Category Archives: Terrorism

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Terrorism Incidents Down, Disruption Up in 2015

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A number of high-profile terrorism attacks worldwide have raised people’s fears this year, but the reality is that the number of attacks and deaths from such attacks actually decreased in 2015, according to Marsh’s 2016 Terrorism Risk Insurance Report.
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The report summarizes terrorism risk insurance trends, benchmarks terrorism insurance take-up rates and pricing, and offers risk management solutions for terrorism exposures.

The more current attacks, often perpetrated by a single individual or small group, are different from those carried out in the 1990s and 2000s when high profile locations were targeted. Individuals carrying out the more recent attacks may have no direct contact with a known terrorist organization, but could be drawn to them through writings and video, particularly on the internet, Marsh said.

These events can be very disruptive to operations in some companies. In the travel industry, for example:

  • About 10% of American travelers canceled booked trips due to the recent attacks in Egypt, France, Lebanon and Mali, which impacted $8.2 billion in travel spending, according to a survey by YouGov.
  • Booking losses for Air France were estimated to be €50 million ($56 million), the company said in a statement.
  • Airlines, hotel chains and travel websites experienced drops in their stock prices after this year’s airport bombing in Brussels.

In the United States, the Terrorism Risk Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2015 (TRIPRA) offers businesses a federal backstop against terrorism-related losses. While the overall take-up rate for TRIPRA coverage in the U.S. increased slightly in 2015, it has remained in the 60% range since 2009, Marsh said.

Managing terrorism risk requires a combination of strategies that protect people, property and finances. On the financial side, the choice is whether to retain or transfer the risk with insurance. But the changing pattern of terrorism risk has some companies asking if they are adequately insured for business interruption and related losses. They also wonder how to prepare for potential losses from cyber terrorism and other events.

Other key takeaways from the report include:

  • As small group and “lone wolf” terrorist attacks appear to be the changing face of terrorism, many organizations are assessing their coverage for indirect losses stemming from business interruption risks.
  • Following the 2015 passage of the Terrorism Risk Insurance Program Reauthorization Act (TRIPRA), take-up rates in the US edged up for TRIPRA terrorism coverage embedded in property programs.
  • Among industry sectors, media organizations had the highest take-up rate for terrorism insurance in 2015.
  • Workers’ compensation markets for terrorism risks generally stabilized.
  • The number of Marsh-managed captives accessing TRIPRA increased by 17% from 2014 to 2015, but many captives that could offer a terrorism program do not.
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Protecting Key Executives in Global Hot Spots

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The recent suicide bombing in Istanbul and the Paris bombing last November killed and injured innocent bystanders and sent shockwaves around the globe. Such attacks also cause organizations to question international travel out of fear of putting their key executives and employees in harm’s way.global travel

As the risk profile changes in some locations that were once considered safe, it is critical to reassess and more deeply examine company programs to protect business travelers abroad.

First of all, for companies and their insurance advisors, there is no substitute for great advance planning. If a company is contemplating overseas travel and can establish well in advance that there exists a need for key person insurance, the coverage is easier to obtain and more cost effective. The reality is that the heightened awareness around a dangerous trip often results in an insurance need being developed or uncovered with little notice. When this need arises, the underwriting process migrates from the traditional life and disability insurance market to the playing field of high limit or specialized risk underwriters.

In one notable example, a large U.S. company recently made a significant investment in a defense contractor. Shortly after the investment closed, the company named a new chief executive officer and sought to acquire $50,000,000 of key person life and disability insurance.

As of the day of the request, their insurance advisor had eight business days to secure the insurance before the CEO departed for the Middle East, with stops in such international hot spots as Iraq and Afghanistan. Because of the abbreviated time frame, traditional life and disability insurance was not an option. The advisor needed to turn to a specialty underwriter that deals with exceptionally large and complex human capital risks.

Armed with the CEO’s itinerary (see below) and details of the executive’s compensation and equity incentive agreement, the advisor had enough information to present the submission to the underwriters.

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Within 72 hours, a policy was issued that covered the private equity firm’s loss of the CEO directly due to an accidental death or disability, as well as a result of acts of war or terrorism.

Few domestic life and disability carriers possess the ability to underwrite large risks when there is high-risk exposure in the world’s hot zones. Instead, companies and their brokers must work with large international insurers that are willing to deploy meaningful capacity.

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The easiest way for advisors to access these markets is through an experienced U.S.-based correspondent who is skilled at designing and underwriting coverage in these volatile locations. Local correspondents or managing general underwriters also serve to guide brokers through the regulatory complexities that go along with underwriting risks through surplus lines carriers—something most life and health producers have little experience with.

The best brokers are masters at uncovering details from their clients, documenting them and communicating them effectively to underwriters. A well-written cover memo will often be the basis for offering coverage and can be the primary source for pricing consideration. A complete itinerary coupled with security details are the underwriter’s key points of interest, so make sure the information is gathered and communicated as early as possible.

Frequently, specific plans will be classified when working with international defense contractors, but one way or the other, the basic information must be made available. When underwriting coverage in highly hostile areas, rates can vary based on multiple factors, such as security arrangements, travel vendors, length of stay and, in highly hostile areas, rates even vary down to specific latitude and longitude coordinates, often within a single city or locale.

No detail is too small for spelling out the need for the insurance and financial justification, including the purpose of the trip and the client’s specific duties and objectives. This is the information that sets apart a submission and makes it more likely for an underwriter to go out on a limb with preferential pricing and terms.

Keep in mind, when underwriting risks in highly volatile areas—with the propensity for rapid deterioration—it may not be possible to negotiate coverage or a rate guarantee for the entire duration of the client’s journey. It is essential to keep in mind that the best underwriting offers go to advisors who deliver the most detailed and accurate information.

Example of a CEO’s itinerary:

Day 1 – Depart Commercial Air for Dubai

Day 3 – Arrive in Baghdad, Iraq – Transport to Camp Butler

Day 4 – Depart Baghdad and arrive in Dubai

Day 5 – Depart Dubai arrive Kabul, Afghanistan – Transport to Camp Gibson

Day 6 – Fly to Kandahar, Afghanistan

Day 7 – Depart Kandahar, Afghanistan – fly to Abu Dhabi

Day 12 – Depart Abu Dhabi for U.S.

It is important that we don’t allow acts of terrorism to knock the wheels off our economy. Business travel and face-to-face meetings are key elements in making us what we are, so it’s imperative that we mitigate the associated risk whenever possible.

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Foo Fighters Sue Lloyd’s Over Terrorism Coverage

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Foo Fighters
The Foo Fighters said they are suing Lloyd’s of London for failing to reimburse them for scheduled concerts that were called off after the November terrorist attacks in Paris.
Loss adjuster Robertson Taylor is also part of the suit, which was filed on June 13 in federal court in Los Angeles.

The group canceled scheduled shows in Turin, Italy; Paris and Lyon, France; and Barcelona, after the Islamic State attacks because of threats, according to the Associated Press. Immediately following the Paris attacks, the Foo Fighters said, their website was hacked and the ISIS flag was displayed with an automatic weapon and a threat to “be prepared.”

The AP reported:

The band says in the suit that it believes it will be paid for the Paris and Lyon cancellations but alleges that Robertson Taylor advised underwriters against paying for canceled shows in Italy and Spain despite ISIS releasing a video threatening additional attacks in Europe.

The band is also suing the insurers for not paying for three canceled shows related to group leader Dave Grohl’s injured leg after a fall from a stage in Sweden last June.

Performers cancel shows for a number of reasons, but whether they are covered depends on details in their cancellation insurance policy. Terrorism is listed as a cause of loss by K&K Insurance. Other triggers include:

  • Power failure
  • Damages to leased or rented venues
  • Damage to surrounding venues or infrastructure resulting in lack of access
  • Natural catastrophe such as earthquake and flood
  • Adverse weather conditions (coverage is broader than rain insurance and there are no rain gauge requirements)
  • Non appearance of a principal speaker or entertainer
  • Inability to erect facilities at a venue
  • Disease outbreak (certain exclusions may apply)
  • Labor dispute/strike risks
  • Failure of TV broadcast
  • Any other previously unforeseen cause not excluded under the wording.

For more information about recent cases involving event cancellation, check out our recent article in Risk Management Magazine.

EgyptAir Flight MS 804 Crash Confirmed, Killing 66

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Egyptian authorities believe they have found debris from EgyptAir Flight MS 804, but the search remains on for the wreckage of the Airbus A320 traveling from Paris to Cairo that vanished from the radar and crashed into the Mediterranean early this morning.

According to the Greece’s defense minister, Greek controllers attempted to contact the aircraft when it crossed through the country’s airspace but could not get a response. The plane made “sudden swerves” before dropping from 37,000 to 15,000 feet and disappearing from radar. The small commercial jet was about half full, carrying 66 passengers from a range of nations, including 30 from Egypt, 15 from France, two Iraqis, and one person each from Britain, Belgium, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Chad, Portugal, Algeria and Canada.

egyptair map reuters

No cause has been officially identified, but many security analysts and government officials believe that an act of terrorism may have downed the plane. There were no documented red flags before the plane disappeared: local weather was good, the plane was on its fifth flight of the day, the pilot and copilot had logged a significant amount of flying experience, and Greek aviation officials said the pilots did not mention any issues.

According to Reuters, Egyptian Prime Minister Sherif Ismail said it was too early to rule out any possible explanation, and French President Francois Hollande told reporters, “No hypothesis can be ruled out, nor can any be favored over another.” Egypt’s civil aviation minister said a terrorist attack was more likely than a technical failure, however. Two U.S. officials told CNN that the government is operating on an initial theory the flight was taken down by a bomb, but cautioned this is not yet supported by a “smoking gun.” No terrorist groups have yet claimed responsibility for the crash.

As Time noted:

Egypt has been the victim of terrorism in the skies relatively recently. Last October, a Metrojet charter plane filled with Russian tourists crashed into the Sinai Desert shortly after taking off from the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, headed to St. Petersburg, Russia. All 224 passengers died in the crash. Investigators quickly speculated that a home-made bomb had been placed aboard the aircraft and in February the Islamic State, or ISIS, claimed responsibility, saying that it had indeed smuggled an explosive device aboard the aircraft.

In March, a passenger aboard an EgyptAir plane flying from Alexandria to Cairo hijacked the plane wearing a fake suicide belt, an incident that raised deep concerns among aviation authorities about the anti-terrorist measures in place on EgyptAir flights, and at Egyptian airports.

Beyond the region, a number of high-profile losses have hit the aviation industry as a whole over the past two years, including the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 and the crash of MH17, a Boeing 777 shot down over Ukraine. As we reported at the time, however, crashes actually continue to decrease. While the insured losses from a plane crash can be significant, the capacity in the aviation insurance market has continued to keep rates stable and relatively low.

In the terrorism insurance market, recent losses have also not yet borne out a concrete impact on rates or capacity. While some European markets have recently reduced their underwriting appetite, terrorism coverage has primarily broadened, with significant capacity and rates that remain relatively low.

As Business Insurance recently reported, the terror attacks in Paris and Brussels have prompted an increase in the take-up rate for event coverage to add to buyers’ terrorism insurance programs. Tim Davies, head of sabotage and terrorism at London specialty insurer Sompo Canopius, told the magazine that many buyers have been adding liability and event cancellation coverage, prompted by the continued relatively low rates. Despite the spike in attacks in Europe, Richard Sawyer, director and head of North American terrorism at Aon Risk Solutions, told AM Best last week that rates for terror coverage should remain relatively stable unless the frequency of attacks escalates.