Advertise on podcast: The Political Risk Podcast

Alexander Beaton, practice leader for kidnap, war and piracy at CFC, discusses the return of Somali piracy and why the threat never really disappeared. The episode explores how regional instability, reduced deterrence and stretched naval resources have created space for piracy to re-emerge in the Gulf of Aden. He also examines what recent hijackings reveal about pirate capabilities, how the Somali model differs from piracy elsewhere, and whether marine insurance should rethink its response to piracy, maritime insecurity and hybrid warfare.

Dan Trueman, CEO of Nostos, joins this bonus episode to discuss why the traditional boundaries between cyber, political violence and other crisis risks are becoming increasingly artificial. The episode explores how malicious actors can move between cyber attack, sabotage and physical violence, while insurance products remain divided into separate silos. Trueman also explains how a multi-class approach to crisis management, combined with better data, technology and claims response, could change the way insurers protect clients against an increasingly interconnected threat landscape. That's why it's the perfect crossover between this podcast and its new sister show, The Cyber Insurance Podcast.

Benjamin Mugisha, chief underwriting officer at ATIDI argues that while political, sovereign and credit risks are real, investor perceptions and pricing can sometimes run ahead of underlying experience. He explains how political risk insurance and reinsurance can help turn those risks into investable opportunities and mobilise private capital. The episode also explores debt sustainability, financing for infrastructure and renewable energy projects, Africa’s changing financial architecture, and how geopolitical disruption is reshaping trade, investment and the continent’s push for greater economic self-sufficiency.

Introducing The Cyber Insurance Podcast. Scott Bailey, head of global cyber underwriting at CFC, discusses why SMEs could represent the biggest growth opportunity for the cyber market. With cyber insurance take-up still much lower among smaller businesses than large corporates, Bailey explores what insurers and brokers need to do to close the protection gap and better communicate the value of cover. The episode also looks at ransomware, softer market conditions, and CFC’s bold move to introduce clearer affirmative AI protection as businesses increasingly adopt AI tools and new risks emerge. Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/0347MrIllTUQ9N56HjgE25 Apple https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-cyber-insurance-podcast/id6805386204 YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@CyberInsurancePod Web https://www.cyberinsurancepodcast.com/

Mike O’Connor, co-founder and chief commercial officer at Crux Underwriting, joins for a conversation that is at turns insightful, deeply personal, strategic and technology focused. He explores why terrorism can act as a diversifier within a wider political violence portfolio, what that means for optimising capital and reinsurance, and how Crux, as an MGA in the political violence and terrorism insurance business, is using technology to change the way terrorism risks are distributed and underwritten. O’Connor also looks at how far specialty insurance can realistically be automated, and where Crux plans to take its innovative model next.

David Flandro, head of industry analysis and strategic advisory at Howden Re, discusses a growing reinsurance paradox: global risk is rising, but prices are falling. The episode was recorded as re/insurance executives headed to Monte Carlo for RVS 2026. The conversation explores what geopolitical instability, higher interest rates and the cost of capital mean for the market, whether Middle East losses could prove market-changing, and what combination of shocks it might take to turn the reinsurance cycle. Flandro also explains why geopolitics is becoming increasingly important to the way insurers and reinsurers analyse risk. And you can find Howden Re's "Breaking the glass" report, which we discuss in this episode, right here: https://www.howdenre.com/news-insights/howden-re-releases-breaking-glass

Chris Jarvis, group chief underwriting officer at IGI, discusses the reset taking place in political violence insurance. With geopolitical instability and conflict in the Middle East testing underwriting assumptions, Jarvis explains how IGI is adjusting pricing, line sizes, aggregation and capacity across its global portfolio. The discussion explores whether affordability is creating gaps in political violence cover, why IGI sees greater value in some areas of treaty reinsurance than the direct market, and whether political violence insurance can deliver sustainable returns.

Almost three years on from the October 7 terrorist attacks, Israel has fought across multiple fronts, from Gaza and Lebanon to direct confrontation with Iran. Amiad Cohen, CEO of The Herut Center, argues that Israel has substantially reduced the military threats surrounding it, outperforming pre-war expectations through a strategy he calls “peace through strength”. He discusses whether Israel’s wars are really over, the continuing threat from Iran and tensions around the Strait of Hormuz, the security outlook in Gaza and Lebanon, relations with the US and Europe, and what the changing geopolitical landscape means for businesses and insurers.

Sub-Saharan Africa’s government financing landscape has been transformed by credit markets, changing geopolitics, and new sources of capital. This special episode, produced in association with Mosaic Insurance, features Katharine Villers, political risk underwriter and head of commercial finance at Mosaic, and Nick James, director, structured finance at ICBC Standard Bank. They explore how the continent’s financing system has evolved, the changing geopolitics of capital, and the role that banks and insurers are playing in supporting investment and development.

How can political violence and terrorism insurers turn recent events into better underwriting insights? Recorded live at Lloyd’s during Verisk’s “Insuring Political Violence, SRCC, and Terrorism Forum”, this special episode brings together Alex Baker of Chaucer, Guy Burrows of Inigo and Torbjorn Soltvedt of Verisk Maplecroft. The panel explores the underwriting lessons emerging from recent geopolitical events, including the 2026 Iran war, changing targeting patterns and the sparks that can trigger strikes, riots and civil commotion. The discussion also examines data quality, predictive modelling, portfolio resilience, hybrid conflict, claims information and the tools underwriters need to navigate an increasingly complex political violence landscape.

Strikes, riots and civil commotion (SRCC) have moved from the margins of property and political violence portfolios into sharper focus for insurers and their reinsurers. This special episode with Lockton Re features senior catastrophe modeller George Wragg and consultant Paul Upton, along with Blackthorn head of advisory Jerry Smith. They discuss why the SRCC threat is important, the sociopolitical forces driving social unrest, how SRCC losses can accumulate across insurer portfolios, and the serious data and analytics challenges that face the early attempts at SRCC catastrophe risk modelling.

Forecasting phenomenon Dr John Hulsman returns to the podcast. John has made a name for himself as a pre-eminent predictor of geopolitical risk in the multipolar era. He prides himself on his ‘call record’, beating those of his rivals. We discuss Trump’s deal with Iran, the balance of power in the Middle East, political risk forecasting at the halfway point of 2026, the use of war gaming as a tool for corporate decision-makers, and the wider implications of deal-making, alliances and governance in a multipolar world. President and managing partner of John C Hulsman Enterprises, John is a leading foreign policy analyst, forecaster and geopolitics consultant for corporations and governments around the world. He is author of more than a dozen other books, including his most recent “The Last Best Hope: A History of American Realism”. He previously served as fellow in European policy studies at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. He was a senior research fellow in geopolitics and foreign policy at the Heritage Foundation, and he is a life member of the US Council on Foreign Relations.

Credit and political risk insurance has become a critical tool for mobilising capital into complex markets, supporting trade, investment and development finance through a period of heightened geopolitical and credit uncertainty. In this episode, Rafael Docavo-Malvezzi, global chief underwriting officer, political risk credit and bond at AXA XL, discusses the credit cycle, underwriting challenges, development finance and the role of the private market in supporting global investment. He also reflects on his career across risk management, economics and insurance, as well as his role as vice president of the Berne Union.

Geopolitical risk is putting global supply chains under renewed pressure, with the Strait of Hormuz crisis adding to existing concerns around trade disruption, tariffs and fragile logistics networks. Alec Russell, managing director, cargo for Arthur J Gallagher International, and Alex Vile, associate consultant, threat intelligence at AnotherDay, a Gallagher company, discuss how organisations are responding to supply chain risk in theory and practice. The conversation explores the immediate impact of Gulf tensions, the structural weaknesses exposed by recent disruption, and the role of insurance, crisis consulting and threat intelligence in building resilience. With nine-in-ten businesses experiencing a supply chain loss, this special episode, produced in association with Gallagher Specialty, examines what companies can do to prepare for the next crisis.

War in the Gulf in 2026 is a defining event for political violence. Underwriters face unprecedented claims activity, with individual Iranian missile and drone strikes accounting for hundreds of millions of dollars in damage, together representing more insured financial loss in just a few weeks than several years of the Russo-Ukrainian war. Sandy Warne of Sukoon, Dan Callow of Starr, and Cosmo Warner of Price Forbes together discuss market reactions, capacity and pricing dynamics, regional exposure concerns and a rapidly evolving risk environment – as well as what’s likely covered or excluded by policies bought before the conflict. The conversation is a shortened audio version of a recent webinar hosted by Global Reinsurance, which was named “Reinsurance in a Time of Escalating Tension”, available here. https://www.globalreinsurance.com/dwic-webinars/webinar-reinsurance-in-a-time-of-escalating-tension/1458331.article