Businesses fear civil unrest: Allianz

Civil unrest or strikes, riots and civil commotion is the political risk and violence exposure that businesses fear most, according to a report issued Wednesday by Allianz Commercial.

The report said 51% of global respondents to the Allianz Risk Barometer 2025 ranked civil unrest and riots as the political violence exposure of most concern.

Civil unrest also ranked as the top concern in the U.S. and countries such as Colombia, France, South Africa, and the United Kingdom. This reflects the fact that incidents around the world continue to increase and are lasting longer, Allianz said.

Since 2017, there have been more than 800 significant anti-government protests in over 150 countries, with more than 160 significant events occurring during 2024, according to the report.

Some 18% of the protests lasted more than three months, it said.

In the top 20 countries for frequency of protest and riot activity around the world during 2024, there were more than 80,000 incidents, based on Allianz research.

Businesses are expected to face further challenges from civil unrest in 2025 and beyond.

“Companies are having to deal with this new normal of increasing anti-social behavior and protect activity where events can last for longer and more hostile activism is to be expected,” the report said.

Insurers have seen this peril increase in frequency and severity over the last six years in particular, Srdjan Todorovic, head of political violence and hostile environment solutions, Allianz Commercial, said in the report.

“For example, the SRCC peril, and 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 $10 billion over the past decade, surpassing other levels of political violence and terrorism insurance claims,” Mr. Todorovic said.

In certain hotspot territories, losses can rival or surpass those from natural catastrophes, but in others, although the direct impact can be minor, events can still have long-lasting changes in the societies they affect, he said.

Unlike perils such as flood or windstorm, the unpredictability of the size, location, and length of civil unrest incidents makes it difficult for businesses to mitigate losses and build contingency and business continuity plans, the report said.