Businesses have ranked political risks and violence as a top 10 global risk for the third straight year, according to the Allianz Risk Barometer 2025, demonstrating that it has become a key concern for companies of all sizes. According to a new report from Allianz Commercial, civil unrest ranks as the biggest concern for more than 50% of company respondents globally, reflecting the fact that incidents are increasing and lasting longer.
Not including continuing 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 – with 18% of protests lasting more than three months.
Following the "super election year" in 2024, policy changes by governments will continue to be trigger factors for protests and flashpoints in many countries, 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. Companies need to adapt to volatile and uncertain geopolitical conditions to avoid negative surprises and mitigate risks.
Politics is increasingly perceived as being dominated by populism, blame and division, geopolitics by nationalism and a changing world order, and economics by mismanagement, corruption, and continually rising disparity between the rich and the rest. Political violence can affect businesses in many ways. In addition to endangering the safety of employees and customers, the violence can cause those in the immediate vicinity to suffer business interruption losses and material damage to property or assets.
Civil unrest now the major political violence concern
Businesses are more concerned about the disruptive impact of anti-social behavior on their operations than that of any other political violence and terrorism exposure. The impact of civil unrest or strikes, riots and civil commotion (SRCC) activity also ranks as the top concern in countries such as Colombia, France, South Africa, the U.K. and the U.S. Just 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 U.S., France, Germany, Türkiye and Spain among the hotspots, according to Allianz Research.
This view is shared by insurers, which have seen the SRCC peril increase in frequency and severity in recent years. Events, including riots in Chile and South Africa, have contributed to insured losses well in excess of $10 billion over the past decade, surpassing other levels of political violence and terrorism insurance claims. 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 societies.
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.
Religious and political terrorism on the rise
The increasing frequency of plots and attacks from Islamist groups and individuals, as well as supporters of 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.
Terrorist attacks jumped by 63% in the West, with Europe most affected, as attacks doubled 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 U.S., followed by Germany. Meanwhile, far-left extremists are targeting individuals or companies who they see as contributing to issues such as climate change and inequality.
Businesses need to be alive to the shapeshifting nature of political violence risk and protect their people and property by ensuring safe and robust business continuity planning is in place. Companies also need to review their insurance. Property policies may cover political violence claims in some cases, but specialist protection is also available. Businesses with multi-country exposures are showing a greater interest in political violence coverage, but there is also greater engagement from the small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) about these risks, a true reflection of increasing concern.
To read the Allianz Commercial Political Violence and Civil Unrest Trends report, click here.
