In the case of the Mumbai attacks or similar events, the emergency international security plan should be put into action

A corporation has kidnap and ransom insurance and takes other necessary steps to protect its executives and expatriates internationally.  How should this be reflected in the expatriate policy manual if at all?  First, does the company even have an expatriate policy manual or is it complete and comprehensive?  If not, the company is unnecessarily carrying a large amount of liability and potential headache that could easily be removed through the written documentation of proper policy and procedures for international employees.  

Please note, good kidnap and ransom insurance policies, especially those backed by Lloyd’s of London, PROHIBIT the actual insured from even knowing about the existence of the K&R program.  If it’s proven they know, it can immediately void the policy.  

Here is the language we suggest for employers that hire expatriates:  

As an individual working on foreign assignment away from your home country, the security of you and your family is important to ABC Organization.  For reasons directly related to the security of you and your family we cannot describe in any detail the exact security programs we have in place.  This is a requirement to  protect you.  However, it’s important you and your family know exactly what to do in an emergency.  Rest assured we have very good programs in place now to protect our employees working and traveling internationally. In the event of a security threat or emergency, you or your family should immediately call the following number +01 xxx-xxx-xxxx. 

This next section should describe who the expatriate or family member is actually calling using the number above, whether it be a vendor company like ASI, a security consultant like Ackerman, a medical evacuation and assistance company with a security arm like Internationals SOS, or even a company in house security employee available 24/7/365.

This next section should describe what to tell the person you are calling to identify yourself.  For example (when making the call, you simply have to identify yourself as an ABC expatriate employee working in ABC country.  You won’t have to give any other information). 

What is a security emergency where you should place a call immediately?  

1. A kidnapping or abduction
2. Any written or verbal threat against you, your family, any co-worker or any ABC assets in the host country
3. Any suspicious behavior.  If a family member thinks they are being followed or watched, call the number just to be safe.
4. Any theft of personal or company property after  FIRST calling the local police.
5. Local rioting or civil commotion
6. Any other major security incident depending on the host country which could include coup de etat or regional conflict.

Please note, for a legal emergency the number to call (is the same or different).  For example, if you or a family member are placed under arrest please call the International Law Firm of ABC not the security hot-line above.  

Depending on the county, the emergency security plan should be referenced in this section but certainly not described in the expatriate policy handbook.  For example:  

If a security emergency is in progress in your host country and you feel there are very serious threats refer to the emergency security plan given to you before the international assignment.  Call the security number as soon as you are able but implement the emergency security plan immediately if you feel you need to leave the country.

Please remember, in the event of a security emergency you have permission to act to keep your family safe and these expenses will be fully paid by the company and you and your family will be reimbursed for all out-of-pocket expenses.  Do not wait for permission to act.  Once you get your family to safety, please call XYZ to discuss additional expenditures and arrangements.

Of course, the need for an emergency security  plan for expatriates is dictated by the threats of the host country.  If a company has 10 expatriates in Paris and London with no emergency security plan, perhaps it’s not the end of the world.  A company that has 10 expatriates in Mumbai with no emergency security plan, or expatriates in Indonesia, Egypt, Israel, etc is risking massive liability and may be violating foreign duty of care laws.

For example, the need for kidnap and ransom insurance in Yemen ranks as a 9 out of 10 and the need for Kidnap and Ransom Insurance in Brazil ranks as a 7 out of 10. 

McKinley International is one of the only full service international benefits brokers in the world today encompassing each aspect of international risk management for employers that hire employees to work outside of their home country and for employers that hire local nationals.

1. International Employee Benefits (International medical insurance, dental, life, ltd, etc. for both expatriate employees and local nationals)
2. International Property and Casualty Insurance (global property, global personal liability, vacant home insurance, employers responsibility and international workers comp, products liability, factory coverage, etc.)
3. International Personal Security and Kidnap and Ransom Insurance for expatriate executives.
4. Support services for expatriates such as cross cultural training, international EAP, overseas banking, and medical evacuation and emergency host country legal assistance.

McKinley International Risk Management, along with International Insurance and Investments LLC are sponsors of this informational website on Kidnap and Ransom Insurance.

It’s amazing how many U.S. expatriates moving to the Middle East do so without spending time on the necessary due diligence regarding the safety of themselves and their families heading to Dubai, Jeddah, Jordan, and other areas in the Middle East.  Most large U.S. multinationals will have some sort of kidnap and ransom insurance policy for expatriates moving to the Middle East.  The irony is, the expatriates are not able to obtain any real tangible information about the kidnap and ransom insurance program that is provided to the expatriates by the multinational employer.  If the expatriates are made aware of the details of the kidnap and ransom insurance plan provided to expatriates in the Middle East, in most cases it will void the policy and cancel the kidnap and ransom insurance.

Benefit Managers with expatriates in the Middle East are advised to say the following to their expatriates regarding kidnap and ransom insurance policies for those expatriates heading to the Middle East.

“…Due to security concerns and the advice of our international insurance companies, security vendors and consulting companies we are not allowed to give you the details of the security measures we have taken to protect you and your family while living in the Middle East.  However, we can assure you the steps we have taken to provide for your security are above and beyond the best practices of those in our industry.”

Of course, expatriates heading to the Middle East, and worried about the kidnap and ransom insurance threat, and security in the region in general, should always be provided with an emergency number to call for ANY reason, if they feel they are being threatened in any way.

This 24 hour phone number for international security concerns would go to the international security consultant that would coordinate with the kidnap and ransom insurance company, or mobilize the resources necessary for a political evacuation or to combat extortion.

Getting an expatriate back safe is possible working with the right people

Sometimes a blanket and worldwide kidnap and ransom insurance policy is not needed.  It is possible to secure an expatriate kidnap and ransom insurance policy only for certain expatriates in select countries.  This would be called a named policy vs. a blanket policy.

If a company has 25 expatriates with five each in Mexico, Germany, U.K., Russia, and China it may be unnecessary to cover the expatriates in all countries other than Mexico and Russia, where there is a definite threat of kidnap for Westerners.  A global employer can take out a named expatriate kidnap and ransom insurance policy on select individual employees residing in certain countries. 

Of course, the disadvantage of these policies is there has to be a consistent reporting to the kidnap and ransom insurer, and if a few people are left off the list, they will most likely be left without coverage in the event of an expatriate kidnapping or extortion threat against an expatriate.

If a company can afford it, a blanket policy is superior, but in many cases companies can be charged to enroll individual expatriates in countries where the risk is very low.  In these economic times few companies can afford to pay for insurance not needed.

Do these four know the risks traveling in Kuwait? Is there an emergency security plan in place?

In our first blog in the “learning category” we will go over the basics of Kidnap and Ransom insurance (Kidnap and Ransom Insurance 101).  However just knowing what is in this post is enough to put your knowledge over about 80% of all others in the HR and insurance arena.  Not many have a good grasp of this important employee benefit.

Kidnap and Ransom insurance is offered by large insurance companies and Lloyd’s of London to insure global organizations and wealthy individuals and families.  The basic element is an kidnap “insurance benefit” that would be used to pay a kidnapper in the event of abduction and provide the ransom money to get the person back, but there is much more to this insurance benefit.  The other major parts of a good k&r insurance scheme is as follows:

1. Extortion Payment | demands following a specific written or verbal threat to injure, kill, or kidnap a person; damage property; contaminate products; divulge trade secrets; or destroy electronic data by computer virus.  Extortion is actually much more common than kidnap itself.
2. Wrongful Detention | Involuntary confinement by a government entity or insurgent organisation.
3. Hijack | Illegal holding under duress of a person while travelling on any aircraft, motor vehicle or water vessel.
4. Services of an independent international security company.  In the event of one of the incidents above, only a global security company will be able to mobilize individuals trained in international executive security and kidnap and ransom. 

An insurance benefit of several million dollars is really worthless without an excellent security company ready to intervene.

All HR Managers with employees working abroad should see the move.

Welcome to our website, dedicated to understanding global kidnap and ransom insurance and best practices for individuals and companies in dealing with global security threats.  The world in 2009 is not the same as it was just 10 years ago.  Americans are targets.  Executives that work for large corporations and industry are targets of kidnap, extortion, and other threats.  Even those on vacation can be targets. 

Unfortunately, most people are completely unprepared for any threat that may happen while they work or travel internationally.  Most Americans that travel into the third world do not even take out an international medical evacuation and assistance program let alone an international personal security plan or kidnap and ransom insurance.  We are here to provide the information necessary so the proper decisions can be made at any level.