from terrorist attacks, a measure that insurers and property owners call critical to the economy.

Separate legislation has been approved by the Senate, so negotiators from both chambers must now hammer out a compromise bill. The programme, enacted after the September 11, 2001 attacks, was set to expire on December 31, unless extended.

The House vote was 371 to 49.

Both the House and Senate bills would extend for two years the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act. It created a federal programme under which insurers must make terrorism insurance available and, in return, the US government guarantees it will reimburse insurers for losses over certain thresholds.

Insurers and property owners want an extension, saying little has changed since 2001 ? the insurance industry still cannot judge the chance of attack and so is wary about offering terrorism insurance without some kind of backstop.

However, the White House wants to narrow the programme and almost all of the no votes in the House yesterday were cast by Republicans.

Both the Senate and House bills cut back the programme in part by raising the level of losses that would trigger federal aid from $5 million now to $50 million in the first year of the program's extension, and $100 million the second year.

The Bush administration said yesterday that it "strongly opposes" the House version because some of its other provisions expand rather than narrow the programme. The White House backs the Senate version of TRIA's extension.