Munich Re risked $ 400 million by providing insurance against delays or cancellations of World Cup matches in Brazil.
The world's largest reinsurer hopes that Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff will do everything possible to avoid the awkward situation in which the country will find itself in the event of a violation of the championship program.
The company is confident that various events from street protests to strikes, to poor infrastructure will not prevent the playing of matches on the program. Munich Re has experience in insuring sporting events such as the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa and the 2012 London Olympics.
Despite the company's confidence that everything will be fine in recent weeks, teachers and police officers have left their jobs in protest demanding wage increases, while strikes on public transport have worsened traffic in the country's largest cities.
Rousseff won yesterday after Rio de Janeiro airport officials did not strike after a court ruling that they would fine the union 500,000 reais ($ 223,900) an hour. The strike in Sao Paulo also did not continue on the day the championship opened, and host Brazil beat Croatia 3-1.
Munich Re, whose customers include TV rights organizations as well as local governments, will pay compensation if there is a delay, relocation or cancellation of one or more matches caused by unforeseen events, from riots to torrential rains.
Mass civil disobedience is the biggest threat to insurers. The $ 11 billion spent preparing for the World Cup has angered Brazilians, who are facing accelerating inflation, slowing economic growth and poor public services.
Yesterday, a group of about 300 protesters clashed twice with police about 13km away. from the stadium where the opening match was played.
Rousseff was booed before yesterday's match, as fans sent obscene words to her before the initial referee signal. The scene was a repeat of last year, when the president of Brazil was booed again before the start of the Confederations Cup tournament.
The sale of television rights is the biggest source of revenue during the World Cup. In 2010, nearly half of the world's population watched some of the matches in South Africa. On average, the matches were watched on television by about 188 million people, according to Munich Re.
Source: profit.bg