What is ‘Kidnap Insurance’
A type of insurance designed to protect individuals from the risk of kidnapping. Kidnap insurance often covers other events related to kidnapping, including extortion. In the case of a kidnapping, the policy holder is compensated for money paid as ransom, medical expenses, counseling or for accidental death of the kidnap victim.
Explaining ‘Kidnap Insurance’
Kidnap insurance is more likely to be used for individuals or companies operating in high-risk areas. These areas tend to have higher rates of crime and a history of kidnapping workers employed by multinational firms. Some of the common high-risk areas include Nigeria, Haiti and Venezuela.
Kidnap Insurance FAQ
How does kidnap and ransom insurance work?
Kidnap and ransom insurance provides negotiators and eventual reimbursement, but the victims must pay the ransom using their own money before it can be refunded. A basic K&R policy typically covers ransom payment, loss of income, interest on bank loans, and medical care.
Which country has the most kidnapping?
It was Mexico in 2004, and Colombia in 2001. Statistics are harder to come by. Reports suggest a world total of 12,500-25,500/year with 3,600/year in Colombia and 3,000/year in Mexico around the year 2000.
What does Kidnapping for ransom mean?
The main purpose of ransom kidnapping is a payment (usually a sum of money) for the release of the hostage and the enrichment of the perpetrators.
Where did the term kidnap come from?
The original meaning of kidnap, dating from the late seventeenth century, was “steal children to provide servants to the American colonies,” from kid, “child,” and nap, “snatch away.”
Why do kidnappers kidnap?
A stranger might kidnap an unknown child for: extorting a ransom from the parents for the child’s return. Illegal adoption, a stranger steals a child to rear the child as their own or to sell to a prospective adoptive parent.
Further Reading
- Biopolitics of specialized risk: an analysis of kidnap and ransom insurance – journals.sagepub.com [PDF]
- Who wants to be a millionaire? Nigerian youths and the commodification of kidnapping – www.tandfonline.com [PDF]
- Regional shortcomings and global solutions: Kidnap, ransom and insurance in Latin America – heinonline.org [PDF]
- Capitalizing on value: Towards a sociological understanding of kidnapping – journals.sagepub.com [PDF]
- Fluctuations between crime and terror: The case of Abu Sayyaf's kidnapping activities – www.tandfonline.com [PDF]
- Governing kidnap for ransom: Lloyd's as a “private regime” – onlinelibrary.wiley.com [PDF]
- Use of kidnapping and extortion as a tool for financing terrorism: the case of the PKK – www.tandfonline.com [PDF]
- The Paradox of Insurance – papers.ssrn.com [PDF]