The Middle East Insurance Landscape in 2026
Businesses with operations, assets, or interests in the Middle East face a highly varied risk environment. The region encompasses everything from stable Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states with sophisticated business environments to active conflict zones where conventional insurance is effectively unavailable.
Understanding what political violence insurance can and cannot do in this environment is essential for risk managers and CFOs.
What Political Violence Insurance Covers
Political violence (PV) insurance is a specialty product that covers physical damage to assets and business interruption losses caused by:
- War and civil war
- Insurrection, revolution, and rebellion
- Strikes and civil commotion
- Terrorism
- Sabotage
- Politically motivated riots
Standard commercial property insurance typically excludes all of these perils. Political violence insurance fills that gap.
What it does NOT typically cover:
- Nuclear, chemical, biological, or radiological (NCBR) terrorism (separate NBCR product required)
- Cyber attacks with political motivation (separate cyber-PV product required)
- Seizure or confiscation of assets by government (requires political risk — confiscation, expropriation, nationalization — coverage)
- Loss of contracts or revenue without a physical damage trigger (contingent BI requires specific structure)
Current Coverage Availability by Region
GCC (Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman): Coverage broadly available from London and regional markets. Competitive pricing for well-managed risks. Terrorism-only products are common and affordable.
Israel: Active war conditions as of 2024–2025 have dramatically affected the insurance market. Standard political violence coverage for Israeli assets written before conflict escalation has faced significant claim pressure. New business placement is limited and expensive. Businesses with existing Israeli exposures should verify current coverage status with their broker.
Lebanon: Coverage placement is extremely limited due to sustained political instability, economic collapse, and Hezbollah-related conflict risk. Placement that exists is typically short-term and high-premium.
Jordan: Generally available; Jordan maintains political stability relative to neighbors. Terrorism coverage is straightforward.
Iraq: Coverage available from specialist markets but with significant restrictions, high premiums, and careful underwriting of specific location, industry, and security arrangements.
Yemen: Active conflict makes placement effectively unavailable for meaningful assets in active conflict zones.
Iran: US sanctions preclude US-connected insurance for Iranian assets.
Business Interruption Under Political Violence
Physical damage from a PV event triggers the property damage coverage, but the business interruption component requires careful structuring.
BI coverage issues to watch:
- Trigger requirement: Does BI pay only after physical damage to your property, or does it also cover access denial (your premises are undamaged but you cannot access them due to nearby conflict or security perimeter)?
- Civil authority coverage: If a government authority closes your facility or restricts operations as part of a security response, does your policy respond?
- Supply chain: If a supplier's facility is damaged by PV events and your operation is disrupted, does your policy cover contingent BI?
These distinctions dramatically affect the value of your BI coverage in an active event.
Key Underwriting Information Required
To place political violence coverage in the Middle East, underwriters will require:
- Exact property address and GPS coordinates (not just city/country)
- Construction details and age of structure
- Nature of operations and industry
- Security measures in place (guards, barriers, surveillance)
- History of prior incidents at or near the location
- Proximity to military, government, or symbolic targets
The more precisely you can describe the risk, the better the coverage terms and pricing you will achieve.
Parametric Political Violence Products
For operations in regions where traditional coverage placement is difficult, parametric products are increasingly available. These pay a preset amount upon the occurrence of a defined political violence event — a conflict incident within a specified geographic radius, a government alert level change, or similar trigger — without requiring proof of physical damage.
Parametric products trade precision (you may receive more or less than your actual loss) for speed and certainty of payment. For businesses in volatile environments where the insurance process itself may be disrupted, this can be a meaningful advantage.
What to Do Before Your Next Renewal
For businesses with Middle East exposure:
- Verify that your current policy has not been conditionally endorsed to exclude active conflict zones
- Confirm your BI includes access denial and civil authority coverage
- Review whether your supplier locations are in covered territories
- Check whether any endorsements added at renewal changed your coverage without being clearly flagged
Contact our team for a political violence insurance review or to discuss new placement for Middle East operations.