U.S. underwriter raises concern on business risks in Nigeria, others

By Kingsley Jeremiah, Abuja

A U.S. insurance firm, Clements Worldwide, has raised concern over the impacts of political trends, terrorism, currency fluctuation, and other business-related risks across Africa, particularly in Nigeria.
Marketing Communications Manager for the firm, Patricia Loria, told The Guardian in Abuja that
risks associated with political violence and disruptions from elections as well as terrorism were on the increase in places like Nigeria.
Nigeria recently recorded second lowest investment inflow in 10 years, with the country attracting a total investment of $908.27million in the first quarter (Q1) of 2017, compared to $1.55billion that the economy saw in Q4 2016.
Analysts had linked the situation to poor policies, growing security concern, and unfavourable business environment.
Indeed, while estimated 1.6 million people are displaced in Nigeria due to unrest, risk index by the insurance company, indicated that the situation could continue to worsen instability in ways that may be difficult to predict
Loria, who gave highlights of the 2018 risk index recently released by the organisation, said international organisations operating in Nigeria and other parts of the world have rated terrorism as top loss.
According to her, people are becoming more empowered to sue companies and that is happening across the world.
“Though this was limited to Western markets, now we are seeing multiple jurisdiction where multinationals are sued in operational bases across the world, Loria added.
In the risk index, professional and management liability moved to fourth highest loss with global spotlight on abuse, molestation, and sexual harassment as respondents forecast more incidents of political violence and disruptions from elections or political environment.
Loria however, noted that organisations could be expanding their businesses this year, as there were huge drop in the number of organisations planning to delay expansion.
She urged organisations to focus on separate insurance policies that would cover political violence and natural disasters.
Being the economic power house of the African continent, Loria said organisations in Nigeria must make sure they have the right protection
According to the index, global disasters cost the world about $306billion. This is almost double of the cost for 2016.
Natural disasters reportedly, moved to fourth highest loss, from 15th in the previous edition as U.S., China, and India lead the list of countries with the most costly disasters.