Vertical Markets

Travel risk report

by Mark Rowe

Organisations are not doing enough to see that their travel risk strategies are fit for the realities of business travel, and fulfil their duty of care, according to a UK association for risk managers and insurance buyers. Airmic published a guide on travel risk management, ahead of its three-day annual conference, at the ICC, Birmingham.

Business travel has grown over the last decade, the report notes, with businesses sending employees and other people they are responsible for to a wider range of territories including high or extreme risk regions. The nature of terrorism has changed such that low-risk destinations can become high-risk. The report authors point out that businesses have a legal duty of care to protect their employees – which may include contractors and family members – and yet only 16 per cent of Airmic members surveyed have high confidence in their travel risk management framework.

According to the report, insurance – while important – is not a sufficient mitigation. Businesses also need reliable sources of relevant intelligence and flexible and pre-rehearsed plans, to ensure a quick and proportionate response to a crisis.

Julia Graham, Airmic’s deputy CEO and technical director, said: “Sadly every week we are currently reminded why having an effective travel risk management framework in place is imperative. As the tragic events in Westminster, Manchester and more recently on London Bridge and Borough Market demonstrate, any destination can become high risk at an intense speed. I urge all risk professionals to review, update and rehearse how they would respond should such an incident impact their organisation. Knowing where your people are and how you can communicate with each other in the event of a crisis is especially important.”

The guide also notes a greater diversity of people doing business travel. Organisations therefore need to risk profile each travel destination in view of their own policies for diversity and inclusion.

The report, Travel Risk Management, was produced with the medical and security risk consultancies International SOS and Control Risks. It sets out good practice for risk managers and provides a travel toolkit for organisations pre-, during- and post-travel policies. It offers advice on buying insurance, noting that it is “vital” organisations understand any exclusions and consider the impact of business travel on long-term insurance cover.

Comment

James Wood, at International SOS, says: “Recent incidents, such as those in London, Manchester, Brussels and Berlin emphasise the need for businesses to be able to implement robust and scalable solutions to prepare and protect their employees in this rapidly changing security environment. Not only is there a moral obligation to keep employees safe – implementing a comprehensive travel risk policy is also a legal obligation and makes good business sense, helping ensure the continuity of the business.”

Related News

Newsletter

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter to stay on top of security news and events.

© 2024 Professional Security Magazine. All rights reserved.

Website by MSEC Marketing