Ten years of “Insurance for”: standing behind people in difficult places

Ten years ago we launched a simple idea with a complicated brief. Create practical, affordable insurance for people doing difficult work in dangerous places, starting with journalists. Make it flexible enough for freelancers. Make it robust enough for major newsrooms. Make it human.

Today, the “Insurance for” brand supports thousands of people around the world. From reporters and camera crews to local fixers, NGO teams and specialists who work in fragile, hostile or fast changing environments.

This anniversary is not really about us. It is about the people who go anyway when everyone else is told to stay away. Our job is to help them do that with one less thing to worry about.

Why we started: a dangerous gap in cover

When we began, the gap was obvious.

Mainstream travel and life insurance did not want to know if you were heading to a conflict zone, a fragile state or even a tense election. Many policies excluded war, terrorism or civil unrest. Others quietly restricted whole regions.

That left:

 
• Freelance journalists travelling uninsured
 
• Local staff and fixers with no formal protection
 
• Newsrooms trying to do the right thing without clear options

At the same time, the risk to journalists was rising and international bodies were recording growing numbers of attacks on the media. Independent organisations such as the Committee to Protect Journalists and the International Federation of Journalists have spent years documenting that reality and the cost of going without proper protection.

Our answer was to build cover that did not punish people for doing high risk but essential work. We focussed on clear wording, fast turnaround and direct access to people who understand hostile environments.

Insurance for journalists: where the journey began

We started with one group: journalists and media teams.

The first “Insurance for journalists” product was designed around real assignments, not textbook travel. That meant:

 
• Short trips, rolling deployments and long term postings
 
• Shifting itineraries and last minute changes
 
• Freelancers and staffers on the same story needing different arrangements

Over time, that approach led to partnerships with major news and media organisations, now covering tens of thousands of media professionals worldwide.

 

“What mattered to us was speed and clarity. Our teams can be commissioned at 24 hours’ notice. ‘Insurance for’ built a process that mirrors that reality, so we can get people cleared to travel without endless back and forth.”

 

Head of safety, global news network

In the background, organisations such as the International News Safety Institute and press freedom groups have highlighted the rising risks to people working in news. Our role is to turn that awareness into practical cover that lets assignments go ahead more safely.

Standing behind fixers and local teams

As we grew, one thing became clear. You cannot claim to support press freedom if you only insure the people on the plane from London, Paris or New York.

Local fixers, producers, drivers and translators carry much of the same risk. Often more. Yet historically they have been the least protected.

We built “insurance for fixers” so that media organisations could include local partners alongside their own staff. The aim was simple: make it as easy to insure a fixer in country as it is to insure a correspondent flying in.

 

“For years our policy language covered ‘staff’ but not the local people who made our reporting possible. Extending cover to fixers sent a clear message. We see you as part of the team, not as an expendable cost.”

 

Regional bureau chief, international broadcaster

This sits alongside the work of groups such as the Rory Peck Trust, who have spent decades championing freelancers and local crews. Proper insurance is one more way to show that everyone in the chain matters.

From media to NGOs and anyone working in hostile regions

The risk landscape has not stood still over the last decade. Conflicts have multiplied. Political violence has spread. Climate related disasters and complex emergencies have become more frequent.

Humanitarian and development workers have seen the same pattern. UN agencies and independent projects such as the Aid Worker Security Database have tracked record levels of attacks on aid workers in recent years.

It was natural for us to extend what we do.

 
• insuranceforngos.com was created for NGOs, charities and humanitarian groups that need consistent, auditable cover for staff and volunteers across multiple countries
 
• insuranceforanyone.com followed for people whose work takes them into risky places whatever their job title

That now includes:

 
• Engineers and technicians keeping essential infrastructure running
 
• Trainers and consultants delivering programmes in fragile settings
 
• Researchers, election observers and field coordinators
 
• Local partners and community based staff who are often most exposed

 

“We run projects in six countries. Each with different security profiles, visa rules and medical risks. Having one partner that understands all of that and can still turn around cover in time for a deployment briefing has saved us more than once.”

 

Global security adviser, European NGO

From media to NGOs and beyond, the principle is the same: if your work takes you into difficult places, proper cover should be an option, not an exception.

What has stayed the same in ten years

Although our footprint has grown, a few things have not changed.

People first
We start with the individual. Their role, their route and their reality on the ground. The policy is there to serve that, not the other way round.

Clarity over clever wording
We work hard to keep exclusions, definitions and processes straightforward. If we cannot explain a clause in plain English, we rewrite it.

Practical flexibility
High risk work is rarely neat. Assignments move. Visas break. Flights get cancelled. Our products are built to accommodate change wherever the risk can still be managed safely.

Direct access to humans
Clients speak to people who understand conflict zones, not generic call centre agents reading from scripts.

How the world has changed and why cover matters more than ever

The last decade has been one of the most dangerous periods on record for people working in conflict and crisis zones. Across journalism, humanitarian work and specialist contracting, the trend is clear: higher exposure and more complex risks.

The role of specialist insurance is not to encourage reckless behaviour. It is to make sure that when essential work has to be done, people can go with proper protection, clear support routes and fewer unknowns for their families if something goes wrong.

 

“For our team, insurance is not a tick box. It is a signal that the organisation is serious about our safety and about our families if the worst happens. That is why we keep coming back.”

 

Freelance photojournalist, Middle East and North Africa

What this means if you organise work in risky places

Whether you are running a newsroom, an NGO programme or a small consultancy, three things now matter more than ever.

1. Joined up cover for entire teams
Staff, freelancers, fixers and local partners should sit under a coherent risk and insurance approach, not a patchwork of one off arrangements.

2. Cover that matches the real footprint of your work
If your teams rotate between regions or operate across borders, you need products that recognise that, not policies written for standard business travel.

3. A partner who understands your world
You should be able to speak to someone who knows what a hostile environment course is, what an extraction plan looks like and how it feels to green light travel when the travel advice map is already red.

This is the space where “Insurance for” works every day.

Thank you to the people we insure

An anniversary is a chance to pause. So this is our moment to say thank you.

To the journalists, camera crews, editors and producers who keep telling difficult stories.
To the fixers, translators and drivers who hold whole operations together behind the scenes.
To the NGO staff and local partners working every day in places most people only hear about in headlines.
To the specialists, engineers, trainers and consultants who keep essential services running in tough conditions.

Looking ahead: the next ten years

The next decade is unlikely to be calmer than the last. The mix of conflict, political risk and climate pressure suggests the opposite.

Our commitment is simple.

 
• Keep improving the cover we offer so it reflects the realities on the ground
 
• Keep working with insurers, assistance providers and safety bodies that share our focus on people, not just premiums
 
• Keep making it easier for organisations of all sizes to do the right thing for their teams

We will continue to learn from the people we insure, from safety trainers, from press freedom and humanitarian groups and from the changing legal and regulatory landscape.

What you can do next

If you already trust us with your teams, thank you for being part of the last ten years.

If you are new to “Insurance for” and you send people into difficult places, now is a good moment to review how they are protected.

 
• Check your current cover - does it actually match where you send people, what they do and how they work
 
• Talk to us about your next assignment or deployment - we can walk through the risks and the options in plain language

You do not have to figure this out on your own. If you would like to mark our ten year anniversary by making sure your people are properly covered, get in touch with us today to discuss your next trip, project or organisation wide programme.