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Shopping mall attack in Kenya highlights risks to workers abroad

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VICTORIA, British Columbia — Companies whose employees travel internationally to pursue business opportunities abroad need to be aware of the duty of care owed to those workers, especially when they travel to volatile regions of the world, travel risk experts note.

“Where a lot of the lucrative business opportunities lie are often in territories which are challenging and not like home. They are challenging from a medical point of view ... and politically,” said Philipp Seel, a New York-based senior vice president at Special Contingency Risks Ltd., pointing to the recent attack on a shopping center in Kenya as an example.

On Sept. 21, unidentified gunmen attacked the upscale Westgate shopping mall in Nairobi, Kenya, killing at least 72 people. The attackers, who claimed to be affiliated with the Islamist group al-Shabab, also took hostages and engaged in gun battles with Kenyan security forces. Altogether, more than 200 people reportedly were wounded in the mass shooting.

“It's all about protecting your people, which are your greatest assets,” said Robert Otey, senior vice president and director of global security and business continuity at Willis North America Inc. in New York, who along with Mr. Seel spoke during a session on employee travel risks held during the Risk & Insurance Management Society Inc. Canada Conference Oct. 6-9 in Victoria, British Columbia.

Messrs. Seel and Otey urged employers to go beyond purchasing business travel accident insurance and to prepare their employees to know how to act when they confront potentially dangerous situations.

Mr. Otey said that for his company, as well as for many other employers with international business dealings, “the biggest risk is the traveler.” While security precautions can be put in place ahead of time to protect expatriates who are stationed overseas for long periods, the occasional business traveler is more exposed, he said. Moreover, regions once thought safe can change overnight due to the expansion of international terrorism.

“We are living in a dangerous world,” he said. “Pick a place: It's good today but bad tomorrow. It changes every day.”

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The best advice Mr. Otey said he could offer to business travelers is to blend in and not be conspicuous. He also recommended they take direct, nonstop flights and do not check bags. Bags also should be inexpensive so they aren't attractive to thieves, he said.

Willis discourages its employees from taking taxis when traveling to certain countries and, instead, uses prearranged chauffeur services. Rather than holding up placards with employees' names, Mr. Otey recommends these drivers use code words.

He said there have been situations where kidnappers have copied down names written on the placards and stepped ahead of these prearranged drivers to intercept employees.

Mr. Otey also advises international business travelers to pack a separate “grab bag” containing money, a passport and any medications they might need, which they can take with them should they have to evacuate suddenly.