Kidnap Insurance, Ransom Insurance, Extortion Insurance

Reward in business comes from taking risks but the most successful businesses are those that analyze their risks carefully and take steps to protect against them. It would be relatively straight forward if companies were exposed only to day to day commercial and competitive threats, however many business hazards today, like Kidnap, Ransom and Extortion are far more difficult to protect and quantify.

Kidnap, Ransom, Extortion & Detention

Kidnap, Extortion and Detention are real dangers for companies operating both overseas and in domestic markets. They are often overlooked by management on the grounds that "it can never happen to us", but the damage this can inflict on a business can be very severe - as the annual roll call of corporate and individual victims around the world testifies.

Kidnap Outcomes

Most kidnaps are carried out in order to obtain a ransom or as a means for extortion of the family of the kidnapped individual, 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. While the average occurrence of deaths following a kidnap is 9%; this almost always is at the time of abduction rather than during the negotiation.

Kidnap and Ransom Demands

Demands can be huge, with more than 14 countries recording cases of $25,000,000 or more in recent years. Kidnappers usually settle at between 10% and 20% 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 Insurance Payments

While most ransom payments are kept confidential, we are aware of some substantial sums that have been paid. Latin America features heavily in the list, but many of the largest settlements have been made in Europe. Recent years have seen a noticeable increase in average ransom payments.