LONDON:
Willis Towers Watson, a leading global advisory, broking and solutions company has launched a unique political risk insurance programme supported with over $1bn of market capacity.
The ever-shifting political environment is demanding a new and innovative approach to how this coverage is currently provided. In conjunction with a select panel of highly rated global insurers, Willis Towers Watson has developed a market-leading, comprehensive and clear policy wording to respond to the needs of its clients. The new programme is targeted at large global clients who may have existing assets or are considering future investments overseas.
The programme is supported by an innovative and unique modelling and analytical tool – VAPOR (Value at Political Risk), developed in partnership with Oxford Analytica, – which translates geopolitical risk assessments into actionable analysis, based on our proprietary VAPOR algorithm. This analytical tool enables companies to assess and calculate the financial implications of political risks regionally, globally, by industry sector and over time.
Andrew van den Born, Managing Director of Financial Solutions at Willis Towers Watson said “The geopolitical landscape remains extremely volatile and inherently difficult to predict. The rise of populism along with the spread of protectionist agendas and the decline of multilateralism across both emerging markets and in the developed world, represent a significant threat to global trade. The risks that evolve from these political dynamics can have a potential catastrophic impact on our clients’ investments. The combination of our cutting-edge risk data analytics and the facilities’ programme’s market leading coverage capabilities will better enable our clients to make more informed investment decisions and allow them to plan and grow their business with confidence in an increasingly unstable environment.”
VAPOR is designed to anticipate where unexpected market exposure will emerge, and where headline risk may conceal opportunities for well-prepared organisations. VAPOR provides global corporations and investors with a relative measure of political risk across 160+ countries, against a suite of 6 political risks and across 14 industry sectors.
Alastair Swift, Head of Corporate Risk and Broking, GB at Willis Towers Watson, said “Geopolitical risk is an increasing concern to our clients who are seeking new ways to assess and mitigate these risks. Additionally, there is increasing demand from corporate shareholders, investors and lenders for companies to articulate transparently their strategy to manage these exposures. To meet these requirements, a consistent and vigorous risk quantification methodology and thorough evaluation of available risk transfer opportunities will be needed. This programme is specifically directed towards meeting these demands.”