Political unrest threat now equal to terrorism - Aon

Political violence, strikes, riots, civil war and war now threaten businesses' growth, continuity and profitability as much as terrorism, says Aon Risk Solutions.

The 2011 Aon Terrorism and Political Violence Map (click to download pdf), which takes these factors into account in assessing the severity of threats businesses face around the world, shows increased risk of political violence in the Middle East and North Africa, reflecting the Arab Spring uprisings in the region.

ARS added the risk of coup d’etat and rebellions in Africa reflect a continent that presents a significant political violence risk.

Civil unrest and labour disputes arising from austerity measures in Western European nations such as Greece, France, Spain and the UK are also reflected on the map.

Meanwhile, terrorism continues to severely afflict established conflict zones like Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Somalia as well as parts of Nigeria and the Sahel region. The threat of occasional acts of international terrorism remains significant for most Western nations and major powers.

Neil Henderson, head of terrorism in Aon Risk Solutions’ crisis management team, commented: “While terrorism remains a very real threat around the world, the reality is that threats to business continuity are also coming from political violence in all its many forms.

“Businesses should, as a first step, identify the threats they face and implement a comprehensive risk management program to protect their employees, physical assets and ultimately, their bottom line. As the insurance market for terrorism insurance is very mature and can cope with complex international risks, it should be considered as part of a sound risk management program.”

The map, produced by Aon in collaboration with security consultancy firm Janusian, shows country risk information for business travellers and assessment of the security situation in more than 200 countries.

Each country is assigned a threat level, starting at negligible, and rising through low, medium, high and severe.