While for many insurers FCO guidance is a trigger for coverage, companies should recognise it will not necessarily be politically independent or tailored to the nuances of those who need to conduct business in potentially dangerous places where independent and non-prescriptive advice can have much more value.
A Collinson Group spokesperson commented on the Foreign Office’s announcement to issue British travellers with more detailed advice about the risks they face abroad.
“We welcome the announcement that the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) is to reform how it issues travel advice, including more information about terrorist targets and the likelihood of attacks. While FCO guidance is a great place to start and designed specifically for British Nationals abroad, it is not intended to provide an entirely comprehensive safety and security briefing for business travellers. While for many insurers FCO guidance is a trigger for coverage, companies should recognise it will not necessarily be politically independent or tailored to the nuances of those who need to conduct business in potentially dangerous places where independent and non-prescriptive advice can have much more value.
“For example, a female business traveller in Saudi Arabia should be especially vigilant and may find it unsuitable for reasons of cultural expectations or safety visiting the far north of the country. However, if they are visiting an international centre such as Riyadh or Jeddah the advice is much more lenient. The FCO advice for Saudi Arabia currently only focuses on the border conflict zones with Yemen, advising against travel to these parts, with little context or nuance given to the particular traveller and the needs for their specific journey.
“Worryingly, our research reveals the FCO website is used by more than six in ten corporates to complete risk assessments for employees travelling abroad. Even with enhanced guidance on terrorist threats, using just this tool for risk assessments is inadequate and could see companies not legally compliant with Duty of Care obligations. It is a serious issue, when it comes to briefing employees pre-travel under half of HR professionals at large corporates said they ensure employees are issued with company guidelines with regards to safety and security when travelling on business, reducing to 40% for SMEs.
“All companies sending employees overseas in 2017 should ensure employees have access to appropriate guidance pre-travel and when abroad. While terrorist incidents are very high profile, it is important to brief employees on all aspects of safety abroad, as it is often those issues that don’t grab the headlines, such as road traffic incidents, that occur with most frequency.”
Vicky is the co-founder of TravelDailyNews Media Network where she is the Editor-in Chief. She is also responsible for the daily operation and the financial policy. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Tourism Business Administration from the Technical University of Athens and a Master in Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Wales.
She has many years of both academic and industrial experience within the travel industry. She has written/edited numerous articles in various tourism magazines.
