NU Online News Service, June 8, 12:53 p.m. EDT

The rising unrest throughout the Middle East and Africa, plus civil strife in parts of Europe and the continued threat of terrorism, mark this year's Terrorism and Political Violence Map from insurance broker Aon.

The map, which is in its 10^th year, is a snapshot highlighting the threats multinational businesses need to concern themselves with when dealing with foreign locations, says Neil Henderson, head of terrorism in Aon Risk Solutions' Crisis Management team.

Henderson says the aim of the map, as it has always been, is to help multinational companies “make informed decisions” in their operations overseas.

This year's map, Henderson says, reflects the political upheavals in the Middle East and North Africa as the people are turning in open revolt against the autocratic rule that has permeated the region for decades. Also, the risk of coup d'etat and rebellions in Africa “reflect a continent that presents a significant political-violence risk.”

The map shows the civil unrest and labor disputes arising from austerity measures in Western European nations such as Greece, France, Spain and the United Kingdom.

Aon notes that 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,” Aon says.

The map covers three major perils:

• Terrorism and sabotage.

• Strikes, riots, civil commotion and malicious damage to property.

• Political insurrection, revolution, rebellion, mutiny, coup d'etat, war and civil war.

Paying attention to these perils, Aon has developed from existing coverages three insurance packages to cover the terrorism and political-violence risk. The three packages range from terrorism and sabotage to a comprehensive bundle that includes acts of political upheaval and war.

Noting the recent upheavals in the Middle East and North Africa, Henderson notes, “The landscape [of political risk] can change and change fairly rapidly.”

What he believes the map accomplishes is to relay to clients the atmosphere that the brokers see, and that will help them to “purchase the right insurance products to protect their assets,” Henderson says.

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