Demand for specialist Political Violence, War and Terrorism (PVT) coverage has increased in the Middle East and Africa as organisations seek dedicated protection against evolving geopolitical risks.
This growth is further supported by continued economic diversification, large-scale infrastructure investment and the ongoing development of insurance markets across the region. Importantly, investment across the Middle East continues despite periods of geopolitical uncertainty.
We continue to view the region as a genuine long-term opportunity, underpinned by strong socio-economic fundamentals, resilient economic growth and significant investment in strategic industries and infrastructure projects.
Threat management
As regional threat profiles shift to encompass complex hazards such as drone strikes and naval mines, the PVT insurance market has tightened underwriting discipline rather than relying on any single risk management measure or safeguard.
The approach taken includes greater scrutiny of asset location, aggregation management, deductibles, and the application of policy wordings to ensure clarity around war, terrorism and political violence triggers.
For higher-risk territories and sectors, insurers are also reviewing limits, attachment points and policy conditions on a case-by-case basis.
Given the speed at which geopolitical risks can evolve, it is also important for insurers to remain nimble and agile in their underwriting approach. The ability to reassess exposures, adjust terms where necessary and respond quickly to changing threat dynamics enables carriers to continue providing sustainable support to clients whilst managing risk responsibly.
Insurers
To manage this volatility and preserve long-term capacity, retention levels have generally increased across higher-risk geographies and occupancies as insurers seek to manage volatility and maintain long-term capacity.
The degree of change varies by risk profile, location and proximity to strategic infrastructure, but clients are increasingly sharing more risk through higher deductibles and self-insured retentions.
Navigating this shift requires a delicate balance: insurers must ensure that retention levels remain commercially viable for clients whilst also delivering an appropriate return on capital. Sustainable underwriting requires both parties to share risk in a way that supports long-term resilience and continued market capacity.
Markel in MENA
Markel has been underwriting Political Violence and Terrorism risks across the Middle East and North Africa for many years, long before the current Iran-US war broke out on 28 February 2026.
In the increasingly complex risk environment in the Middle East, Markel’s focus is on providing consistent capacity, specialist underwriting expertise and transparent communication. We adapt our underwriting approach to reflect the evolving risk landscape.
We work closely with brokers and clients to assess changing exposures, tailor coverage where appropriate, and help clients understand how evolving geopolitical developments may affect their risk profile.
Our Terrorism and Political Violence team is supported by dedicated claims and crisis management capabilities, enabling a coordinated response before and after an event.
Equally important is our commitment to consistency. Clients value underwriting partners who remain engaged throughout the market cycle, and our focus is on providing reliable support, informed decision-making and long-term partnership, particularly during periods of heightened uncertainty.
Value proposition
Markel combines specialist Political Violence underwriting expertise with global reach, meaningful capacity and a flexible approach to complex risks. Our focus is on delivering tailored solutions, maintaining underwriting discipline through market cycles and supporting clients with experienced claims and crisis management capabilities when they need them most.
A key differentiator is the claims service we provide to brokers and clients. In particular, we place heavy emphasis on on-the-ground technical underwriting and localised claims handling capabilities, including loss adjusting expertise in Dubai, to service complex regional risks efficiently.
Combined with our long-standing experience in the region, underwriting consistency and long-term commitment to the market, this enables us to build enduring partnerships and provide clients with confidence that we will be there when it matters most.
Opportunities in MENA
We remain committed to the MENA market and continue to deploy capacity where we believe risks can be assessed and priced responsibly over the long term.
We also see significant opportunity to support a broad range of clients across multiple geographies, helping them navigate increasingly complex risk environments whilst contributing to the region’s continued development and growth.
Markel manages its MENA operations primarily through a strategic regional hub at the Dubai International Financial Centre, targeting growing specialist insurance and reinsurance demand across the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and the broader MENA region.
The MENA business focuses on specialty lines tailored to the region, including Trade Credit and Political Risk, Casualty, War and Terrorism, Marine, Specie, Energy and Cyber. M
Mr Rahul Shah is Head of War and Terrorism, MENA, at Markel International. Markel International is a specialist insurer operating in the London Market, the US, APAC and MENA, underwriting through its Lloyd’s of London Syndicate or other group companies. Markel International forms part of Markel Insurance, the global insurance operations of Markel Group Inc.