European firms lack terrorism cover, ACE report reveals

Less than 10% of European companies have comprehensive insurance cover for terrorism and political violence risks, a survey by ACE Group has revealed.

ACE, which has launched a new property product aimed at covering the gaps between traditional property, terrorism and political violence policies, found that almost one-quarter of respondents were either unaware of the potential gaps in their coverage, or unsure how to plug them.

ACE Shield will be available globally to clients with overseas exposures to protect against conventional property damage and business interruption as well as terror, political and social unrest perils including war.

ACE terrorism underwriting manager Piers Gregory said: “We have seen a dramatic increase in high profile acts of terrorism and more recently, the impact of widespread economic and political instability, including mass public demonstrations. This rise in political and economic uncertainty is challenging traditional cover which would have been provided by separate property and standalone terrorism covers.”

Gregory continued: “Social unrest is becoming a global phenomenon and recent events have forced clients to reassess their approach to the threat of terrorism and politically motivated civil unrest. ACE has been at the forefront in challenging the belief that traditional standalone terrorism cover provides the necessary protection. ACE Shield is our response to this, making cover available for the first time to protect our clients from a full range of political violence related perils combined with conventional all risk cover.”