Political violence risks are moving to the top of many global companies’ agendas. High profile crises spanned the spectrum of insurable political violence risks in 2014: our findings this year suggest 2015 is liable to see similar instability, with heightened terrorism, war, and civil unrest risks present in many regions, including among the developed economies.
From the surprise offensive in Iraq and Syria by the group that now calls itself Islamic State, to Russia’s seizure of Crimea and civil war in Ukraine, to civil unrest in the U.S., our findings show that political violence risks are as relevant to developed economies as the emerging markets. They show that in a hyper-connected world, faraway problems can affect local threats and political violence can escalate and spread rapidly with little warning.