The rise in civil unrest across Asia has led to significant insured losses in countries like Indonesia and Nepal in 2025, according to a new report from Allianz Commercial.
Allianz Research has tracked around 250 reported strikes, riots, and civil commotion (SRCC) events over the last five years with active participation exceeding 1,000 people and lasting for more than one day.
Pakistan experienced the most SRCC events with 11, followed by Indonesia. Other countries that experienced a high number of civil unrest in Asia include Nepal, Iran and India. Economic pressures, including cost-of-living issues, are fuelling protests and strikes worldwide, with citizens demanding better governance and economic reforms.
Most public protests around the world are peaceful, but significant insured losses occurred as a result of major unrest events in 2025. The Indonesian riots in August incurred over $50m in insured losses, while Nepal’s September protests could see insured losses higher than those caused by the catastrophic earthquake of 2015, which were more than $200m. Depending on the duration of the conflict in the Middle East, a heightened risk of SRCC activity is also to be expected, particularly in countries heavily reliant on Middle Eastern oil and gas or fertilizers.
Allianz Commercial Asia Senior Political Violence and Terrorism Underwriter Robert James said that the political violence landscape across Asia remains volatile, with civil unrest in countries such as Indonesia and Nepal, as well as domestic regional tensions including those between Pakistan and India, and Cambodia and Thailand.
“While some of these events have resulted in considerable losses, they generally have a limited impact on the overall political violence insurance market in the region due to their localised nature and minimal economic consequences. The real risk lies in the potential for these conflicts to escalate into full-scale wars between the respective nations,” he said.