What Makes A Place ‘Dangerous’ For Travellers?

Photo by World Nomads

I came across a top little article by Brenda Yun at Gadling.com titled, What is a dangerous travel destination? It made me think that many of our World Nomads travel far off the beaten path, in countries that most of us would deem unsafe. I decided to bail up WorldNomads.com Insurance Director, Graham Kingaby and ask him, what makes a place ‘dangerous’ to travel to? And what should you do to stay safe if you need to travel there? Take it away Graham!

After many years in the travel and international personal accident insurance market I have to step back and think.  The answer I give to clients travelling to these regions is a slightly bawdier reworking of the “fail to prepare; prepare to fail” adage. I also try to impart an understanding that walking home from the local bar on an unlit makeshift road where the local drivers don’t have to worry about silly things like speed limits or breath tests may indeed be their passport to paradise, not the sniper in the shadows!

Heading off to a ‘dangerous’ country?

The best thing that you can do before you travel is to research the place that you are going to (you’ll be surprised how many don’t). This is easier now than ever before because of the vast amount of information available for free on the internet. This information is also more up to date and detailed than the printed materiel.

Some helpful tips:

• Use the web and country blog sites to speak to people on the ground if you can.
• Let the people at home know where you are going to be and how to get hold of you.
• Let the nearest Embassy know where you are and how to get hold of you.
• Have a back up plan should thing go wrong – How do I get in touch with people? Who can I call in an emergency? What other routes are there to the airport? Where’s the nearest hospital?

Who can help you?
If you are travelling to a country at the more extreme end of dangerous (and five minutes of research will identify the truly bad places) you really need to take practical advice from a professional security consultant. These people will give you all the training that you need, can hook you up with assistance at your destination, help you plan for all manner of contingencies and keep you up to date with the nuances of the local political climate. Their business is to make sure that you come home safe and sound – A dead or injured client looks very, very bad on their CV!

Do your own homework
Make sure that you know where you are going. Think in your own mind what might go wrong and how you might lessen the risk. Take any training seriously and don’t trust a manager or employer to arrange security on your behalf without knowing who it is providing the security and their credentials. Even when you have that security in place be aware of your surroundings and keep reminding
yourself that you’re not in Kansas anymore, Toto!

Travel for work

Generally people travelling to high risk or post-conflict environments are professionals (Iraq is seldom first choice for a leisurely holiday!), and they therefore approach the trip with a sober mindset. For example if you are travelling to Gaza as part of an NGO team or working on an aid project for a UN agency you probably have had security training before you set foot in-country. You’re also probably familiar with the cultural norms to abide by if you don’t want any static on the streets or to walk into a mob beating or kidnap grab.  Apart from some notable exceptions like the telecom workers who were decapitated by Islamic militants a few days in to their work project in Chechnya a few years back, most western organisations are also very aware of the brand damage and civil or criminal court cases that will follow should they send someone into a dangerous region without all the facts and tools that give them the best chance of coming home when the job is over.  Bearing these facts in mind the number of claims and incidents I have seen relating to simple road traffic accidents and work related risks in third world countries (slipping off a crappy woodworm infested ladder or metal shards in the eye from an unguarded lathe) outnumber those claims for shootings and bombings by a considerable factor.

So, what makes a place ‘Dangerous’ to travel to?

Professional Risk Managers and Insurance Underwriters use a number of different tools to try to assess what makes a country ‘dangerous’.  To get a handle on the combination of factors involved in a person’s risk they use a security matrix updated regularly (daily or hourly in the worst places). These factors can include Crime; Political Stability and Economic Stability. Specialist agencies gather this information from a mix of police and consular services, imbedded agents and indeed the global news media. Organisations like the UN, EU and individual country Foreign Offices also supply detailed security information although access to this may be limited. Most western countries asses risks in broadly the same way although there are some differences. An example might be a US citizen could be more at risk while working in Gaza than a French citizen because of individual diplomatic relationships between countries. Although not politically correct it is true to say that a white worker might be more at risk from kidnap or violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Consider Specialty Risk Insurance

Specialty Risk Insurance helps pay the bills should something go wrong. Kidnap & Ransom insurance services and Political Evacuation cover in particular give additional concierge assistance that can make the difference between life and death. Loss statistics aren’t generally well promulgated for these types of insurance programs but it’s generally understood that 9 out of 10 kidnappings in South America where there’s a K&R policy involved, result in the recovery of a live victim. The success rate for those uninsured is considered to be quite a lot less with an increased time in captivity. As a last comment, a combination of information, preparation, security training and advice combined with good insurance cover can make even the most dangerous places on the planet a reasonably sane travel destination.

Graham Kingaby is the Insurance Director for WorldNomads.com. He has over twenty years experience in the International Personal Accident & Travel Insurance markets and has managed specialist’s personal war and terrorism risks as a broker and underwriter at Lloyd’s of London.  He was also adamant that we use the word ‘promulgated’ and it’s the GM of WorldNomads.com issue if he doesn’t know what it means !!