Celebrating ten years of “Insurance for” and why it matters to NGOs

Ten years ago we launched “Insurance for” to solve a clear problem. Journalists and media teams were travelling into dangerous places with little or no realistic cover. Traditional insurance avoided war, terrorism and civil unrest. The people telling the story were often carrying the risk alone.

Since then we have grown from a specialist media partner into a long term ally for NGOs, charities and humanitarian organisations. Our work with newsrooms taught us how to respond quickly, handle complex travel and support people under pressure. NGOs showed us how much further that experience could go.

This anniversary is a chance to look at what that journey means for organisations whose work is to protect others, often in the hardest places on earth.

From journalists to NGOs: the same gap in different clothes

When we started with journalists, three things stood out.

• Standard travel policies excluded the very risks people were paid to take
• Freelancers and local staff fell through the cracks of corporate cover
• Complex itineraries made it hard to match real exposure to tidy policy wording

NGOs face similar issues, but on a different scale.

• Programmes often run across several countries with very different risk levels
• Teams blend international staff, national staff and local partners
• Movement can be restricted or change at short notice as situations evolve

The result is familiar. Staff and volunteers carry real risk. HR and security teams shoulder heavy responsibility. Off the shelf insurance struggles to keep up.

Why NGOs need something different from standard cover

NGO work is not ordinary business travel. Duty of care is not a slogan. It is a daily reality that affects recruitment, morale and trustee oversight.

NGOs tell us they need an insurance partner who understands:

• The difference between a monitoring visit and a full emergency response deployment
• How programmes move from short term humanitarian work into longer development phases
• The role of local staff, partner organisations and community based workers
• The tension between keeping people safe and reaching those most in need

They also need cover that aligns with internal processes. Security briefings, travel approvals, risk registers and safeguarding policies all sit alongside insurance. These pieces should support each other, not compete for attention.

“We do not just need a policy. We need a partner who can sit in the same conversation as our security advisers and programme leads. ‘Insurance for’ understand the operational side which saves us time and reduces friction.”

Director of people and culture, European humanitarian NGO

What insuranceforngos.com offers to your organisation

We built insuranceforngos.com around the realities of NGO work. At the centre is a simple idea. Give your people clear, practical protection so they can focus on the work in front of them.

Key elements include:

• Cover for international staff, national staff and local partners under one framework
• Support for both short term deployments and longer postings in higher risk locations
• Accidental death and disability benefits designed for hostile, fragile and remote settings
• Options for medical evacuation and repatriation where local care is limited
• Processes that can handle multiple countries, changing itineraries and last minute movements

Behind the policy wording sits a team used to working with security managers, HR departments and in country leadership. We know that questions often arrive on a Friday afternoon when a flight is already booked. Our role is to give clear answers quickly.

Real world scenarios where specialist NGO cover matters

Every organisation is different, but some patterns repeat. These are typical examples of how our NGO clients use us.

1. Emergency response in a new country

A regional team is asked to deploy at short notice after a natural disaster. The country is new to the organisation and the security picture is still changing.

With specialist cover in place the NGO can:

• Confirm that the risk profile fits within existing policy zones
• Extend cover to include surge staff, technical experts and in country drivers
• Clarify medical evacuation routes before the team lands

Security advisers can then build plans on a known foundation rather than work around gaps in protection.

2. Long term programme in a fragile setting

A development NGO runs a multi year programme in a region with periodic unrest. Staff live in country with regular field travel to remote communities.

Standard travel insurance would treat this as business trips. Our approach recognises it as an extended presence in a fragile context. That means realistic limits, a focus on continuity of cover and a structure that reflects actual movement patterns.

3. Partner led projects with shared risk

A larger NGO funds and supports local organisations who deliver much of the work. The question of who is covered and how is often unclear.

Using our framework, the lead NGO can bring key partner staff into a consistent protection model. That helps clarify responsibilities, reassure boards and support local organisations that may not have access to specialist insurance on their own.

Standing behind local staff and community workers

Local staff and community based workers are often closest to the people you serve. They are also the ones who stay when international teams rotate out. Yet in many structures their protection is weaker than that of expatriate staff.

We believe this is both a moral and a practical issue.

• Moral, because risk should not be carried most heavily by those with the fewest options
• Practical, because long term programme quality depends on local expertise and trust

Our NGO work builds on what we learnt with local fixers in the media world. It should be as straightforward to insure a community health worker or local coordinator as a visiting consultant.

“Bringing our national staff into the same cover framework as internationals was a turning point. It showed we meant what we said about equal value and shared risk.”

Regional HR manager, global development NGO

What has stayed constant over ten years

As the “Insurance for” family has grown, a few principles have remained fixed.

People first
We start with the people you send into the field, not just the policy schedule. Their role, route and context come first. Cover is built around that.

Plain language
Insurance is complex enough without jargon. We explain terms in clear English and avoid small print surprises. If a clause cannot be explained simply, we rework it.

Realistic flexibility
Programmes change. Donors adjust focus. Security conditions move. Our products are designed to flex with those realities where the risk can be managed properly.

Human contact
You speak to people who understand high risk work. Not a generic call centre. This saves time and lowers stress when decisions are time sensitive.

Working with your security, HR and leadership teams

Specialist insurance only works if it fits the way your organisation takes decisions. We aim to sit alongside, not in the way of, your existing processes.

• Security teams use us as part of their risk assessment and movement planning
• HR and people teams link our cover to contracts, briefings and staff care
• Finance teams have a clear view of cost per person, country and programme
• Trustees and executives gain assurance that duty of care is taken seriously

We can support you in reviewing current arrangements, identifying gaps and building a simple plan to bring staff, volunteers and partners into a consistent structure.

Looking ahead: NGOs in a more complex world

The next ten years are likely to bring more pressure on NGOs, not less. Conflict and political instability are rising in several regions. Climate related disasters are more frequent. Space for civil society is tightening in many countries.

That mix will not stop NGOs from acting. If anything it makes your work more important. It does mean that protection for your people needs the same level of attention as programme design and fundraising.

For our part, we will keep refining our cover, strengthening our partnerships and learning from the organisations we work with. Our goal is simple. When you decide that a project or deployment is worth the risk, insurance should not be the reason it cannot go ahead.

What you can do next

If your organisation already works with us, thank you for trusting us with your teams. If you are new to “Insurance for” and want to review how you protect people in high risk locations, now is a good time to start.

• Review your current arrangements - check who is covered, where and for what, including local staff and partners
• Talk to us about your programmes - share the countries you work in and the types of activity you run so we can outline practical options

You do not have to solve this alone. If you would like to discuss how insuranceforngos.com can support your duty of care, get in touch with us to talk through your programmes, your people and the places where you work.