Allianz has warned businesses to “move fast to protect your people and property” as political violence, strikes, riots and civil commotion rise around the world.

Incidents are increasing in number and duration, with more than 160 significant anti-government protests last year, the insurer says in a new report.

“Policy changes by governments will continue to be trigger factors ... as could any economic hardships that result from tariff wars,” it says.

“Companies need to adapt to volatile and uncertain geopolitical conditions to avoid negative surprises and mitigate risks.”

Unrest is a challenge for the insurance market because coverage “goes well beyond the political violence and terrorism class of business”, Allianz Commercial regional head of property Tim McGain says.

Protests connected to the Black Lives Matter movement and demonstrations in Chile, South Africa and France have “demonstrated yearly the potential severity and impact of this peril”, he says. Small and mid-size corporates and those exposed to multiple countries are seeking to offset these risks in a “true reflection of increasing concern”.

Head of political violence and hostile environment solutions Srdjan Todorovic said: “It would ... be negligent for large companies to not consider political violence and terrorism exposures in the same vein as they are considering the impact that natural catastrophes might have on their operations.

“Political violence perils need to be factored into business interruption, continuity and planning.”

Politics is “increasingly perceived as being dominated by populism and blame and division, geopolitics by nationalism and a changing world order, and economics by mismanagement, corruption and continually rising disparity between the ‘rich’ and the rest”, Mr Todorovic says.

Contributing factors such as inflation, wealth inequality, climate anxiety and concern about civil liberties or perceived assaults on democracy “have not eased”.

Allianz says almost all property classes offer some degree of strike, riot and civil commotion coverage.

Property policies may cover political violence claims, but insurers also offer coverage for strikes, riots and civil commotion via the specialist political violence market.