At the top of the ranking of the countries regarded as the most dangerous are Mexico, Nigeria, Afghanistan, Iraq and Pakistan, where kidnappings have become a very profitable business for criminals.
About 98% of these kidnappings are mainly for money and 73% are solved by a ransom payment.
Companies and multinationals operating in risk-prone areas must take precautions against this scourge. The kidnapping of a local, expatriate or on a mission employee may prove to be very costly.
Areas prone to the risk of kidnapping in 2018
According to Control Risks, an agency specializing in Risk and strategic consulting, the American continent is leading the ranking of the most risky regions.
Europe, on the other hand, appears at the bottom of the scale with only 1% of the abduction rate. It is therefore considered to be the least risky region.
Source: Control Risks 2018
Companies purchase coverage against kidnapping
With the growing risk of kidnapping and ransom demands, many companies are taking out insurance cover in an effort to protect their employees working in risk areas, thus avoiding that their business activities are interrupted.In general, underwriting a "Kidnapping and Ransom" insurance policy costs the company between 11 000 USD and 36 000 USD.
In 2015, this market was estimated at 900 million EUR (983.4 million USD), an amount that is likely to reach 4 billion EUR (4.7 billion USD) in 2019.
What does a kidnappings cover guarantee?
Offered by several insurance companies such as AIG, Hiscox, Lloyd's, Chubb, Liberty and many others, a kidnapping and ransom policy generally covers all the costs of kidnapping an employee. This includes:
- the reimbursement of ransom, whether paid or lost / stolen during transport,
- repatriation costs with the provision of means of transport (helicopter, boat, etc.),
- psychological support,
- the use of a team specialized in negotiations (usually made up of former spies, former soldiers, etc.).