When tragedies like the Titan submersible disaster occur, there is a cost associated with the rescue mission
The tragic loss of five lives in the Titan submersible disaster cannot be quantified in dollar terms; each of those who died leaves devastated loved ones.
But the ending nobody wanted to this story has prompted questions about the risk to those involved in search and rescue operations when expeditions like this one go wrong, and who should cover the cost of that.
Many people enjoy adventures, but when significant wealth is factored in, the risks are frequently amplified, perhaps because of the financial ability to do things bigger but also personality traits that were likely a factor in their wealth accumulation too.
“Five people have just lost their lives and to start talking about insurance, all the rescue efforts and the cost can seem pretty heartless — but the thing is, at the end of the day, there are costs,” said Arun Upneja, dean of Boston University’s School of Hospitality Administration and a researcher on tourism.
The rise of social media has led to more people hearing about extreme adventures and seeking greater thrills.
“And the wealthy are obviously able to pay,” added Upneja in an interview with BU Today. “They want to be in the news and have bragging rights. There are so many reasons why people seek adventure. Once you’ve done something multiple times, you don’t get that thrill, that rush anymore. And so you seek more and more dangerous activities.”
When it goes wrong
These riskier pursuits will generally involve high costs if search and rescue is required.
While the US Coast Guard’s official line is: “We cannot attribute a monetary value to Search and Rescue cases, as the Coast Guard does not associate cost with saving a life,” it is likely to run to several million dollars, which cannot be reclaimed under US federal law.
The issue of rescue costs was highlighted almost 20 years ago when Steve Fossett and billionaire Richard Branson attempted to go round the world in a hot air balloon.
It resulted in a rescue operation off Hawaii and Branson offered to cover the costs if requested by the Coast Guard. It did not ask.
Fossett was involved in two further risky missions that led to emergency help, including in 2007 when his plane went missing in Nevada. It was later discovered crashed in the desert, Fossett was dead.
While his estate paid several hundred thousand dollars towards to official search and rescue operation, the state governor later tried to claim the rest but Fossett’s widow countered that she had paid more than $1 million for a private search operation.
Insurance
There are insurance policies designed to cover the potentially off-the-scale costs of adventures gone wrong.
Ross Thomson, chief executive of Covac Global says that its $1.7 million of cover for medical and security evacuation costs $2,800 for ‘fully indemnified’ cover.
The company’s priciest evacuation, Thomson told the New York Times, was for a client with Covid who was flown from Indonesia to Canada at a cost of $400,000.
Thomson also estimated the cost of the Titan search and rescue operation at around $100 million.
And he told the Times that coverage for an adventure like the one that ultimately claimed the lives of five people is “a long way from anyone saying, ‘I’ll cover the dive down to the Titanic.’”
