WTW review underlines escalating PVT risk landscape

By Rebecca Delaney

Feb 28 - (The Insurer) - Rising populism and socioeconomic tensions are expected to drive continued violence and unrest in Europe over the next year, WTW's crisis management annual review said, prompting demand for political violence and terrorism coverage for properties and businesses.

According to the review, 26% of all incidents reported to Willis' in-house risk advisory and crisis support service last year were related to threats against individuals or client assets.

This was followed by emergency political repatriations of employees or family members and kidnaps for ransom (both 21%).

Organised crime continued to be pervasive in Latin America, with sophisticated criminal enterprises infiltrating political structures to destabilise democratic institutions.

The review noted a "surge" in kidnapping, in particular express kidnappings, with notifications to WTW's crisis support team for this type of incident originating in Brazil, Colombia and Mexico.

Latin America accounted for 24% of incidents reported to the Alert:24 service in 2024, more than doubling from 13% in 2023.

Notably, Haiti accounted for approximately 20% of the events in Latin America, having not registered any incidents during the previous year.

Europe saw a reduction of total incidents from 14% to 8%, while Africa led the tally with 27% of total incidents reported to Alert:24. All of them were located in Sub-Saharan Africa, with no single country accounting for a disproportionate share.

TERRORISM AND GEOPOLITICAL RISKS

The record year of elections saw incumbents in many democracies face significant declines in vote share, with nearly 80% losing ground compared to previous elections. This led to significant protest activity and political turmoil in both democratic and authoritarian countries.

For 2025, WTW anticipates that rising populism, divisive rhetoric and socioeconomic tensions will drive continued violence and unrest in Europe.

The security agenda will remain dominated by terrorism threats and geopolitical challenges, with WTW projecting that terrorism in North America and Europe will likely continue to stem from lone-wolf actors inspired by online radical ideologies and involving low-sophistication techniques.

In the U.S., growing social tensions are fuelling civil unrest and political violence, with the number of active assailant attacks remaining higher than the pre-COVID average, and continued prevalence of workplace violence and mass shootings.

"Recent events, notably the attack on UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, have thrust the security concerns of corporate executives into the spotlight," said the review.

"The incident has re-energized the debate around the health insurance market in the U.S., which has translated into escalated threats, harassment, and potential acts of violence not only against those in that sector, but wider ‘Corporate America’ and industry abroad, highlighting the urgent need for companies to address a range of new and evolving security concerns."

Analysis by The Insurer last month found that the UnitedHealthcare shooting had prompted insurance companies to reconsider their spending on security, which previously varied widely across the industry.

Reviewing relevant insurance coverage for executives and the wider workforce includes key person insurance, active assailant coverage, corporate benefits, business travel accident insurance, kidnap for ransom insurance and employers' liability cover.