At the 20-year mark, Zurich’s Credit & Political Risk program has surpassed $934 million in paid claims to our business customers. While that sum attests to Zurich’s strength as a global market leader in this space, it does not suggest that the world has grown safer since our last claims update in 2015.

Terrorists strike with alarming regularity. Civil war flares in parts of Ukraine, Syria, Yemen and Afghanistan. Rogue nations, notably North Korea, threaten their neighbors with intercontinental ballistic missiles. Even a once relatively stable country, Turkey, is reeling from a failed coup attempt, ethnic unrest and a flood of war and economic refugees.

Global turmoil affects businesses both directly and indirectly today. The refugee crisis in Europe has been just one factor contributing to economic dislocation, growing income disparity and a rise in anti-globalism. Those currents, in turn, fueled Brexit and the election of populist leaders who are challenging not only the value of the EU but also the value of international trade agreements in general. All of this translates into a risk of higher trade barriers, such as tariffs and embargoes.

Meanwhile, although many commodity prices have ticked up with global economic growth, the commodity price trough (especially for oil) for the past three years distresses natural resource companies and countries alike. Zurich has seen a number of claims — particularly in emerging markets, but also in the U.S. — in which the underlying cause was prolonged low prices for oil, minerals or crops. A number of foreign governments and once-respected state-owned oil companies are now struggling to meet their obligations.

The same could be said for many retailers in the U.S. and Canada, some of whom are suffering from a combination of overbuilding and the trend toward online shopping. Even as anti-globalist movements percolate, ours is an increasingly interconnected world, one in which crop failures caused by drought in North America can contribute to the downfall of long-established governments in the Middle East and Africa. Likewise, cyber attacks by increasingly sophisticated hackers in Eastern Europe can cripple a state-owned bank in South Asia.

What do cyber attacks have to do with political risk? They become a risk multiplier in cities and industries increasingly vulnerable to disruptions by forces in faraway places. In such a world, businesses seek to protect themselves not only from the apparent and immediate risks, but also the obscure and distant ones.

Zurich helps customers identify exposures related to geopolitical and financial turmoil, using resources such as the Zurich Risk Room. Then we help mitigate those exposures through Political Risk and Trade Credit Insurance products. Here’s a look at how those products have delivered for our customers.

A Closer Look at Selected Paid Claims

Honduras: $5.6 million under Expropriation

苏黎世向金融服务公司发出股权保险单，涵盖与本公司外国企业的运营有关的曝光。被保险人的外国企业委员会诉诸企业的客户。当地法院裁定原告，并授予被保险人被认为是过度损害的内容。被保险人吸引了裁决。当地法院冻结了被保险人的银行账户。然后，当地法庭命令被保险人在全额授予赔偿金额作为扣押/冻结银行账户的批判后提交认证支票。被保险人遵守，但法院拒绝发布所附的账目或退回认证检查，导致保险人有效地提供判决金额的两倍。虽然上诉正在等待，地方法院向未被保险人的被保险人的被保险人的账户账户支付资金。根据该政策的条款，保险人在征收危险下赔偿了560万美元。

加拿大：贸易信贷下770,000美元

Zurich issued a short-term multi-buyer Trade Credit policy for sales made by the Insured, a manufacturer, to a chain of retail jeans stores. During the policy period, the denim retailer sought protection under Canada’s bankruptcy law. In 2017, the Insured was indemnified approximately $770,000 for losses associated with unpaid invoices spanning four months, covering goods shipped from the Insured to the retailer.

Australia: $10.4 million under Trade Credit

The Insured, a mining services company, entered into a services contract with a buyer. The buyer later filed for bankruptcy protection, defaulting on several payments to the Insured for services already rendered. The Insured filed a claim under the trades receivable provision of its Zurich policy and in 2016 was indemnified approximately $10.4 million.

印度尼西亚: $34 million under Trade Credit

Zurich insured two loans extended by a couple of foreign financial institutions to a natural resources group in Indonesia. Later, the group experienced financial difficulties due to low commodity prices and missed several payments. The Insureds made claims under Trade Credit policies. The full limit of the policies was paid to the Insureds in 2015.

Yemen: $31 million under Forced Abandonment

Zurich issued a multi-country Political Risk policy to a large participant in the global energy sector for losses caused by, among other things, political violence, forced abandonment and deprivation. When hostilities broke out in Yemen, the Insured had significant assets in the country and suffered losses from government destabilization and the increasing violence, which forced an evacuation of its personnel. In 2015, the customer filed a claim under the Forced Abandonment peril and was indemnified approximately $31 million.

委内瑞拉：货币不可抗拒的650万美元

The Insured was a U.S.-based manufacturer and distributor of personal care products with subsidiaries in various countries. Zurich issued a policy covering the Insured’s equity exposures in several of those countries. The Insured was unable to convert the dividend owed by its foreign enterprise in Venezuela and in 2014 was indemnified approximately $6.5 million under its Currency Inconvertibility coverage.

乌克兰: $25 million under Political Violence

Hostilities in eastern Ukraine have generated many types of claims in the political risk market. In 2014, one of Zurich’s customers in the consumer products sector suffered severe damage to a facility in the Donetsk region. The facility was ultimately destroyed by the warring factions, resulting in a total loss of the property. The customer filed a claim under the Zurich-led syndicated Political Risk policy and was indemnified approximately $25 million.

Russia: $46 million under Arbitration Award Default

苏黎世为项目部门的投资者提供了仲裁裁决违约（AAD）覆盖范围，该项目依赖于俄罗斯国有企业（SOE）的付款。SOE违反了合同下的义务，随后未能遵守反对其的仲裁裁决。该客户根据其政治风险政策的AAD危险提出了索赔，并于2014年被苏黎世和Coinsurer赔偿了4600万美元。