Terrorism and political violence present unique challenges to any company with a global footprint.

Understanding the human and commercial exposures is a key aspect of risk mitigation. Now in its fifth year, Aon’s Terrorism and Political Violence Map, continues to help business to closely consider and evaluate their exposures to these unique and complex risks.

Aon and Risk Advisory Group worked closely to deliver insightful analysis regarding the evolving threat posed by terrorism and political violence, with this year’s map informed by work on Terrorism Tracker throughout the past year, as well as insights from previous years.

“Political violence risks are already moving to the top of many global and multinational companies’ agendas,” explains Darlington Munhuwani, Regional Controller for Aon Sub-Sahara Africa.

Developed economies not immune

“High profile crises spanned the spectrum of insurable political violence risks in 2014: our findings this year suggest 2015 is likely to see similar instability, with heightened terrorism, war, and civil unrest risks present in many regions, including among the developed economies.”

“South Africa’s own recent struggle with xenophobic attacks very clearly demonstrated how events happening in South Africa had a serious and unexpected reaction and impact in other African countries, with multinational companies having to repatriate thousands of South Africans working in neighbouring countries due to threats of counter attacks,’’ says Darlington.

The Aon Terrorism and Political Violence Risk Map 2015, produced in partnership for the eighth year with Risk Advisory, is intended to help businesses understand and calibrate the current risk landscape.

The risk gap between the stable and the unstable is widening, with the highest levels of political violence risk contracting around a smaller number of countries.

There are 17 countries rated severe in 2015, with the largest cluster in Africa.

Key findings for Sub-Sahara Africa

• Two countries rated at increased risk: Lesotho and Tanzania.
• One country rated at decreased risk: Mozambique.
• 16 countries with high or severe risk ratings (42% of the region).
• 86% countries have civil commotion, strikes and unrest peril.
• Nearly 80% of all terrorist attacks in review period occurred in just two countries – Nigeria and Somalia.16 countries with Insurrection, Revolution, Rebellion, Mutiny, Coup d’Etat, Civil War and War peril (42% of region).

“While coverage is available across the region, the pricing of risks in sub-Saharan Africa tend to be high, due to the ‘arc of instability’ running across central Africa. Troubled states, lack of governance and porous borders mean increased exposure to acts of terrorism, civil unrest and political violence.

“In this region, risk mitigation is paramount and risk managers need to be cognisant of these underlying threats to their people, assets and operations. The solution for companies is a combination of risk mitigation strategies which are complemented by tailored risk transfer,” he concludes.