Top Reasons to Hire a Bodyguard Service
If you’re thinking about your personal safety, here are some reasons you may want to invest in bodyguard services.
An enigmatic man in a black suit stands behind a high-profile celebrity, corporate executive, or political candidate – the crowd is interested in the VIP, but the bodyguard is watching them instead. When the attacker makes their approach, the bodyguard springs into action and protects their VIP client.
Movies and TV often portray bodyguards in a glamorized way, but the reality is not so far off. VIP bodyguards (or “protectors”) are highly intelligent, intensely-trained professionals, often with years of experience in the police, military, or martial arts. A bodyguard’s responsibility is to protect their client at all costs, which requires detailed planning ahead of time, and both constant focus and excellent instincts “on the ground.”
For the VIPs who invest in bodyguard services, the expectation is constant diligence. When a situation happens, a bodyguard must respond without hesitation. This extraordinary commitment to place their client’s safety above their own safety requires exceptional character, hands-on training, and experience handling dangerous situations.
If you’ve been thinking about your own personal safety, but are having trouble justifying the cost of bodyguard services, we’re here to help. Here are a few reasons you might consider hiring a bodyguard.
Reason One: You Are a High-Net-Worth Individual
As a high-net-worth individual, you care aboout your own safety, the lives of your loved ones, and your assets. You likely own fine art, automobiles, jewelry, clothes, cash, and electronics. Not to mention private transportation like yachts and planes.
You are an obvious target for criminal activity.
You likely insure your assets and rely principally on law enforcement to keep you safe. Unfortunately, both insurance policies and law enforcement are relatively slow to react to security situations. Depending on the size and nature of your assets, you may want to be more proactive about your personal safety and protecting your assets. That’s where private security comes in. For wealthy individuals, risk management needs to be a way of life.
While bodyguard services are typically thought of as protecting human beings, an additional benefit of having trained security agents on your team is asset protection. Additionally, security teams may also help you to negotiate lower insurance premiums and provide you with a higher quality of life at home and abroad.
Reason Two: You Are a Celebrity of Public Figure
The benefits of fame can be staggering. Unfortunately, there are downsides.
Media and paparazzi scrutiny, stalkers, and the risk of potentially millions of people knowing about your wealth, assets, and personal life. It’s simple math. The more people are aware of you, the greater the risk you will be attacked and impacted.
Just like for high-net-worth individuals and business executives, celebrities and public figures require personal security to protect their safety, peace of mind, and assets. Unlike those two, fame brings far more awareness of your life – so you are at the highest possible risk.
Similarly to business executives, celebrities and public figures represent far more than their own personal worth. For example, a well-known singer-songwriter probably represents 5-10X more to their label than they’re personally worth. And how much is a beloved political figure to a city, state, or country? At some point, a celebrity or public figure’s life and well-being is priceless. The world is simply a worse place without John Lennon – the value of his life was incalculable. And the loss if it incomphrensible.
Reason Three: You Travel Internationally
You may need (or want) to to regularly travel to foreign countries. As you step outside the protection of your home country, threat levels escalate and a bad outcome in the event of an incident can increase exponentially. Even if you aren’t a high-profile individual, many countries present special risks to foreigners with money – and fame increases your risk exponentially.
Criminals target unprotected foreigners and rob them. Kidnapping and ransom plots are unfortunately frequent. And, depending on the country, it’s possible to get caught up in local political conflicts. The idea of being in such situations can be frightening. By hiring a personal bodyguard service to accompany you, you’re investing in both your safety and peace of mind while traveling abroad.
For those who can afford an international lifestyle, the cost of security can be more than worth it.
Reason Four: You Have a Large Social Media Following
Influencers don’t necessarily think of themselves as a celebrity or public figure, but many of the same security risks apply. The larger your following, the greater the threat. In fact, in terms of stalking it can be worse.
Social media interactions can turn into genuinely dangerous threats. Just because someone is hiding behind a screen does not mean they won’t eventually lash out in real life. As social media grows in importance and “letting people into your life” continues to be a primary way of earning social media status, stalking becomes more prevalent and leaking private information becomes more likely.
Social media attention can turn from profitable to perilous for celebrities that, for example, post an ill-advised Tweet – and while the internet’s rage usually stays confined to the internet – there is a percentage of mentally ill followers that could “snap” and become physically dangerous.
If you’ve found that internet threats have become more intense recently, hiring personal security reduces the likelihood of an incident, gives you peace of mind, and spares you from the negative psychological and physical impact of an attack.
Reason Five: You are a Business Executive
When companies reach a particular milestone, business executives can become well-known in the business world and beyond. Unfortunately, with newfound celebrity comes heightened security risks.
Angry ex-employees may want to harm the company’s figurehead. Or, ex-partners might try to take advantage of your status – or even stalk you. Followers on social media may have a problem with your company’s policies or business practices. It’s common for corporate leadership to receive threatening communications.
Of course, any threat to a CEO or executive is also a threat to their company. Corporations must reduce their risk profile in every way possible to protect their shareholders. While money and fame can help a company, there are downsides as well. Hiring professional bodyguard services can give you and your board of directors peace of mind – by significantly reducing the likelihood of a bad outcome. Hiring bodyguard services can also be used to negotiate better insurance premiums. For most mid to large-size businesses, investing in the security of their top executives is a no-brainer.
Reason Six: You Transfer Valuables
Transferring valuables makes you a target. If you’re in a position where you will be moving costly goods or large amounts of money between yourself and someone else, you will want to be very cautious. Such valuables can include large amounts of cash, high-end jewelry, medication or pharmaceuticals, rare collectible items, and sensitive documents. Private security professionals can reduce the risk of loss inherent with transferring valuable assets – helping assets make it to their desired location without mishap. Bodyguard services also fulfill certain insurance requirements and help you to negotiate better rates. Reduction in shrinkage alone can often cover the cost of bodyguard services.
Reason Seven: You Are Currently Facing a Security Threat
Stalking, ransom, extortion, robbery, identity theft, plots against your life. There is a myriad of potential threats facing VIPs – and you may be currently facing a security challenge yourself.
First, the best time to hire private security and bodyguard services is always before you’re facing an active threat. At HAVN, we will put our safety on the line for an existing client without hesitation, but if you are not already a client, we will take the time to evaluate the situation and decide whether or not we want to get involved. Private security is a little like insurance in this way – and it’s much better to have insurance before you get sick. Having said that, we are happy to evaluate your existing security situation and determine if and how we can help.
For emergencies, call 911. If you have an ongoing non-emergency threat, private security may be a good option for you.
Reason Eight: You Simply Want to Feel Safe
As we said before, the best time to invest in private security is before you need it. Especially for VIPs, your unique position can make just going out with your children a free-for-all. It’s simple math…the probability of security threats increases the greater your exposure. Criminals and the mentally ill both target money, fame, and power.
High-quality private security firms will be able to provide you with bodyguards that can and will defend you from physical harm using proven safety tactics and training in military or defense. A trained bodyguard will be able to assess danger instantly and determine the motives of others quickly. Just as well, a bodyguard does more than simply protect you. They also take on many additional tasks, such as transportation and assisting with errands. They can also provide you with advice, ideas, and suggestions for different areas of your life simply because they are constantly with you.
Trust HAVN™ to Protect What Matters
HAVN is a premier top-quality private security company based in Los Angeles, California, though HAVN offers services worldwide. We provide expert executive protection, security assessment, and protective strategy to the nation’s elite families and individuals. Our team of experienced bodyguards has been serving high net-worth individuals and their families for many years, as well as estate protection. With our unique group of clients, we understand that discretion is key to private security and we work diligently to provide the best protection to clients who expect the best. Whether you are a celebrity or an executive with a large enterprise, we can provide the level of protection and care needed to help you feel safe.
For individuals who are facing unique security challenges, HAVN’s team of bodyguards will be there to protect your assets, privacy, and life. HAVN is licensed by BSIS and fully insured, and all of our security professionals have elite military and MMA training. Get in touch with our team today to learn more about the kind of complimentary threat assessment and personalized plan we can provide for your unique situation.
