What Does Executive Protection Cost in New York? The Factors That Drive the Price

The first question most buyers ask about executive protection is what it costs. It is a fair question, and the industry answers it badly. Most firms publish nothing. A few publish a low hourly number that bears no relation to the final invoice.

The honest answer is that price depends on scope, and scope varies more in this field than in almost any other service a household or company buys. One agent for a four-hour event and a year-round program for a public company CEO are both "executive protection."

This guide explains how protective services are priced in New York and Connecticut, the factors that move a quote, how to budget for an ongoing program, and how to compare proposals so you are evaluating the same thing. We do not publish a rate card, for reasons explained below. We do give every caller a private, itemized quote.

How Protective Services Are Billed

Almost every provider uses one of four structures.

Hourly, with a minimum

The standard for short engagements. An hourly rate per agent, with a minimum number of hours per day. The minimum exists because an agent assigned to a two-hour dinner has still committed the evening, completed advance work, and traveled to the site. Ask what the minimum is and whether hours are counted from arrival on site or from the agent's departure, which is sometimes called portal to portal.

Day rate

Common for travel and for long, full days. A fixed price per agent per day up to a stated number of hours, with an overtime rate beyond that. Day rates make multi-day engagements easier to budget.

Project or event pricing

A single price for a defined event: a shareholder meeting, a wedding weekend, a product launch. It bundles agents, vehicles, advance work, and coordination. Useful when the scope is clear and the buyer wants certainty.

Monthly retainer

For principals who need coverage continuously. A fixed monthly fee for a defined program: named agents or security drivers, dedicated vehicles, stated coverage hours, and agreed terms for surge days. Retainers reduce the effective hourly cost because the provider can plan staffing, and they give the client a dedicated team.

The Ten Factors That Move a Quote

1. Number of agents

The largest driver. One principal with a general concern may need one agent. A principal with a specific threat, a family moving separately, or an event with multiple entry points needs more. Coverage that runs beyond a reasonable shift requires relief agents.

2. Hours and duration

A single evening, a week around an announcement, or fifty-two weeks a year. Longer commitments lower the unit cost and raise the total.

3. Armed or unarmed

Armed agents cost more. They hold additional state credentials, complete additional training each year, and carry higher insurance costs. In New York an armed agent must hold a state pistol license and armed guard registration, which limits the pool of qualified people. Most engagements in our area are unarmed, and we explain how to decide in our guide to hiring a bodyguard in New York.

4. Transportation

Protection without a vehicle is rare. The question is how it is supplied. If the security firm rents a car and chauffeur from a limousine company, you pay that company's rate plus a markup, and you get a driver with no protective training. If the provider operates its own vehicles, the cost is direct and the driver is part of the team. Vehicle class matters as well. An Escalade ESV, a second vehicle for luggage or staff, and a Sprinter for a group each price differently.

5. Advance work

Visiting locations beforehand, planning routes, and coordinating with building and venue security. A provider that does this properly is billing for hours you do not see. A provider that skips it will look cheaper. Advance work is the difference between protection and a person standing nearby.

6. Notice

Same-day and next-day requests cost more because the provider must pull agents from other commitments or pay them premium rates. A week of notice almost always produces a better price and a better plan.

7. Time and date

Nights, weekends, and holidays carry premiums, as they do in any staffed profession. Peak periods in New York raise demand across the entire market: the United Nations General Assembly in September, the holiday season, major sporting and entertainment events.

8. Travel

Engagements outside the provider's home area add agent travel time, lodging, meals, and sometimes flights. International travel may require licensed local partners in the destination country.

9. Threat level and specialization

A general, precautionary engagement needs a competent professional. An active, credible threat needs senior agents, more of them, possibly armed, and often residential coverage. Specialized skills also cost more: medical credentials, language ability, experience with children, or experience with high-profile entertainment clients.

10. Insurance and compliance

A licensed, properly insured firm has real overhead. State agency licensing, bonds, individual registrations, annual training, general liability, commercial auto, and workers' compensation. These costs are in every legitimate quote. When a quote is far below the rest, one of them is usually missing, and the client inherits the exposure.

Why the Lowest Quote Is Often the Most Expensive

Protective services are bought for the day something goes wrong. On that day, the things that were cut to reach a low price are the things that matter.

• An unlicensed provider may leave you liable for the agent's actions and without recourse to an insurer.
• A day-hire contractor you have never met arrives with unknown training and no loyalty to the firm's standard.
• A subcontracted driver does not know why the agent is there and behaves like a regular chauffeur.
• No advance work means the agent is seeing the location for the first time alongside the principal.
• Thin insurance means a claim reaches past the provider to you.

A fair quote from a legitimate firm will rarely be the lowest. It should be the one that itemizes what you are getting.

What a Good Proposal Includes

Ask every provider for the same items so you can compare.

• Number of agents and their roles, by day
• Armed or unarmed
• Hourly or daily rates, minimums, and overtime terms
• How hours are counted
• Vehicles: class, number, and who operates them
• Whether drivers are security trained and employed by the provider
• Advance work included
• Travel and expense terms
• Holiday and short-notice premiums
• Cancellation terms. Ours are posted on the cancellation policy page.
• License numbers and insurance limits
• The named point of contact
• Confidentiality terms

If two proposals differ widely in price, the difference is almost always in this list. Find it before you decide.

Budgeting for a Year-Round Program

When protection becomes continuous, the budgeting question changes. Households, family offices, and companies are usually choosing between an in-house hire and a retained firm.

The in-house budget

The salary is only the beginning. A complete budget for one in-house agent or security driver includes:

• Base salary, overtime, and bonus
• Payroll taxes and workers' compensation
• Health and retirement benefits
• A suitable vehicle, commercial insurance, fuel, and maintenance
• Licensing, registration, and annual training
• Liability insurance for protective activity
• Recruiting and background investigation
• Relief coverage for roughly one day in three, once weekends, vacation, holidays, sick days, and training are counted

That last line is the one most budgets omit. A single employee covers perhaps 230 to 240 working days. A principal who needs coverage most days of the year needs either a second employee or an outside provider for the remainder.

When every line is included, continuous protection for one principal is a six-figure annual commitment by any route. The decision is about what that commitment buys.

The retained budget

A retained program replaces those lines with one monthly fee. It includes named agents or security drivers, backups, vehicles, insurance, licensing, training, and supervision. It can scale up for a board meeting or a family wedding and back down afterward. For many principals the total is comparable to a fully loaded in-house hire, with no coverage gaps and far less administration.

We lay out the full comparison in Full-Time Executive Protection: Hiring In-House vs. Retaining a Licensed Firm. Families evaluating a dedicated driver will also find our household guide to private security drivers useful.

Three Illustrations of How Scope Changes Price

No figures here, because the figures depend on the details. The structure is what matters.

A single evening. A couple attending a publicized gala in Manhattan from a home in Rye. One protective agent and one security driver in an Escalade ESV, for roughly seven hours door to door. Advance work is a phone call to the venue's security lead and a check of the arrival point. This is a modest, hourly engagement with a daily minimum, and it is one of the most common requests we receive.

A difficult fortnight. A Westchester company announces a restructuring, and the CEO has received hostile messages. For two weeks the CEO's commute is covered by a security driver and an agent, arrivals move to the garage entrance, and a second agent covers the announcement day and a town hall. This is a day-rate engagement with a defined start and end, and it scales up and down within the period.

A continuous program. A family office principal with a high public profile, a spouse, and three children in two schools. A dedicated security driver on weekdays, a named backup, an agent for publicized events and travel days, and two dedicated vehicles. This is a monthly retainer. The annual commitment is substantial. The cost per covered hour is the lowest of the three, because the provider can plan staffing a year ahead.

The same company, the same agents, and the same vehicles can serve all three. What changes is the number of people, the number of hours, and the length of the commitment.

Questions That Reveal Hidden Costs

Before you accept any proposal, ask:

• Are hours counted from arrival on site or from the agent's departure?
• Is there a charge for advance work, or is it included?
• What is the overtime rate, and when does it begin?
• Are tolls, parking, fuel, and agent meals billed separately?
• Is the vehicle yours, or is there a third-party charge passed through?
• What are the premiums for holidays and short notice?
• What happens if the principal's day ends early?
• What happens if we cancel?

A provider that answers these plainly in advance will not surprise you on the invoice.

Ways to Manage Cost Without Cutting Safety

Right-size the coverage. Many principals need protection during movement and at public events, and none while inside a secured office. Covering the exposed hours only can reduce cost substantially.

Start with a security driver. For principals with a general concern and no specific threat, a trained security driver is often sufficient and costs far less than a full detail. An agent can be added for specific days. See Security Driver vs. Chauffeur.

Give notice. Send the calendar early. Predictable schedules price better than emergencies.

Consolidate vendors. A security firm plus a car service means two margins, two minimums, and two invoices. One provider licensed for both removes the duplication.

Commit to a term. If the need is ongoing, a retainer prices better than a year of day bookings.

Choose unarmed unless the facts say otherwise. Armed coverage should follow an assessment, not an assumption.

Combine trips. A full day with several stops is more economical as one hourly chauffeur booking than as separate transfers.

How Stealth Protection Prices Engagements

We quote privately and in writing, after a short conversation about the principal, the schedule, and the concern. We do not publish a rate card because a number without a scope misleads in both directions. A single published rate would overstate the cost for a family that needs a security driver three days a week and understate it for a principal facing an active threat.

What we can say about our pricing:

• One company, one invoice. Stealth Protection holds both the transportation license and the executive protection license. Vehicles, drivers, and agents are ours. There is no subcontractor margin inside our quotes.
• Itemized. Agents, vehicles, hours, and any premiums are shown separately.
• Scaled to the need. We will tell you when less coverage is appropriate. That includes telling callers that standard corporate transportation or airport service is all they require.
• Retained programs for ongoing clients. Dedicated team, dedicated vehicles, one point of contact, one monthly fee.

Standard chauffeured trips can be priced and reserved online at any time. Protective services and exotic vehicles are quoted by inquiry.

For Companies: How Executive Security Is Justified

Corporate buyers often need to explain the expense internally. A few points that boards and finance teams recognize.

• It is a risk control. The loss of a key executive to an incident, or the disruption of a major corporate event, carries costs far beyond the security budget.
• It is often a board requirement. Many companies adopt security programs on the recommendation of an independent security study, and require the executive to use them.
• It recovers time. An executive who works during a ninety-minute commute, instead of driving, returns hours every week.
• It supports duty of care. Companies have obligations to employees who face elevated risk because of their role.
• It affects insurance. Some insurers take protective programs into account for certain coverages.

Details of our service for corporate clients are on the executive protection page.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why do you not list prices?Because scope varies too widely for a single number to be accurate. A quote takes one short call.

Is there a minimum booking?Protective assignments carry a daily minimum, as they do across the industry. We will state it clearly in your quote.

Is armed protection more expensive?Yes, reflecting additional credentials, training, and insurance.

Does the quote include the vehicle?When you book protection with transportation, the quote includes both, itemized.

Is a retainer cheaper than booking by the day?For clients with regular needs, yes on an hourly basis, and it secures a dedicated team.

Can I get a quote without giving the principal's name?Yes. We need the schedule, the locations, and the nature of the concern. Names can wait.

What forms of payment and billing do you offer?Card on file for individual bookings and consolidated invoicing for corporate and household accounts. See the FAQ for details.

Request a Private Quote

Tell us the dates, the locations, and the concern, and you will have an itemized quote the same day in most cases. Call (914) 653-6228 at any hour or send a confidential inquiry. You can read more about who we are before you call.

Licensed protection. Licensed transportation. One invoice. One point of contact.