Menu

A new report from the global insurer Allianz says civil unrest ranks as the biggest concern for more than 50% of company respondents globally. According to the report, this reflects the fact that incidents are increasing and lasting for longer.

Not including ongoing social unrest in the Balkans and Türkiye, there have been over 800 significant anti-government protests since 2017 in more than 150 countries, with more than 160 events in 2024 alone – 18% of protests lasting for more than three months, the report highlights.

According to the Allianz Risk Barometer 2025, businesses have ranked political risks and violence as a top 10 global risk for the past three years, demonstrating it has become a key concern for companies of all sizes.

The report says policy changes by governments since the “super election year” 2024 will continue to be trigger factors for protests and flashpoints in many countries in the future, as could any economic hardships that result from tariff wars.

“In addition, an increase in terrorist attacks from religious and political extremists – motivated by both far-right and left ideologies – is also a major concern for businesses over the year ahead,” according to Allianz. “Companies need to adapt to volatile and uncertain geopolitical conditions to avoid negative surprises and mitigate risks.”
 
A statement by the insurer quotes its Head of Political Violence and Hostile Environment Solutions, Srdjan Todorovic, as saying that political violence remains a top 10 global business risk because politics is increasingly perceived as being dominated by populism, blame, and division as well as geopolitics, a changing world order, economic mismanagement, corruption, and inequality. He said political violence activity can impact businesses in many ways. 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.
 
According to the statement, the impact of civil unrest or strikes, riots and civil commotion (SRCC) activity ranks as the top concern in countries such as Colombia, France, South Africa, the UK and the US. In the top 20 countries for frequency of protest and riot activity around the world during 2024, there were more than 80,000 incidents alone, with India, US, France, Germany, Türkiye and Spain among the hotspots, according to Allianz Research.
 
“Events including riots in Chile and South Africa have contributed to insured losses well in excess of US$10 billion over the past decade, surpassing other levels of political violence and terrorism insurance claims,” according to Allianz. “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.”
 
“All kinds of civil unrest and protest activity remain a problem. Contributing factors such as high inflation, wealth inequality, food and fuel prices, climate anxieties and concerns about civil liberties or perceived assaults on democracy have not eased,” adds Todorovic.
 
The report also says that the increasing frequency of plots and attacks from Islamist groups and inspired individuals, as well as supporters of the far right and far left movements are among the factors driving the complex global landscape.

“A growing concern is the Islamist terrorism threat in Europe, with an increasing number of attacks or plots happening over the last 12 months,” the report notes. “Terrorist attacks jumped by 63% in the West with Europe most affected with attacks doubling to 67. At the same time, analysis shows there were more than 100 reported terrorism and right-wing extremist incidents during 2024, driven primarily by events in the US, followed by Germany.  Meanwhile, far-left extremists are targeting individuals or companies who they see as contributing negatively towards issues such as climate change or inequality.”