KIDNAP AND RANSOM COVER

Kidnap for ransom and extortion are becoming increasingly serious problems, especially in Africa and South America, and the average ransom demand has doubled in the last four years with some payment demands exceeding R400 million.  It is not only the rich and famous who are the potential targets of kidnappers but any foreigner who is perceived to be wealthy or who works for a big organisation with extensive resources.

Insurance against the risk of kidnap or extortion not only protects against financial loss but also provides the services of crisis management and security consultants to manage incidents on the policyholder's behalf. Kidnap and extortion insurance typically covers the following scenarios: kidnapping with a ransom demand; extortion – when payment is demanded following a threat to injure, kill, or kidnap an insured person; wrongful detention by a government entity or insurgent organisation and hijacking while traveling on any aircraft, motor vehicle or waterborne vessel. It is important to note that this cover includes the services of highly professional consultants who guide the negotiation process which can dramatically affect the outcome of a kidnap situation.

There are many expenses related to kidnapping and extortion which can also be covered. These include medical costs, rest and rehabilitation, travel and accommodation, loan interest, reward payments, interpreter fees and forensic analysis as well as access to a 24-hour help line.

Businesses who count high net worth individuals amongst their employees or send employees and their families to high risk areas should consider taking out insurance against the risk of kidnapping and extortion. 

Contact SATIB Insurance Brokers for more information on this type of cover.

Written by Gavin Courtenay, Managing Director, SATIB Insurance Brokers.

Nothing Moves without Insurance

Insurance is the industry on which all others are built, according to Jo Plumeri, Chairman and CEO of Willis Group Holdings plc in his address to The Insurance Conference 2012 held earlier this year. Plumeri noted, “Without insurance nothing flies, nobody works, nothing gets built, nobody moves, nothing moves.” The value of the insurance industry has been proved again and again after disasters such as Hurricane Katrina when the insurance industry honoured claims to the value of $34 billion.

The insurance industry must, however, constantly evolve to manage risks, both to business and persons, as they change. There are new threats in this day and age which people would not even have considered insuring against 10 or 20 years ago, for example, pandemics, terrorism and climate change which are all very real now. It may also be necessary to insure against damage to your or your company’s reputation, cyber-theft and a financial crisis in the 21st century, risks which weren’t even thought about a few decades ago.

A recent example of this comes from the raging inferno that jumped from house to house along the canals of Cape St Francis in November 2012. Officials said at least 100 homes in the coastal town were gutted, forcing scores of residents to flee their homes. Some 76 buildings were completely destroyed. Claims for this damage were way over R30 million. This does not include residents loss of income or any injury caused.

According to Pulmeri, Insurance brokers need to be forward thinking in order to ensure that their clients are still in business in five or ten years’ time by mitigating the risks facing their operations through comprehensive insurance.

Contact us to ensure that all possible risks you might encounter are covered.

Kind Regards


Gavin Courtenay
Managing Director
SATIB Insurance Brokers