Skip to main content
The Actuary: The magazine of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries - return to the homepage Logo of The Actuary website
  • Search
  • Visit The Actuary Magazine on Facebook
  • Visit The Actuary Magazine on LinkedIn
  • Visit @TheActuaryMag on Twitter
Visit the website of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries Logo of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries

Main navigation

  • News
  • Features
    • General Features
    • Interviews
    • Students
    • Opinion
  • Topics
  • Knowledge
    • Business Skills
    • Careers
    • Events
    • Predictions by The Actuary
    • Whitepapers
    • Moody's - Climate Risk Insurers series
    • Webinars
    • Podcasts
  • Jobs
  • IFoA
    • CEO Comment
    • IFoA News
    • People & Social News
    • President Comment
  • Archive
Quick links:
  • Home
  • The Actuary Issues
  • April 2012
04

Global firms must stay on top of risk, says Aon

Open-access content Wednesday 25th April 2012 — updated 5.13pm, Wednesday 29th April 2020

The continued effects of the global economic crisis were the main factor influencing Aon Risk Solutions’ decision to downgrade 37 countries in its 2012 Terrorism and Political Violence Map yesterday.

2

Civil unrest, riots, strikes and student protects seen across Europe as austerity measures and spending cuts took hold led to 43 of the downgrades in the map. The UK, France, Germany, Italy, Portugal and Spain were all downgraded from low risk to medium risk.  The map assigns each country a threat level stating at negligible and rising through low, medium, high and severe.

At the same time, dramatic political change in the Arab world caused aftershocks in the region and beyond. Authoritarian governments in Africa and Asia took measures to protect themselves from similar challenges as civil unrest, property damage and localised protests continued in the Middle East and North Africa.

Almost half (46%) of countries were assessed to posses the risk of a terrorist incident. While Osama Bin Laden's death signified the decline of a truly globalised radical Islamist terrorism capability, Aon said regionally active groups continue to be inspired by al-Qaida's ideology.

Africa showed the most dramatic shift in terrorism threat over the past year, with six African countries having their rating downgraded. In particular, Senegal received a double-downgrade from low to high risk.

Neil Henderson, head of terrorism in Aon Risk Solutions' crisis management practice, said the changes to the map showed companies operating globally had to keep up to date with potential risks to protect their employees, assets and bottom line.

'Businesses need to identify the threats they face and implement a comprehensive risk management programme to protect themselves,' he said. 'As the insurance market for political violence is very mature and can cope with complex international risks, it should be considered as part of a business' sound risk management program.'

This article appeared in our April 2012 issue of The Actuary .
Click here to view this issue

You may also be interested in...

2

FTSE Global 100 pension deficit hits €300bn

Falling bond yields and ongoing economic and financial challenges meant that the combined pension deficit of Europe’s largest companies reached €300bn last month, LCP said yesterday.
Tuesday 24th April 2012
Open-access content
ta

79% of Islamic finance bodies set up risk departments

Almost 80% of Islamic financial institutions have set up a risk department in the past five years, according to research carried out by Deloitte.
Thursday 26th April 2012
Open-access content
2

Eurozone crisis 'offers mixed picture' for risk transfer

Pension schemes need to act quickly to seize opportunities for annuity buy-ins provided by the eurozone crisis, Towers Watson said today.
Tuesday 24th April 2012
Open-access content
2

European regulation must strike balance, says FSA chair

Financial regulation in Europe must strike a balance between more integration in some areas and strong national powers in others, the chairman of the Financial Services Authority, Lord Adair Turner, said today.
Friday 27th April 2012
Open-access content
ta

ERM reviews needed to address innovation risks, says WEF

Banks and insurers should review and adapt their enterprise risk management to address the risk and uncertainties introduced by financial innovation, the World Economic Forum said yesterday.
Friday 27th April 2012
Open-access content
2

Governments must address longevity risk, says IMF

The International Monetary Fund has called on governments to do more to address longevity risk, after revealing that if average life spans by 2050 were to increase by three years more than expected, it would add 50% to the ‘already large’ cost of ageing.
Thursday 12th April 2012
Open-access content

Latest from Global

rdth

Make My Money Matter's Tony Burdon on the practical power of sustainable pensions

Years working in international development showed Tony Burdon, head of Make My Money Matter, that sustainable pensions can harness trillions of pounds to build a better world – at a scale governments and charities can’t. He talks to Travis Elsum
Wednesday 1st March 2023
Open-access content
ULH

Growth of the profession in Zambia

One of only three Fellows in Zambia, Mulenga C Mutati anticipates exciting growth in the country’s actuarial sector
Wednesday 1st February 2023
Open-access content
cj

Natural capital investing

Chris Howells and Andrew Dreaneen discuss how today’s investments in natural capital profit portfolios as well as the planet and humanity
Wednesday 1st February 2023
Open-access content

Latest from April 2012

2

Pensions funding statement: reaction and responses

The publication of the Pensions Regulator’s first annual funding statement has already elicited a considerable response from actuaries and others involved in the pensions industry.
Friday 27th April 2012
Open-access content
2

FSA tightens up rules for pension TVAs

The Financial Services Authority has published new rules and guidance which aim to reduce the number of transfers from defined benefit pension schemes to personal pensions.
Friday 27th April 2012
Open-access content
2

Struggling schemes 'will get breathing space to fill deficits'

Most defined benefit schemes should be able to meet their pension promises to members with little or no change to their present deficit recovery plans, but ‘struggling’ schemes will be given ‘breathing space’ to fill deficits, the Pensions Regulator said today.
Friday 27th April 2012
Open-access content

Latest from formbuilder_item_removed

2

Implementing IFRS 17 Discount Curves: Theoretical and Practical Challenges

The International Financial Reporting Standard (IFRS) 17 requires liability cash flows to be discounted at rates that reflect the characteristics of the cash flows, including their liquidity
Tuesday 3rd September 2019
Open-access content
2

Profit Emergence Under IFRS 9 and IFRS 17: The impact of choice of liability discount rate

With the IFRS 17 accounting standard, insurers need to understand the patterns of profit emergence that arise under the standard, and how current business and methodology decisions affect such patterns.
Wednesday 10th July 2019
Open-access content
2

Whitepaper: Aggregation and diversification of the IFRS 17 Risk Adjustment

This paper forms part of a series of high-level papers designed to provide an introduction to different features of the risk adjustment that should be considered in advance of implementation.
Tuesday 29th January 2019
Open-access content

Latest from 04

2

Pensions funding statement: reaction and responses

The publication of the Pensions Regulator’s first annual funding statement has already elicited a considerable response from actuaries and others involved in the pensions industry.
Friday 27th April 2012
Open-access content
2

FSA tightens up rules for pension TVAs

The Financial Services Authority has published new rules and guidance which aim to reduce the number of transfers from defined benefit pension schemes to personal pensions.
Friday 27th April 2012
Open-access content
2

Struggling schemes 'will get breathing space to fill deficits'

Most defined benefit schemes should be able to meet their pension promises to members with little or no change to their present deficit recovery plans, but ‘struggling’ schemes will be given ‘breathing space’ to fill deficits, the Pensions Regulator said today.
Friday 27th April 2012
Open-access content
Share
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Linked in
  • Mail
  • Print

Latest Jobs

BPA Transition Manager

London, England / Edinburgh, Scotland
£45000 - £65000 per annum + market leading bonus and benefits
Reference
148878

London Market Pricing Contracts - Inside & Outside IR35

London (Central)
£1000 - £1300 per day
Reference
148877

SME Pricing Director

London (Central), London (Greater)
£225K + bonus + benefits
Reference
148872
See all jobs »
 
 
 
 

Sign up to our newsletter

News, jobs and updates

Sign up

Subscribe to The Actuary

Receive the print edition straight to your door

Subscribe
Spread-iPad-slantB-june.png

Topics

  • Data Science
  • Investment
  • Risk & ERM
  • Pensions
  • Environment
  • Soft skills
  • General Insurance
  • Regulation Standards
  • Health care
  • Technology
  • Reinsurance
  • Global
  • Life insurance
​
FOLLOW US
The Actuary on LinkedIn
@TheActuaryMag on Twitter
Facebook: The Actuary Magazine
CONTACT US
The Actuary
Tel: (+44) 020 7880 6200
​

IFoA

About IFoA
Become an actuary
IFoA Events
About membership

Information

Privacy Policy
Terms & Conditions
Cookie Policy
Think Green

Get in touch

Contact us
Advertise with us
Subscribe to The Actuary Magazine
Contribute

The Actuary Jobs

Actuarial job search
Pensions jobs
General insurance jobs
Solvency II jobs

© 2023 The Actuary. The Actuary is published on behalf of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries by Redactive Publishing Limited. All rights reserved. Reproduction of any part is not allowed without written permission.

Redactive Media Group Ltd, 71-75 Shelton Street, London WC2H 9JQ