An international crisis (the kidnapping of an employee, arbitrary arrest, emergency evacuation, natural disaster, or sudden deterioration of a country’s security situation) leaves only a few hours to make a decision. Geodesk, a broker specializing in international insurance for 30 years, structures your crisis management plan and coordinates all the coverage activated when a serious incident affects your teams abroad. From risk anticipation through to repatriation and post-crisis follow-up, a dedicated contact person manages the response in more than 150 countries, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Corporate crisis management refers to the set of procedures, decisions, and safeguards that enable an organization to respond to a serious and unforeseeable event affecting its employees abroad. The international standard ISO 31000 defines a crisis as an abnormal event that threatens the organization and requires a strategic, appropriate, and rapid response.
In practical terms, an international crisis can take the form of a kidnapping, arbitrary detention, a serious medical emergency, a terrorist attack, a coup d’état, or a natural disaster requiring the immediate evacuation of a team.
An effective crisis management system is more than just purchasing insurance coverage: it integrates insurance protection—such as assistance services, medical repatriation, K&R (kidnap and ransom), personal accident coverage, and liability insurance—with a crisis response team capable of making real-time decisions. The real challenge lies in coordination, as a single incident simultaneously triggers multiple policies and assistance platforms, often from different insurers. Geodesk acts as a single point of contact that coordinates these coverages and serves as the link between the field, insurers, and specialized consultants, ensuring that no critical decision falls through the cracks between policies.
Real-world situations where every hour counts, and where Geodesk understands the realities on the ground.
An employee is kidnapped during an assignment in a high-risk area. The immediate priority is not to pay a ransom, but to mobilize a professional negotiator and a crisis response team within a few hours. The K&R (kidnapping and ransom) coverage then covers the crisis management consultant’s fees, negotiation costs, legal and medical support, and psychological counseling for the victim and their family after their release.
The security situation in a host country can deteriorate rapidly following a coup or a terrorist attack. A safe evacuation guarantee allows teams to be evacuated even before an official departure order is issued by the authorities, based solely on the crisis management team’s assessment. This ability to anticipate events distinguishes specialized coverage from standard travel insurance, which typically waits for a government recommendation before taking effect.
A serious medical condition may occur several hours away from any appropriate hospital. Managing a medical emergency requires a medical evacuation (MEDEVAC) coordinated with a medical dispatch center that is available 24 hours a day, speaks the local language, and is capable of arranging medical transport.
A crisis management system is based on safeguards that are triggered together, never in isolation.
This coverage includes kidnapping for ransom, extortion, arbitrary detention, hijacking, and tiger kidnapping, as well as the loss of ransom payments in transit and associated crisis management costs.
This coverage provides for the safe evacuation of teams in the event of political or security instability, as well as medical evacuation (MEDEVAC) available 24 hours a day from any country where the mission is taking place.
This service provides immediate access to crisis management consultants and professional negotiators as soon as an incident is suspected—often the most critical aspect of a contract, even more so than the financial aspect.
This coverage provides for the payment of a death benefit, a spousal or child support annuity, and coverage for disability resulting from a serious incident that occurred while on a mission abroad.
This coverage safeguards the employer’s safety obligation and protects executives from liability (D&O) in the event of gross negligence when an employee is exposed in a sensitive area.
This service covers psychological support, continued salary payments, recovery costs, media relations, and managing the aftermath of the incident—for both the victim and the organization.
In a crisis, the value of a contract is measured by the person who answers the phone. At Geodesk, a dedicated contact person manages your case from the first point of contact through to the claim, without any anonymity. This contact person is familiar with your contracts, your teams, and the countries where you operate, which allows decisions to be made within hours rather than days. This personal touch is what Geodesk’s clients remember most about successful crisis management.
2. Anticipate Before the Situation Escalates A crisis insurance policy taken out after a country’s security situation has deteriorated almost always excludes areas already classified as high-risk. Geodesk sets up your coverage in advance, when it is still available, and adjusts your coverage as a country’s situation evolves. Anticipating the unpredictable requires constant monitoring of global news and a detailed understanding of geographic exclusions.
A crisis insurance policy taken out after a country’s credit rating has been downgraded almost always excludes areas already classified as high-risk. Geodesk sets up your coverage in advance, when it is still available, and adjusts your coverage as a country’s situation evolves. Anticipating the unpredictable requires constant monitoring of global news and a detailed understanding of geographic exclusions.
Many security managers lack a centralized system for managing on-site crises: multiple insurers, multiple assistance platforms, and multiple numbers to call in an emergency. Geodesk centralizes all of this and coordinates the response as a single point of contact, from the activation of the crisis response team until the case is closed. This centralization prevents a critical decision from getting lost between two contracts at the most critical moment.
Geodesk draws on 30 years of 100% international expertise, strong partnerships with insurers, and recognized legal expertise—particularly through its publications with the CDSE (Cercle des Directeurs de Sécurité des Entreprises). This reliability is reflected in contracts that are negotiated and tailored to each situation, in cases where traditional insurance policies cannot cover travel to sensitive areas.
We’ll conduct a free review of your current international health insurance coverage and identify your areas of risk in less than 48 hours—with no obligation and in complete confidence.
We compare the available plans and negotiate coverage with our partner insurers, tailoring coverage limits, deductibles, and options to your destination country.
We set up the policy, the certificates, and access to the support platform so that every policyholder is covered even before they leave for a trip abroad.
A dedicated representative manages changes to the policy, claims, and 24-hour assistance throughout your employees’ stay.
Analysis of Your Needs
We’ll conduct a free review of your current international health insurance coverage and identify your areas of risk in less than 48 hours—with no obligation and in complete confidence.
Solution Architecture
We compare the available plans and negotiate coverage with our partner insurers, tailoring coverage limits, deductibles, and options to your destination country.
Deployment
We set up the policy, the certificates, and access to the support platform so that every policyholder is covered even before they leave for a trip abroad.
Follow-up & Support
A dedicated representative manages changes to the policy, claims, and 24-hour assistance throughout your employees’ stay.
Pain Without Borders
Pain Without Borders
Pain Without Borders has been using Geodesk's services for several years. Geodesk regularly provides us with insurance solutions tailored to our experts' missions in our various areas of operation, particularly in Ukraine, Ivory Coast, and Mozambique. Communication is always smooth, quick, and efficient, and we are fully satisfied with our collaboration and the availability of our account managers. "
URD Group
A. Lefevre
HR Director
“The travel of Better with Water employees is essential to the success of our field missions. Having a reliable insurance partner allows us to support them with peace of mind, wherever they are working. The quality of the support, the responsiveness of the teams, and the coverage tailored to our needs are a real asset for our organization and for the safety of our employees.”
GERES
X.ARNOULT
HR Director
“For several years, Geodesk and IECD have been developing a structured partnership to benefit the social protection of employees on international assignments. Present in 18 countries, IECD works to promote access to education, employment, and entrepreneurship. Geodesk's support helps to secure these initiatives in sometimes complex or fragile environments, particularly in Lebanon and Madagascar. This long-term partnership is based on a strong and shared relationship of trust between IECD and Geodesk, serving their common commitments on the ground.”
Reporters Without Borders
“RSF has been working with Geodesk for several years. We particularly appreciate the quality of their personalized support. Their teams are always responsive, available, and attentive to our needs. We appreciate their follow-up and always enjoy communicating with them.”
The Alexandre Dumas French Lycée in Moscow
Jean-Paul SCHÜTZ
Principal
“The Lycée Français Alexandre Dumas in Moscow , a school directly managed by the AEFE (Agency for French Education Abroad), places the safety and well-being of its students at the heart of its priorities. This is why we attach paramount importance to the quality of the school insurance we have purchased from CGEA GEODESK. Our school welcomes over 660 students, from preschool to the final year of high school, from numerous nationalities and spread across three separate campuses. In such a demanding international environment, we need a reliable partner. CGEA GEODESK fully meets this requirement. The “INTERNATIONAL STUDENT SCHOOL INSURANCE” coverage protects our students during school hours, on educational outings, and during all extracurricular activities organized by the school, thus providing continuous protection tailored to our daily lives.”
CartONG
L. Cailloce
Administrative and Logistics Officer
“Your speed and responsiveness ensure that we always receive our insurance certificates on time for our employees working in the field, even when we notify you relatively late. This is something we greatly appreciate, and it’s a relief to know that we can count on you in this regard.”
In this new era of remote work, more and more employees are expressing a desire to work from abroad.
But be careful—this doesn’t mean that insurance policies and companies will always cover all risks in the event of an accident or problem.
When you work remotely from abroad, you aren’t necessarily on a business trip. As a result, policies may not cover all associated risks. That’s why some companies sometimes have employees sign liability waivers!
Analysis and coverage of travel in sensitive areas, areas with evolving risks, or conflict zones, with specific extensions for the most exposed destinations.
Protection against personal liability for executives, including the risk of being held liable following a serious incident involving an employee.
24/7 medical and security assistance, medical evacuation (MEDEVAC), and repatriation of remains from more than 150 countries.
Death benefit, spousal and education annuities, disability, and incapacity coverage for employees on international assignments.
Establishment of a business travel risk management system that complies with the ISO 31000 standard and the employer's duty of care.
Responding to cyber-extortion and ransomware incidents, a type of crisis that has become all too common for international organizations.
Traditional assistance insurance covers a single, foreseeable event, such as a hospital stay. Crisis management coordinates multiple coverage provisions that are triggered simultaneously during a serious and unforeseeable event, and it adds the ability to make real-time decisions through a crisis response team. Whereas assistance insurance reimburses costs, the crisis management system makes decisions, directs the response, and mediates among multiple policies.
The ransom is never the largest expense in a K&R case. The coverage includes the fees for the crisis management consultant and the negotiator—sometimes with no upper limit—as well as legal fees, medical and psychological care, continued salary payments, loss of business, family travel expenses, public relations, and the loss of the ransom in transit. It often extends to extortion, arbitrary detention, kidnapping, threats, and, depending on the contract, cyber-extortion.
No, and this is a critical point that is often overlooked. Most K&R contracts require absolute confidentiality: disclosing the existence of the policy can void the coverage and put the insured individuals at greater risk, as this information increases their value in the eyes of potential kidnappers. Geodesk structures the underwriting process and the internal flow of information in a way that preserves this confidentiality.
It depends on the nature of the risk. Most contracts distinguish between passive war risk (being caught up in a conflict that one did not seek out) and active war risk, which is generally excluded. A region can change within a matter of days: Geodesk systematically verifies how war risk is handled, the specific list of geographic exclusions, and the existence of specific extensions before approving a crisis response plan.
French law imposes a duty of care on employers toward their employees, including during assignments abroad. In the absence of a crisis prevention and management plan, the employer risks being found liable for inexcusable negligence if an employee is injured or involved in an incident. A documented crisis management plan provides both personal protection for employees and legal protection for the organization and its executives.
The ISO 31000 standard, published in 2021, provides a recognized framework for identifying, assessing, and managing risks associated with business travel, as well as for organizing the response to crises. Using this framework helps demonstrate compliance with the duty of care and aligns the crisis management system with an audited international standard. Geodesk supports ISO 31000 compliance and its integration with insurance coverage.
A crisis response team consists of a decision-maker from the company, a designated contact person at the broker, the relevant insurer, and—depending on the incident—a specialized consultant (such as a negotiator, safety expert, or medical regulator). It is activated as soon as a serious incident is suspected—not after it has been confirmed—in order to make the most of the critical first few hours that determine the outcome.
Medical evacuation (MEDEVAC) responds to a health emergency and arranges for medical transport to an appropriate facility. Security evacuation responds to a threat and aims to extract teams from an area that has become dangerous. A specialized authorization may trigger a security evacuation before an official order from the authorities, based solely on the crisis management team’s assessment.
