WHAT IS TERRORISM?

Terrorism is an evocative word which conjures up ideas, images, feelings and emotional responses in all of us; likely different for each individual; but what does it mean? It likely means something slightly different to each of us and if all asked to offer a definition, its likely that a very wide variety of ideas would emerge. 

It is then both startling, but also fairly unsurprising on reflection, that at the time of writing there is still no universally accepted international definition of ‘terrorism’. It is a word that arguably has pejorative undertones and many media outlets are reluctant to use the descriptor ‘terrorist’ often preferring one of a number of other words; ‘insurgent’, ‘extremist’, ‘guerilla’, ‘militant.’ As Andrew Silke points out in his book ‘terrorism; all that matters,’ a long-standing truism transcends the question; ‘one man’s terrorism is another man’s freedom fighter.’

We are left then with two clear conclusions. 

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1) Perspective, agenda and discourse! What you see depends upon where you stand. Much like perspective on any subject, there is always more than one view. Whether someone is a ‘terrorist’, an organisation is ‘terrorist’ in nature or an act is an ‘Act of Terrorism,’ is unlikely to always produce a consensus. 

2) Whilst we all have preconceived ideas of what terrorism is, this is not always easy to formally express or define; more of an ‘I know it when I see it’ situation… but what criteria are being subconsciously used?

  So where does this leave us? And why do definitions matter?  It remains important to define ‘terrorism’ for a number of reasons, some of which include national security, policing and international relations, but putting these aside, we are going to focus on risk management and insurance. Clearly, the insured needs contract certainty and clarity around the issue of what is covered and we handle this through use of a definition of ‘terrorism’ or an ‘Act of Terrorism’  There are various terrorism insurances available, both the default, standard mechanism and the offerings outside of that offering. This article comments only on the policy, definition and coverage offered by TriStar Special Risks Ltd. All other terrorism insurance offerings will include their own definition.  TriStar Special Risks Ltd offers cover against damage caused by an Act of Terrorism, extending to include non-damage business interruption/denial of access caused by an Act of Terrorism within a 1 mile radius. The definition does not rely upon any classification of an incident as an Act of Terrorism by the Government/Home Office.   Here is the definition within the policy wording of an ‘Act of Terrorism’:   An act of Terrorism means an act, including the use of force or violence, of any person or group(s) of persons, whether acting alone or on behalf of or in connection with any organisation(s), committed for political, religious or ideological purposes including the intention to influence any government and/or to put the public in fear for such purpose.   For the sake of those curious about the more general, non-insurance definition of ‘terrorism’ and ‘terrorist’; I thought I’d include the following, which is the definition(s) provided by the Oxford Dictionary. It may be an interesting exercise to compare this to your own definition or thoughts. My own thoughts are that the Oxford Dictionary ties the definition in very tightly to ‘political aims’, whilst the TriStar Special Risks Ltd definition more accurately reflects the wider picture, including specific mention of political, religious and ideological purposes.   Terrorism (according to Oxford English Dictionary): NOUN: The unlawful use of violence and intimidation, especially against civilians, in the pursuit of political aims.   Terrorist (according to Oxford English Dictionary):  NOUN: A person who uses unlawful violence and intimidation, especially against civilians, in the pursuit of political aims.  ADJECTIVE: Unlawfully using violence and intimidation, especially against civilians, in the pursuit of political aims.   There is an opportunity for the informed and proactive broker to capitalise in what is currently an under-served market in terms of real broker advice. TriStar Special Risks Ltd invites enterprising brokers to take advantage of our product, service and underwriting expertise to provide better advice, protection and solutions for your clients.     James Woolerton, BA (Hons) ACII
Managing Director
TriStar Special Risks Limited – The Specialists in Terrorism Insurance Solutions

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