The Business Insurance Bureau

Terrorism Cover: COP26

With such a large scale event taking place in the heart of Glasgow, Terrorism Insurance can help your business be better prepared

What is COP26?

The Leaders of the World will be descending on Glasgow city centre from 31st October 2021 – 12th November 2021, to take part in the United Nations Climate Change Conference to discuss how to tackle the issues arising through climate change across the globe. 

It has been described by the organisers as “the world’s best last chance to get runaway climate change under control”. 

The President of COP26 is the UK, which is why the event is being held in Glasgow. It will be the 26th Annual Summit. 

Coinciding with Halloween and Bonfire Night, Police Scotland have stated COP26 is the “biggest and most complex event ever staged in Glasgow”, with some 10,000 officers descending on the city to protect the public and those attending the event. 

 

Do I need Terrorism Insurance for COP26?

The MI5 has stated that the current Terrorism threat level in the UK is sitting at SUBSTANTIAL, meaning an attack is ‘likely’. With so many people high profile world leaders and political figures attending one event in one place, it brings about the unhappy conversation that an attack in the Glasgow and surrounding areas is also likely. 

Unlike COVID-19, Terrorism is something that you can get insurance cover for and is highly recommended for such an event as COP26. 

 

Why is Terrorism Cover important for my business?

Terrorism attacks have evolved over the last few decades, as we see more lone wolf attacks than ever before. Whilst this may not directly physically impact your property, it can still be affected by police cordons and exclusion zones, as well as loss of attraction which can cause a loss in income.

Terrorism cover is specifically beneficial for the Hospitality, Retail and Entertainment industries, however it can be just as important for manufacturing, service businesses and professionals, due to the unpredicted nature of an event, where it can take place and the size of the impact. 

This kind of cover can also be placed on specific locations for those who have multi-location premises throughout the UK, which would be a sensible thing to do when COP26 takes place. 

 

Get Terrorism Cover for your business

What are the UK Terrorism Threat Levels?

As it stands the MI5 have stated that the terrorism threat to the UK is SUBSTANTIAL.

These threat levels were designed to help people understand the possibility a terrorist attack.

  • LOW means an attack is highly unlikely
  • MODERATE means an attack is possible, but not likely
  • SUBSTANTIAL means an attack is likely
  • SEVERE means an attack is highly likely
  • CRITICAL means an attack is highly likely in the near future

Members of the public should always remain alert to the danger of terrorism and report any suspicious activity to the police on 999 or the anti-terrorist hotline: 0800 789 321. If your information does not relate to an imminent threat, you can also contact MI5.

What is Terrorism Insurance?

Acts of terrorism can take many different forms, but typically include bombing, assassination, hijacking or random killings. They are carried out by organisations for political rather than military purposes and by groups generally too weak to mount an open assault on a government or state.

In common with many other countries, the UK has had to live with the threat of terrorism for a number of years. In response to the threat from the IRA’s mainland bombing campaign in the early 1990’s, the Pool Reinsurance Company Limited (aka Pool Re) reinsurance facility was established in 1993 as a mutual re-insurance company to provide cover for property damage and business interruption losses following fire or explosion caused by terrorist acts.

Pool Re is owned by its member insurance companies writing business in the UK commercial property insurance market, with HM Treasury backing as reinsurer of last resort. 

Visit our page on Terrorism Insurance

Terrorism Insurance

"It wasn't until everyone was running past me that I realised what was going on..."

What is typically included in Terrorism Cover?

Primarily Terrorism Insurance typically covers: 

  • Physical Loss or damage to your property, following an act of terrorism or an act of sabotage. 
  • Business Interruption, following an act of terrorism, act of sabotage or malicious terrorist act. 

If you were to purchase a standalone terrorism policy from one of our insurance partners, some of them have included the following as part of the policy: 

  • Denial of Access and Loss of Attraction can be triggered by acts of terrorism that don’t result in physical damage; and
  • Brand Rehabilitation Expenses. 

There are also extensions that can be applied to the property damage cover, such as: 

  • damage caused during the containment, control or suppression of an act of terrorism;
  • increased costs of construction as a result of changes to building regulations.

Helpful Links

Police Scotland Advice for Residents and Businesses – Click to visit their advice page

UK Cop26 What is a COP?  – Click to visit

MI5 Threat Levels Explanation – Click to visit

NMU Terrorism Insurance – Click to Visit 

POOl Re Terrorism Insurance – Click to visit

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