Example Scenarios

The following examples present real life situations, which our
consultants have dealt with, in order to demonstrate how the
Gallagher Crisis Resilience Solution product is able to help businesses and/or
individuals involved to resolve possible crisis.

Act of Terrorism

During the terrorist incidents in Paris in 2015, the Marketing Director of a small London based design company was caught up in the attack. Although not directly injured, she did witness the attacks. Our crisis consultants  provided real time security advice, talking her through a route to a safer area. The crisis expense fund included within the Gallagher Crisis Resilience Solution product allowed her to book a new hotel room, where she could stay until the event had ended.  Upon returning to London, she could also receive trauma counselling provided by an approved counsellor as part of the Gallagher Crisis Resilience Solution policy cover.

Assault

During a business trip to London the Sales Director of a small consulting firm in Leeds was assaulted and suffered serious injuries. The scheduled business meeting was essential in order to complete a business critical contract, and any further delays would significantly impact the organisation’s cash flow. As a result, the Managing Director needed to attend the meeting. In this scenario, the Gallagher Crisis Resilience Solution cover could be triggered to provide the MD with an emergency expense fund to enable him to book a flight that evening to London so that he would be able to attend the meeting; , enabling him to sign the contract on time with no impact on the business’ cash flow.

Blackmail

Whilst working as a Headmaster for an Academy School in Newcastle, a note was received threatening to reveal fictitious details to other senior staff unless the perpetrator was given a promotion. The nature of the threat was menacing and had the potential to cause severe reputational harm. Gallagher crisis consultants provided security advice and expertise to the Headmaster, and by working closely with local law enforcement, helped to ensure the offender was identified and arrested before any harm was done.

Civil Commotion

During riots in London a local specialist caterer was unable to access her premises in order to secure an order scheduled for delivery to the largest wedding venue her company had ever been asked to cater for.  The company risked losing a significant investment, and the reputational impact on the small business would be hard to recover from. Our crisis consultants were already deployed to support other clients and so were readily available to help in this situation. They liaised with local police and escorted the client to her shop where they helped to secure the premise and safely load the foodstuffs. The quick response allowed the wedding catering to continue as planned and the client received new business enquires as a result.

Deprivation

Following a large fire caused as a result of a local gang feud, access to the main administration building for a local business was prevented, as it was within the emergency services cordon area.   Gallagher crisis consultants were contacted to provide  thorough advice and guidance to help enable the business to continue operating. Assistance was provided by locating and assisting in renting nearby office facilities, preventing lost production and unnecessary downtime.

Detention

The Managing Director of a small consulting company was travelling to Dubai to attend a conference. He was detained at the customs checkpoint without any reason being given. He managed to call his office  which escalated the problem to the Gallagher crisis consultants. In response the consultants immediately contacted the British Embassy to send an official to the airport to enquire as to the reason the client was being held. This was a case of a mistaken identity and the client was subsequently released. Without quick intervention of the crisis response consultants, the Managing  could have been held for up to 48 hours, causing unnecessary personal stress and costs to the business.

Disappearance

The daughter of the owner of a medium sized textiles business in Leeds was travelling on a gap year. Her family was unable to contact her for 24 hours and was growing increasingly concerned for her safety. The textile business had purchased the Gallagher Crisis Resilience Solution policy which also covers the owner’s spouse and family members. The client called the 24/7 response number to explain the situation and seek advice. In response the consultants were able to make enquires through local contacts and call around local hospitals in the area where the traveller was believed to have been, and to successfully locate the client’s daughter.

Emergency Repatriation

A small team of event organisers from Sheffield  was working in Cairo, Egypt as part of a number of trade shows they were contracted to organise and deliver. When the Arab Spring occurred, the team found themselves stranded in Cairo and unable to get any commercial flights back to the UK. Gallagher crisis consultants were able to liaise with a known UK Oil and Gas company  which also has staff in Egypt. As the Oil company was sending a plane with its own employees from Egypt to the UK, the consultants managed to secure seats for the team from Sheffield.  Having the Gallagher Crisis Resilience Solution product provided additional emergency funds needed to cover the costs of the flight.

Extortion

A local facilities management company in Cardiff won a new cleaning contract for a chain of local clubs and bars. Shortly after the contract award, they were contacted by an unknown individual who informed them that they would need to pay a £10,000 “management fee” which would help to ensure the contract went smoothly. If no payment was made they were threatened with arson and physical assault. The client called the local police who took the details and said they would look into the allegations, but they had no initial suspect or lead.  By triggering the Gallagher Crisis Resilience Solution cover, the company’s management team could receive support and advice from specialist consultants who could liaise with the local police on the client’s behalf.

Hijack

A plane landing at Stansted airport was hijacked by an individual onboard, claiming political asylum. One of the passengers onboard was deemed to be a local business Director. If a company believes that one of their Directors is onboard, they can call the Gallagher response line. In this case, the company was able to contact  Gallagher crisis consultants who dealt with the situation by liaising with the local police, airline and the Director’s family to ensure that the family was kept as up to date on the situation as possible. With business travelling becoming an increasing necessity, it is important for businesses to enable their employees and their families access to important information, without having to rely on third party media reporting.

Hostage Crisis

A driver for a freight haulage company was assaulted and held hostage whilst gang members proceeded to unload his lorry which was carrying pharmaceutical products. The gang abandoned the driver who had to walk to a phone box to report the crime. He called his head office  which in turn reported the offence to police and Gallagher crisis consultants who arranged for a vehicle to pick the driver up and take him to the nearest police station to provide further details.  Furthermore, the consultants also organised a hotel room for the driver and a train ticket back home the following morning. With the Gallagher Crisis Resilience Solution, the driver would be provided with a trauma counselling after the event.

Kidnap

Whilst travelling to a business meeting in Germany a Sales Manager was kidnapped by an Eastern European organised criminal gang. A demand was subsequently made for a substantial ransom. Gallagher security consultants were assigned to liaise with the victim’s family, UK Police and Government agencies. They also provided a local German contact to liaise with German law enforcement and Interpol. Under the Gallagher Crisis Resilience Solution cover, ongoing consultant support  was provided leading up to the victim’s eventual release.

Product Tamper

A Reading based manufacturer was a key supplier to a major global pet food company. They received a written threat that poison would be added to their product unless they ceased providing products to the pet food company which, it was claimed, was involved in animal experimentation. The incident had the potential to cause severe damage to both companies’ brands and their reputation. Gallagher crisis consultants  liaised with both parties, guiding them on how to manage the crisis, especially in respect of social media and maintaining the highest industry standards. With our Crisis Resilience Solution cover the issue was resolved efficiently and in a professional manner, helping to reinforce relationships  in situations where multiple parties are impacted.

Sabotage

A local Haulage company in Hull won a major new contract from a competitor. Shortly after, the brakes on two of their haulage vehicles were sabotaged, putting the new contract under serious jeopardy. It was suspected that this was the  done  by the rival company.  Gallagher crisis consultants were able to provide expert security advice and secure CCTV images which could then be packaged evidentially and presented to the local Police, enabling the saboteurs to be caught and the haulier to continue with business without further damages.

Stalking

After an employee was legitimately sacked from a small manufacturing business in Norwich, the owner started receiving threating letters and had the tyres of her car slashed and windows smashed.  The owner was able to contact  Gallagher’s security experts who liaised closely with local law enforcement to safeguard evidence and present it to the court to ensure the former employee was detained and the threats ceased. In this situation, the Gallagher Crisis Resilience Solution cover enabled also access to emergency funds to fix the car swiftly.

Cyber Extortion

A small accountancy firm in Glasgow received an email informing them that their company’s network had been hacked and clients information copied. If they did not pay £50,000 this would be released onto the internet. The Gallagher Crisis Resilience Solution cover can provide cyber intelligence experts who can search the dark web for any information and to analyse the threatening email. In this situation, key intelligence which confirmed a breach of the corporate data was obtained. Additionally, the information was provided to the local police to  minimise potential of similar threats being issued to other local businesses.

Threat

Following an unprovoked argument at a school in Birmingham, a gang of students threatened to seriously hurt the daughter of a local businessman.  Gallagher security consultants were contacted by the local businessman to provide expertise on how to deal with the situation.  Actions were taken to reduce the threat to the girl through close liaison with school officials and the law enforcement managed the incident up to the point  when the threats ceased. If required, post-traumatic stress counselling  could also be provided to the daughter as immediate family members are covered under the Gallagher Resilience Solution policy.