Hospitals and healthcare facilities are prone to a wide range of threats to patients, staff and property. Being institutions that are often open 24-hours a day, they have an increased exposure to incidents of violence, child abduction and even threats of extortion.
Due to the varied risks hospitals and healthcare facilities face, security is of the utmost importance. Victor's Hospital Security Risk Management policy goes far beyond the traditional kidnap & ransom policy and plays a vital role in an institution’s efforts to incorporate security and risk management practices into their operations.
Covered events
- Abduction of infant or child even by a non-custodial parent, including legal liability
- Threats of violence against staff, volunteers or management
- Threats of damage to property
- Extortion threats to:
- reveal patient identity information
- kill or injure insured persons
- disrupt computer systems
- contaminate medical supplies
- Hijacking of ambulance or other vehicle
- Hostage situation involving patients or staff
- Kidnap for ransom of directors, officers, employees and patients
- Disappearance of an insured person
Who is it for?
- Hospitals and healthcare facilities of all sizes and types.
- Directors, officers, employees, staff members and trustees, as well as, patients, volunteers, interns, guests and visitors on the premise
Covered losses may include
- Legal liability
- Notification costs associated with the release of patient identity information in the event of an extortion demand
- Loss of revenue including loss due to abduction related publicity
- Costs for increased personal and site security
- Cost of professional security consultants deployed worldwide within 24 hours
- Death or dismemberment benefit
- Ransom/extortion money
- Additional covered expenses including:
- travel and accommodation cost
- psychiatric and medical care
- reward money
- public relations
- legal advice
- salaries of victim and replacement personnel
- rest and rehabilitation expenses
- personal financial loss
Mitigating your risk
To aid in prevention efforts, hospitals and healthcare facilities insured with Victor can use part of their premium to supplement the cost of preventative security services such as threat assessments, simulated exercises and crisis management planning.
Insurance and expertise
Victor's Hospital Security Risk Management policy is a valuable tool that can help protect hospitals and healthcare facilities if an incident does occur.
Should a situation occur, hospitals and healthcare facilities insured with Victor have access to a leading crisis management and response firm to lead them through the incident.
Hospital and health care incidents
The following true events illustrate the seriousness and scope of dangers facing hospitals and healthcare facilities.
Abduction
A new mother sat in her room in a secure and well managed private hospital feeding her newborn baby. A woman in a nurse’s uniform came into the room and told the mother she was taking the baby for tests and to have him weighed. The mother handed over the infant and within minutes the infant was out of the hospital, abducted by a woman impersonating a nurse.
Violence
A disturbed man, whose father died during surgery at a community hospital, blamed the staff and threatened retribution. Three days later, he walked into the emergency ward and fired a small-caliber handgun, killing a nurse and an emergency medical technician, and wounding an emergency room physician.
Parental abduction
Following charges of child abuse and neglect, a father attempted to abduct his son from a hospital where the child was being cared for while in the custody of social services. The father entered the hospital and hid his son in a cloth bag, making it from the seventh-floor nursery onto the street via an emergency exit.
Extortion
A medical center received an extortion demand from a staff member. A blood-drawing technician threatened to publicly claim he had given patients HIV-contaminated blood unless he was paid $1,000,000.