On January 10th, 2024 - Police in Papua New Guinea's capital, Port Moresby, walked out after a payroll error docked (approx.) $100 from public servants across the country.
This resulted in shops being looted and set on fire, and citizens and foreigners being assaulted and robbed. 11 deaths have been reported in Port Moresby and a further 8 deaths in Lau, PNGs second largest city.
There were local reports of two expats working for an NGO who were car-jacked, beaten and robbed of their belongings and vehicle when en-route to Jackson International Airport.
The Government was advising expats and residents to remain indoors and shelter in place.
Inherent Risks' operations received a phone call from a Lloyd's market insurer to ask our opinion on triggering a crisis insurance policy due to the situation. At the time, local human intelligence informed us that black smoke was billowing over the capital and there were reports of gun fire in and around the city. Emergency services were also reporting that they were struggling to respond to the volumes of request for emergency medical assistance.
Based on the insurers large people and asset risk exposure in the capital, we advised that the situation was looking like it would get much worse before it improved. As a precautionary measure, the insurer made the decision to trigger an evacuation and requested that Inherent Risks assist.
Working with retained assets on-the-ground, and directly with the energy-sector client, we identified a safe haven outside the capital for all assets to be moved to. We then requested a list of all staff for evacuation. In total, there were eleven foreign-nationals and six in-country nationals (four of which chose to remain behind).
The airport remained open, and although some international carriers had cancelled flights, there were still commercial flights operating. Inherent Risks operations secured thirteen flight tickets, and coordinated secure transportation to the airport.
All insureds were successfully evacuated without incident.