Canada

Canada's export development agency paid out $358 million in claims last year, almost seven times more than in 2011, as a result of losses suffered by Canadian firms due to the Arab Spring revolts.

The unusually large claims figure in the political risk insurance program, which Export Development Canada offers firms operating globally, may be a record for the Crown corporation, although an official said big claim years have happened before.

Chief financial officer Ken Kember said insurance claims against political risks tend to be volatile because of the unpredictability of global events.

"Those events don't arise all the time, but when they happen they tend to be quite large and dramatic," he said. "It'll be zero for some years and all of a sudden you'll have some activity.

"This probably is the largest amount, certainly in recent years."