UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson had an in-house security detail assigned to him during his trip to New York City, according to a source familiar with the company’s security, but the detail wasn’t with him when he was shot and killed in front of a hotel early Wednesday morning.
It’s common for top executives of major corporations to have personal security provided by their companies. Those measures are often significant expenses listed in corporate filings, though UnitedHealth Group — UnitedHealthcare’s corporate parent — doesn’t break out the cost in its own filings.
The need to protect the safety of top officers, and the cost of doing so has risen over the years — particularly for those high-profile executives whose businesses often generate controversy or criticism, such as health care. Most companies list the risk of the loss of their top executive, through death or other less dramatic departure, as a risk factor for investors to consider.
Multiple major healthcare providers began increasing personal protection around top executives Wednesday following the shooting, security industry sources told the sources.
A spokesperson for UnitedHealth declined to provide details about security related to Thompson or why the security team wasn’t with him Wednesday morning. But a former senior security director at another major insurance company told the sources that it can often be difficult to get executives to accept security, even when there are threats.
