According to this leading global company for risk management, political violence, strikes, uprising, civil war and wars pose a threat to the sustainable development, continuity and profitability of companies to the same extent as terrorism.
Aon's 2011 Terrorism & Political Violence Map shows a growing risk of political violence in the Middle East and North Africa, as a reflection of large-scale unrest in the region during the "Arab Spring".
The map, available on the http://www.aon.com/terrorismmap, puts Croatia among countries of negligible risk, while neighbouring Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia are among countries of moderate risk.
Neil Henderson, head of terrorism in Aon Risk Solutions' Crisis Management team, was quoted as saying that "while the attacks of September 11 were the genesis for the Aon Terrorism Threat Map, the issues that should be of most concern to people and businesses have evolved greatly in the nearly 10 years since."
"While terrorism remains a very real threat around the world, the reality is that threats to business continuity are also coming from political violence in all its many forms. The change in the way the map is scored should not be seen as a decrease in the incidence or severity of terrorist threats, but rather the fact that it provides businesses with a more inclusive view of some of the risk management issues they are facing around the world.
"Businesses should, as a first step, identify the threats they face and implement a comprehensive risk management program to protect their employees, physical assets and ultimately, their bottom line. As the insurance market for terrorism insurance is very mature and can cope with complex international risks, it should be considered as part of a sound risk management program," he said.