Policies can purchased by company management as part of their duty of care towards their employees, especially in respect of those travelling and/or in prominent positions. Cover is provided coverage typically for monies paid to kidnappers or extortionists, loss of ransom in transit, and other expenses incurred as a result of a kidnapping. More importantly the policyholder has access to experts who specialise in crisis resolution and hostage release.
Special Risks
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Claims scenarios
A company president was kidnapped from the company’s parking lot and held for a period of 5 days before a ransom demand was made. Costs included loan fees (to cover the demand itself), an independent negotiator plus costs for additional security of family members
A construction company employee is reported missing to the local African office, after failing to check in at his hotel. There is no contact from anyone /no ransom demand made. Under a Mysterious Disappearance extension to the policy, once the franchise period has been breached, the policy would cover the response company’s costs in investigating the disappearance until the victim is found or the indemnity period reached
A project manager arrives in an unfamiliar country to meet potential new clients. He takes a taxi at the airport only to be held up by the driver and then forced to empty his daily allowance from an ATM and hand over his cash, watch, phone and laptop before being left stranded in a rural location. An Express Kidnap extension would cover the reimbursement of monies and the value of stolen possessions, plus additional expenses
A university is told that a memory stick containing very confidential and proprietary data was found in the back of a taxi. A ‘reward’ is demanded for its return or it may “fall into the wrong hands”. This falls under the peril of ‘extortion’ (which can also fall to be deal with under a cyber policy). The policy would cover response consultant fees for the duration of the incident and would reimburse any monies paid to the extortionists
The secretary to the managing director of a mid-sized business thinks she is being followed. She has seen someone loitering suspiciously outside her house and has also received a number of phone calls where the caller would not identify themselves. Under the ‘Threat’ extension, the policy would pick up the consultant’s costs for assessing the veracity of the threat. If they recommend additional security measures, these would be reimbursed.