Soaring levels of civil unrest and political violence are a key concern for businesses of all sizes as well as for their insurers, according to a report published by Allianz Commercial.
The impact of civil unrest or strikes, riots and civil commotion (SRCC) activity is the political risk and violence exposure that companies fear most, with more than 50% of businesses ranking SRCC as their main worry, said the report, titled “Political violence and civil unrest trends 2025.”
The report derives much of its data and conclusions from the Allianz Risk Barometer 2025, an annual survey of global businesses, which revealed in January that political risks and violence have been a top 10 global risk in four of the past five years — 2025, 2024, 2023 and 2021.
“Businesses with multi-country exposures are showing a greater interest in political violence coverage, but we are also seeing greater engagement from the SME and mid-corp space about these risks, a true reflection of increasing concern in this segment.”
Part of the problem for businesses is the unpredictability of the size, location and length of these incidents, said the Allianz Commercial report, explaining that unlike other perils, such as flood or windstorm, it is difficult to prepare in the same way to mitigate losses and build contingency and business continuity plans.
Political violence activity can affect businesses in many ways, the report indicated. “In addition to endangering the safety of employees and customers, those in the immediate vicinity of unrest can suffer business interruption losses and material damage to property or assets, while indirect damage can be inflicted on companies in the form of ‘loss of attraction’ or ‘denial of access’ to their premises.”
Excluding the ongoing social unrest in the Balkans and Turkey, Allianz noted, there have been over 800 significant anti-government protests in more than 150 countries, “with more than 160 significant events taking place during 2024 alone.” The report said that 18% of these protests lasted for more than three months.
“Allianz research shows that in the top 20 countries for frequency of protest and riot activity around the world during 2024, there were more than 80,000 incidents,” with India, the US, France, Germany, Turkey, and Spain among the top hotspots.
“As unrest can now spread more quickly and widely – thanks in part to the power of social media – economic and insured losses from such activity can be considerable,” said the Allianz Commercial report.
“The patterns of protests and violence over the last 10 years has shown that targets such as government buildings, transport infrastructure, retail premises and distribution centers for critical goods can be specific but, often, businesses are victims of their locality and their footprint.”
Rising Insurance Losses
Insurers are also very concerned about the increase in the frequency and severity of SRCC events.
“Events such as riots in Chile and South Africa and the Black Lives Matter unrest in the U.S. have resulted in insured losses well in excess of US$10 billion over the past decade, surpassing other levels of political violence and terrorism insurance claims,” the report confirmed.
“In certain hotspot territories, losses can rival or surpass those from natural catastrophes, while in others, although the direct impact may be minor, events can still trigger long- lasting changes in the societies they affect,” it added.
Religious and Political Terrorism
The report went on to discuss the major threat of religious and political terrorism from political extremists who are motivated by both far-right and far-left ideologies.
Far-right motivated terrorism is considered by many to be the fastest growing or most prominent domestic security threat, Allianz said, pointing to analysis from the International Observatory for Studies on Terrorism (OIET), which shows there were well in excess of 100 reported terrorism and right-wing extremist incidents during 2024, driven primarily by events in the US (with 76 incidents) and followed by Germany (with 19 incidents).
“Meanwhile, far left extremists are increasingly targeting individuals or companies who they see as contributing negatively towards issues such as capitalism, climate change or inequality,” the report said.
“More frequent and severe actions during 2025 and beyond can be anticipated. In addition, extremists are increasingly acting on their own, making them harder to track, disrupt and prevent. In addition, extremists are increasingly acting on their own, making them harder to track, disrupt and prevent,” Allianz Commercial said.
Risk Management and Insurance
Turning to the risk management and insurance techniques that can help businesses mitigate against the political violence peril, the report noted that almost all property classes of insurance offer some degree of SRCC coverage, and as a result, businesses are showing increasing interest in buying stand-alone coverages.
“Businesses with multi-country exposures are showing a greater interest in political violence coverage, but we are also seeing greater engagement from the SME and mid-corp space about these risks, a true reflection of increasing concern in this segment,” according to Tim McGain, a regional head of Property at Allianz Commercial, who is quoted in the report.
“Business interruption has been ranked as a top two risk for the past decade in our annual Allianz Risk Barometer,” said Srdjan Todorovic, head of Political Violence and Hostile Environment Solutions, Allianz Commercial.
The causes of business interruption losses can range from natural catastrophes to manmade causes and malicious risks such as political violence, terrorism, sabotage or cyber events, sanctions, tariffs, trade wars and actual wars, Todorovic added.
“It would therefore be negligent for large companies to not consider political violence and terrorism exposures in the same vein as they are considering the impact that natural catastrophes might have on their operations. Political violence perils need to be factored into business interruption, continuity and planning,” he warned.
Risk Mitigation Suggestions
The report went on to offer suggestions from Allianz Commercial’s risk experts about what companies can do to safeguard their assets and employees, while ensuring business continuity in the event of unrest or a political violence incident. The list follows here:
- Stay abreast of news on planned protests and government policies and implement a business continuity plan (BCP) in advance if you do not have one in place already.
- Revise and update your BCP if needed. Your BCP and your business processes might need amending if a regime introduces new requirements or if there is a risk of sanctions.
- Retail businesses on high streets (or main streets) should increase security and/or reduce inventory, including those with high-value assets, those that are multinational or foreign-owned, petrol stations, pharmacies, and banks. Consider temporary relocation of inventory or assets if you are highly likely to be affected.
- Implement increased security measures at distribution center. Prepare for moving more services online to support business continuity.
- Protect your supply chains by ensuring diversity of geography and companies.
- Review your insurance policies. Property policies may cover political violence claims in some cases, but insurers also offer specialist coverage to mitigate the impact of strikes, riots and civil commotion via the specialist political violence market.
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