Speciality Risks > Kidnap & Ransom / Crisis Management

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Kidnap and Ransom Insurance is now as necessary as Medical Insurance when traveling outside the United States, and perhaps within the United States as well.  Just look at the kidnapping situations happening in 2010 in the state of Arizona and Texas.   In 2010 it was reported that Phoenix is the second in the world for kidnapping numbers and around the same period is the ambush of David Hartley on Lake Falcon on the Mexican Border.   Pirate kidnappings on the African continent are becoming alarmingly routine for those visiting on mission trips or for tourism in recent years.  Even more recently many Mexican nationals have been targets in their own country; it doesn't just happen to US Citizens traveling or residing abroad.

While not all kidnapping attempts are perpetrated by professionals, kidnapping is a Billion Dollar business around the globe.  It is often run by carefully trained teams whose mission is simply to ransom people for money.  These kidnapping rings have decision makers, a negotiation team, and an implementation team.  It is a worldwide problem, and Americans traveling outside the US (or even on the borders and in some larger cities within America ) are preferred targets although they may not think of themselves as targets. 

  
You do NOT need to be a head of state, or a rock star to be a target! 

People can take precautions against kidnapping attempts, but they cannot insure that they will not be kidnapped when traveling in certain parts of the world whether for business or pleasure.  However, they can afford the security of having a retainer, a professional response team, that will be there to assist the family or company in the event of a kidnapping.  Having a professional crisis response team brings a higher degree of probability that there will be a safe conclusion, in most cases. Your US government will only assist to a point !

Kidnap & Ransom Insurance provides an ability to meet cash ransom demands through reimbursement scenarios, and it carries with it the services of experienced response teams who work with the family and/or business for the safe return of the victim.  In addition to kidnapping, there are other forms of crime which are covered under the K&R plan – illegal detention, extortion, home invasion, carjacking, express kidnapping and numerous other means of attempting to extort money from you or the company you work for or own.  K&R policies are considered to be a "contingency" liability insurance plan.... plain and simple !  Do you have a personal liability insurance policy ?  Most probably !  Why wouldn't you have a "contingency" liability policy then ?  

Kidnap & Ransom Insurance for those traveling abroad is a service worth serious consideration.

Typically, such plans will start at a minimum premium of $800 per year and go up from there on a case by case basis.  Each plan is customized and can be tailored to a short trip or for best coverage, taking an annual blanket policy.  On average the costs can be $1000 or more per year (not much more than a typical commercial liability policy many would currently have on their own corporate or personal exposures).

Many risk factors are considered when Lloyds rates the premium for your K&R policy, including length of travel, travel itinerary details, reasons for travel and policy limits requested.   Each policy has to be individually rated based on these and other factors as noted in the Application & can take up to 24 hours to return a binding quotation from our London underwriters.  We do NOT ask for financials in any form, just generalized questions on the application.

Kidnap Outcomes

Most kidnappings are carried out in order to obtain a ransom, and in most cases a ransom is paid. Rescues are rare, largely because the authorities in most countries recognize that the safety of the victim is paramount.  The average percentage of deaths following a kidnap is 9%.  In cases involving use of a crisis management team, less than 2% of people are killed.  Killing usually takes place at the time of abduction rather than during the negotiation.  It is estimated that over the past decade, kidnappings around the world have increased by 100% .   VIEW THE GLOBAL RISK MAP

Kidnap Demands

Demands can be huge, with more than 14 countries recording cases of $25 million or more in recent years.  Kidnappers usually settle at between 10 and 20 percent of the demand, except in the old Soviet Union where the mafia is extremely reluctant to negotiate and uses excessive violence to achieve its aims.  
Kidnap Payments

While most ransom payments are kept confidential, our management teams are aware of some substantial sums that have been paid.  Latin America / Africa leads the list, but many of the largest settlements have been made in Europe.  There has been a noticeable increase in average ransom payments in recent years.