New York - When Vulcan AMPS LLC dispatched a team of workers to Iraq last fall, managers knew it would be risky. What they didn't count on was just how much more expensive it would become to insure employees and the company against those dangers.
"The cost is certainly driven up based on the risk," said Michael Stewart, chief administrative officer for the mobile power plant maker, whose insurance bill in Iraq has jumped from $5 600 (R35 392) a month per worker to about $14 500 (R91 640). The costs have been compounded by an assignment that has stretched long past initial expectations.
"Did we anticipate that? No, we really didn't," Stewart said.
Other firms with contracts in Iraq are coming to a similar realization, after watching the cost of insuring workers assigned to the country jump in recent months.
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