Harry Linnell, a Crisis Management Insurance Broker at RKH Specialty, provides guidance to non-governmental organisations (NGOs) on the questions to consider before taking out crisis management insurance.
Humanitarian non-governmental organisations that send their employees to high risk areas to carry out aid projects should be familiar with the duty of care they owe their “at risk” workforce. Recent legal precedent has meant that organisations can be legally prosecuted for failing in this duty, particularly as a result of their exposure to danger whilst working overseas. If you are one of these organisations, you should ask yourself:
- In the case of a kidnap or extortion, what will be your organisation’s response?
- What are the response protocols in your organisation to react to a crisis?
- Do you have security precautions and access to the relevant preventative and awareness training?
- Are you aware of the legal ramifications for not providing duty of care, which includes access to training and relatable security information needed to safely run your aid projects?
- Are you aware of the sanctions adopted by, for example, the US, UK and UN for the countries where your projects take place?
A notable step to achieving duty of care is to obtain appropriate crisis management insurance. The process can be started by contacting a dedicated crisis management insurance broker for advice, which can be sought for free. The broker will have access to a crisis management service which can help prevent or manage a crisis event.
Crisis management insurance is complicated and its function and benefits should be understood by every organisation. An organisation considering buying this insurance should receive expert advice to purchase the right protection for its individual exposures, but also achieve value for money. The best way to obtain your crisis management insurance is through a dedicated broker. To select the most appropriate broker, there are a number of questions and requirements you should ask them.
Learn more about crisis management insurance from the guidance document here.