Category Archives: Kidnap and Ransom

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Multiple Risks to Watch Out For at 2018 World Cup

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Above: Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow 

The 2018 World Cup tournament began on June 14 and lasts until July 15. Thousands of fans will travel to Russia for the event, which consists of 64 matches and 32 teams in 11 cities. Like other mega events, it presents countless challenges for a number of industries including construction, travel, hospitality and security.

Circuit Magazine for security specialists reports that threat for terrorism is high, as there have been attacks in Moscow and the North Caucasus and most recently, a suicide attack on a Metro Train in St. Petersburg. It notes, however, that “Past performance in security terms of Russia at large events has been very strong, the Sochi Olympics was well controlled with no terrorist incidents affecting fans. Based on our assessment we continue to recommend that any attendance at large events, or corporate travel in Russia is supported by additional risk management measures.”

The article also recommends that attendees remain vigilant in public places, adding that to address this risk, security has been increased at airports and transportation hubs. It warns of street crime, including pickpocketing, that targets tourists. “Bogus police officers have harassed and robbed tourists.

If you are stopped always insist on seeing identification. Avoid openly carrying expensive items, or anything that might easily identify you as a tourist. Avoid walking about late at night alone,” Circuit warned.

Not to be overlooked are health concerns. The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (EU/EEA) recommends in a recent report that anyone traveling to Russia for the games make sure their vaccinations are up-to-date, particularly for diphtheria, hepatitis A, hepatitis B, measles, meningococcal infection, mumps, pertussis, poliomyelitis rubella and tetanus. According to the EU/EEA:

“As is often the case with mass gathering events, during the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia visitors may be most at risk of gastrointestinal illness and vaccine-preventable infections. The risk of being affected by gastrointestinal illness can be reduced by employing standard hygiene measures including regular hand washing with soap, drinking safe water (bottled, chlorinated or boiled before consumption); eating thoroughly cooked food and carefully washing fruit and vegetables with safe drinking water before consumption.”

It added that while outbreaks and spread of vaccine-preventable diseases are of particular concern during such mass gatherings. “there are no indications that the risk is higher than usual.”

Beazley notes that many of the 2018 World Cup’s risks impacting various industries will be covered by the London insurance market. The insurer outlines some of the key risks and their likely insured values:

Business and Employee Safety During Crisis Explored at RIMS 2018

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SAN ANTONIO – Emergency preparedness and action plans amid violent crises were explored during educational sessions at RIMS 2018 here. On Monday and Tuesday, experts discussed ways businesses can prepare for active shooter events and kidnapping crises. Experts agreed that in such events, lives, operations, reputation and finances are all at stake.

Some highlights from the sessions:

Kidnapped! A Crisis Simulation Exercise
Bill Laurence, head of crisis management at S-RM offered a kidnap simulation for a well-attended session on Monday. Laurence provided a scenario, asking the audience to assume a collective role as decision-makers of a fictitious, billion-dollar coffee company that has an executive abducted in Mexico. The group’s assignment was to create a crisis management team and decide who the communicator would be, how they would respond to threats and what information to relay to their insurance provider, among other critical actions.

“The first 24 hours are always the most critical during a kidnapping or ransom scenario,” Laurence said.

The simulation included real-life audio and video examples of terrifying ransom-demanding calls. The team learned that the kidnapper has typically planned the abduction in advance and always has control of the situation – beginning with communication. “For that reason alone, you cannot speed up the process,” Laurence said.

And although things may seem dire, he explained ways to glean information – and feel somewhat positive – even after a brief phone call. “We all react differently to pressure,” he said. “But avoid speculation and always prepare for the next call.”

Read more about kidnapping in a Q&A with the session’s co-host, Denise Balan, senior vice president and head of U.S. kidnap & ransom at XL Catlin, on page 9 in Tuesday’s Show Daily.

Active Threat and Workplace Violence on Campus: Preparedness, Response and Recovery
Craig McAllister, Cornell University’s director of risk management and insurance, opened a session on Tuesday with a discussion of duty of care and the obligation to the campus or work environment.

He pointed out that, in early January, the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) processed its NFPA 3000 Standard as a provisional one to streamline the program elements necessary for organizing, managing, and sustaining an active shooter and/or hostile event response program. The standard gained even more input following the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, on Feb. 14 in an effort to reduce or eliminate the risks, effect, and impact on an organization or community affected by these events

Paul Mills, global kidnap prevention manager at AIG, followed with a segment addressing best practices for violent incident preparation and response. He discussed response and resilience training for employees who need enhanced preparedness with the rise of violence against soft targets.

He noted that advances in technology often are putting people in harm’s way by default. “People are distracted to the point where they are unaware of the threats they face. It’s also delaying and inhibiting their response times,” he said. “Without even realizing it, they often portray victim-like behavior.”

Kendell Moore, senior vice president at the Abernathy MacGregor Group, delved into the key crisis management sources of an organization’s response support, both internally and externally. She used a mass shooting that occurred inside a local business in the western United States (that is also part of a major American chain) as an example of an entity that needed to enact its crisis communication plan immediately after the attack.

Moore offered some crisis communication principles:

  • Media is a conduit, not an audience. “The media needs to catch up to the actions of the business.”
  • Speak directly to the impacted. “It is most important to communicate with victims, loved ones, the community and those who are directly affected.”
  • Take action, not credit. “No statement, no matter how eloquent, can substitute for doing the right thing.”
  • Communicate what matters when it matters. ““What is said first must stand the test of time. So announce nothing and predict nothing that isn’t solid and certain.”
  • Build relationships in the community. ““Work alongside local law enforcement, government officials and those who know the community best.”
  • Listen to people’s needs and requests. “Ask what people need, rather than telling them what you think they need.”

3 Strategies to Protect Your Organization from Political Risk

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From the Middle East to Eurasia to Eastern Europe, events and potential events that translate into political risk fill the news.

Political risk is instability that damages or threatens to damage an existing or potential asset, or significantly disrupt a business operation. Examples include sustained political and labor unrest, terrorism and violent conflict. This risk is increasingly regional in nature, as the Arab Spring and sudden spread of Islamic State control demonstrate.

According to the new Clements Worldwide Risk Index, political unrest is the number one concern among top global managers at multinational corporations and global aid and development organizations.

Risk managers in these organizations responded in the Worldwide Risk Index survey that political risk and instability—including cyber attacks—are real and growing. Twenty-eight percent of top managers surveyed stated political unrest was their top concern, while 25% cited kidnapping, and nearly 10% cited terrorism.

When it comes to terrorism, the Worldwide Risk Index results align with the data. The U.S. State Department’s Annual Country Report on Terrorism released recently indicates that the number of terrorist attacks worldwide in 2014 increased 35%, while total fatalities from terrorism activities grew by 81%, compared to 2013.

But as violence and unrest have increased, readiness for it trails far behind. Twenty-one percent of respondents admitted being “not prepared at all” for a terrorist attack, while 11% considered themselves “very prepared;” 17% said they were “very prepared” for the ramifications of a disease outbreak, while 10% they were “not prepared at all” for that threat; and 21% said they were “not prepared at all” for a cyberattack.

Perhaps most troubling, these concerns and lack of preparedness are impacting business decisions. Twenty-one percent of Worldwide Risk Index respondents had delayed plans to expand into new countries due to rising international risks.

So what can executives do to bring their organizations’ preparedness in line with growing risks around the world?

First, they can invest more in risk management overall. This means emergency planning, training, security and other techniques to manage and reduce risk. An important element is also testing the plan, which typically highlights gaps. Forty-four percent of Worldwide Risk Index respondents increased spending on this activity. While not a majority, it is still a significant percentage of organizations investing more in basic risk management.

Next, corporate executives should consider retaining the services of the growing number of political risk, insurance and security consultancies that provide political intelligence. While the quality of these firms vary and they are not a substitute for direct experience, these companies provide useful insights into potential risks one might encounter, especially when starting operations in a new location. Risk managers can also personally monitor catalysts to political unrest, such as elections, which are often linked to demonstrations and disturbances in developing countries, particularly with the rise of social media. Elections and other catalysts have caused disruptions in surprising places around the globe, such as Thailand. Corporate executives, including risk managers, need to understand that no country is absolutely “safe” anymore.

Finally, organizations need to consider increasing their spending on international insurance. Fifty-seven percent of the respondents to the Worldwide Risk Index report doing just that. There are more options than ever before for political violence and risk, kidnap and ransom (K&R), evacuation and related policies. Organizations can work with individual carriers, or with brokers who can help tailor policies to specific risk profiles. The best organizations link their brokers or insurance carriers to their overall risk management strategy and ensure their plans include which broker to contact in case of which emergency, as it may differ for a medical versus a property event.

The global economy is more integrated than ever, with more markets opening every year. Yet global supply lines and other business operations and investments are more dependent on particular political factors than at any time in modern history. Political unrest, instability and even conflict are “normal” realities that drive business decisions in evermore areas of the world. This risk can be managed. To do it, executives need to get serious about bringing their risk management strategies into line with the new “facts on the ground.”

What Proposed Changes to U.K. Counter-Terror Laws Mean for Your K&R Policy

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With insurers facing increased scrutiny over indemnity payments from the U.K. government, there could be consequences for companies who regularly put their employees into harm’s way.

When she announced plans for new laws in the Counter Terrorism and Security Bill, Home Secretary Theresa May cited UN estimates that ransom payments have raised up to £28 million ($42 million) for militant group ISIS in the past 12 months.

Observers often ask if the existence of kidnap and ransom (K&R) insurance itself encourages kidnapping for ransom. But for corporate risk managers, the debate is immaterial. They must protect employees and ensure that jobs in danger zones remain attractive to new recruits.

May’s bill amendments, which will be inserted into the Terrorism Act 2000 if passed, do present a potential challenge to the established order and highlight the pivotal role of response consultants (AKA hostage negotiators).

How does K&R actually work?

K&R insurance typically covers against losses related to kidnap incidents, particularly ransoms, lost earnings and the costs for an outsourced expert agency whose job is to handle the case and advise the policyholder on the negotiations. However, the indemnification is only paid out to the policyholders retrospectively, after the hostage situation is over. With such an approach, insurers on the one hand prevent ransom payments spiraling out of control and, on the other hand, remain in the grey area of section 17 of the Terrorism Act 2000.

The new amendments

Under May’s new section 17A, it is now clear that the insurer commits an offense if “it knows or has reasonable cause to suspect” that payments will be handed over in response to a demand made for the benefit of a proscribed organization.

The question for their response consultants will therefore be how much notice they can give their assureds as to whom they are dealing with. Historically, negotiations for release could be made without resorting to identifying the culprit, but now the insurer will have to make sure that they are not engaging with a terrorist on Whitehall’s blacklist.

As of Nov. 28, 2014, there were 74 international terrorist organizations listed under the Terrorism Act 2000. However, a large number of organizations associated with kidnappings are not on the list, which, with a few exceptions, focuses on organizations from Northern Ireland and those operating in the MENASA Region (Middle East, North Africa and South Asia). Of course, kidnappings have increased in the Middle East in recent years, but most kidnappings worldwide are still taking place in Central and South America and Central and Southern Africa. Although the new law only targets proscribed organizations from the MENASA region, insurers have to remain attentive since the home secretary may add organizations to the list at any time.

One thing which hopefully will remain protected are the fees and costs that hostage negotiators charge; this is a critical part of the industry’s service to a market believed to include at least 80% of the Fortune 500 as its clientele.

K&R still valid

From a company’s perspective, K&R is certainly still a valid class of business. There should not be any effect on pricing as the underlying risk has not changed.

However, if your policy is led by insurers domiciled in the U.K., those insurers may be less likely to indemnify kidnappings where the culprits may be loosely associated with a proscribed group. Equivalent insurers in other territories may be less restrained, so some insureds may elect to have their business placed outside the U.K., particularly if they have workers who are frequently operating in the MENASA region.

It is important to understand that corporations are also not allowed to fund payments. From a risk management perspective, where companies do wish to ensure they are able to lawfully pay ransom demands to release their employees, they need to consider in which jurisdictions they should be located so as to lawfully pay ransoms. On a practical level, they need to review with their response companies what protocols they use to identify or qualify the identity of kidnappers who allege, possibly incorrectly, that they are affiliated to terror groups.

The proposed offence aimed at insurers provides:

17A Insurance against payments made in response to terrorist demands

(1) The insurer under an insurance contract commits an offence if –

(A) the insurer makes a payment under the contract or purportedly under it,

(B) the payment is made in respect of any money or other property that has been or is to be, handed over in response to a demand made wholly or partly for the purposes of terrorism, and

(C) the insurer or the person authorising the payment on the insurer’s behalf knows or has reasonably cause to suspect that the money or other property has been, or is to be, handed over in response to such a demand.

This article was originally posted at Airmic.com