The outbreak of the Iran conflict has exposed much of the specialty classes to significant exposure.
Sectors Most Exposed
The approximate liability for companies across the region is as follows:
- Finance, Insurance and Real Estate Insurance Liabilities: $1.9 billion*
- Manufacturing Insurance Liabilities: $1.6 billion*
*Figures are indicative estimates based on sector-level revenue benchmarking and do not represent projected insurer balance sheet liabilities.
Commodities Impacted
The Strait of Hormuz is a key artery for supplying crude oil:
- Annual Crude Oil Trade: $407 billion.
- 23% of all global crude oil trade is through the Strait of Hormuz.
Which Countries Are Most Exposed
Russell forecasts of Q1 trade in 2026 shows:
- Trade through Strait of Hormuz in Q1 2026: $167 billion.
- 70% of trade is to China, India, South Korea & Japan .
- 87% of trade is from UAE, Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar & Saudi Arabia.
Airports Most Exposed
Russell’s analysis of 155 airports across the Middle East, revealed that on 28th February:
- 59 Airports with aircraft on the ground.
- Out of which 22 had an aggregate market value of more than $1 billion.
The following airports have significant exposure from the event:
- Dubai Airport: $7.86 billion
- Doha Airport: $5.98 billion
- Jeddah Airport: $.549 billion.
What This Means Next
Suki Basi, Managing Director, commented:
“We are in a brave new world, where business viability requires clarity over threats which are increasingly complex, and interconnected. More collaboration and scenario planning is needed across finance, treasury and risk management functions to assess the financial consequences of geopolitical events. This enables human intelligence to drive the scenarios and consequently the data analytics in risk assessment and mitigation, to achieve clarity.”