U.S. citizens’ right to assemble and peacefully protest social, political and economic issues is a cornerstone of American democracy. However, recent years have shown that civil unrest events can quickly overshadow peaceful demonstrations on many fronts, leading to unique challenges for property and business owners.
In 2024, more than 64 countries, representing half the world’s population, are scheduled to hold elections.
Polling results closer to 2024’s Election Day showed that political polarization has continued to rise in the country and is now higher than during the 2020 election. The current volatile political landscape in the U.S. creates an environment that could spark violent protests and riots in the run-up to the election and afterwards. Verisk Maplecroft adds that in the event of violence at polling stations or a contested election outcome, the potential for local events to turn nationwide is significant.1 In a 2021 report, Verisk noted that commercial property losses grew 21,458 percent from 2019.2
Given the complexity of the political landscape, business leaders should consider how future civil unrest could impact their current pre-emergency planning.
What Is Civil Unrest?
Civil unrest is an act of public protest that escalates into a disturbance or interruption to peace and order. This can happen when social, economic and political stress slowly accumulates and gets released all at once.3
How To Structure a Civil Unrest Response Within Your Pre-Emergency Plan
When businesses develop their pre-emergency plans, they typically address topics like weather disasters, fires and utility outages. However, not everyone has a plan in the event of a civil unrest incident.
By following a detailed checklist, your team can reduce the potential impact of civil unrest on your business. Additionally, your team should consider these strategies when creating a pre-emergency plan:
- Align any civil unrest response plan with your business’ overall emergency and business continuity plans.
- Regularly test all emergency plans to make sure team members and processes interact properly and efficiently.
- Designate a specific emergency coordinator, if staffing allows, to manage civil unrest response as part of all emergency planning and testing.
- Communicate your plan with employees so they understand their responsibilities during a civil unrest.
- Rehearse civil unrest planning as you would other safety drills.
Essential Actions During and After a Civil Unrest Event
Pre-event planning is essential, but so is making sure specific actions are taken in the immediate aftermath of an event. Consider these priorities as part of your planning and execution:
- Keep reliable news sources close so team members can make critical decisions as events happen.
- Verify onsite information with local authorities to determine when it is safe to leave or return to your facility.
- Establish a shared, reliable means of group communication with all employees to track the event, ensure safety and issue orders on next steps.
- Secure your facilities through immediate repairs that restore services and key access as soon as possible. Items such as tarps, plywood and other recovery essentials should be available in proper quantities before the event.
- Ensure your fire and security alarms are secured and in working order. Advise alarm companies and local authorities if you leave the building and always ensure that the alarm is active.
- Consider the installation and implementation of electronic surveillance that can monitor all critical entry and exit points to the property, including yard or open areas, entry and exit doors that are out of visual sight and along the exterior perimeter of the structure. Electronic surveillance cameras should be equipped with night vision and high-resolution capabilities. Monitor all electronic surveillance either by internal or external means, including recording capabilities.
- Make sure all emergency leaders have your written emergency response and business continuity plans to refer to throughout the event.
- Contact local authorities and your insurance broker so they can assist in mitigation efforts.
Finally, make sure all event planning is evaluated regularly for effectiveness as your organization grows and changes over time.
What To Know About Civil Unrest and Business Coverage
A business owner’s insurance policy covers damage to property and the contents inside when the cause is fire, riots, civil commotion or vandalism. Additionally, a standard business policy covers loss of income if the income loss results from physical damage to the premises caused by a riot or civil commotion.
Many business owners are forced to suspend operations or limit hours due to rioting and may have coverage for the loss of income under business interruption insurance. However, it’s important to note this coverage is only triggered if there is direct physical damage to the premises. You should work with your agent or broker to understand how your business is covered in the event of a civil unrest emergency.
It’s important to also recognize that not all gatherings of people lead to civil unrest events. In fact, most protests are peaceful. However, what can start out as a peaceful gathering of people can evolve into a civil unrest event that may result in costly losses to businesses. While you can’t prevent this from occurring, you can mitigate the impact of an event on your business by being prepared and having a plan in place.
Learn more about risk management strategies for your business in our civil unrest pre-emergency planning TIPS paper.
1 “Strikes, riots and civil commotion predictive modeling,” Verisk Maplecroft, October 2024.
2 “Civil unrest 2021: Learning from last year’s record losses,” Verisk Maplecroft, December, 2021.
3 “Global Civil Unrest: Contagion, Self-Organization and Prediction,” National Institute of Health: U.S. National Library of Medicine, October 2024.
