Ben Garston would like to talk to you.
A partner at London-based insurer MAP Underwriting, Garston, 34, has begun selling what he describes as the first “all-inclusive” insurance against political violence. “Most policies insuring businesses in danger zones are narrowly focused and exclude war, terrorism and physical injury,” he explains. “This is the first insurance policy that protects both goods and individuals in case of war, invasion, revolution, civil war, coups d'état, terrorism, civil riots, labor disputes and virtually every other type of hostile act.”
MAP has yet to sell a single policy, but Garston says he’s negotiating with several banks and high-tech companies that have investments in the Middle East.
Not that Garston can say how much the insurance will cost. “There are lots of statistics that help quantify risk, but for political violence there are no real statistics, and the risk can be completely different from one day to the next. That makes pricing difficult,” he says.
Not even MAP will take on every risk. It won’t insure against nuclear destruction, chemical warfare or “electronic terrorism,” says Garston, who trained as a lawyer before he went into insurance underwriting.
