According to the company’s report, published by The Insurer, a Reuters news service specialized in the insurance sector, political polarization, economic pressures, and the increasing power of social media are leading to a rise in protests that have already steadily escalated over the past two years.
The research indicated that commercial properties are increasingly being targeted during protests, resulting in significant insurance claims due to business disruptions and losses amounting to hundreds of millions of dollars from damages.
Five major economies are facing most of the unrest due to economic pressures, inequality, and debates over immigration. France witnessed the largest surge in unrest across Europe, with about 195,000 people organizing protests in 240 locations at the beginning of October over proposed government spending cuts.
In the UK and Germany, protests related to immigration demonstrations involved more than 100,000 people, while similar protests occurred in Spain and the Netherlands. The volume of protests also increased in the United States, where the country saw the largest rise in protest numbers from an average of 172,000 participants in late 2024 to 696,000 participants by the end of this year.
This year’s activity was more intense than the period leading up to the ‘Black Lives Matter’ protests in 2020, which resulted in three billion dollars in insured losses, according to the report. Recent riots in Indonesia and Nepal have turned violent, causing significant property damage.
Insured losses from the riots in Indonesia in August are expected to exceed 50 million dollars, while losses in Nepal are expected to be similar to those resulting from the 2015 earthquake, which exceeded 200 million dollars.
