Most people assume that kidnapping, ransom and extortion is relegated to Hollywood films or the most recent bestseller, but sadly, that is no longer true. In today’s uncertain political climate, conducting business internationally, as well as within the borders of Canada and the United States, has become more dangerous. Mining and oil and gas operations in Central America and South America, as well as companies with activities in Africa, Asia or the Middle East for example, are all vulnerable to kidnapping or extortion by criminals; Mexico, Nigeria, Venezuela, Philippines, Afghanistan and Pakistan are high risk hot spots. As globalization continues and corporations move into politically and economically unstable parts of the world, more executives…show more content… Extortion, Kidnap & Ransom Insurance (K&R as per insurance lingo) responds when an individual is endangered by criminals who want to gain access to industrial secrets, make socio-political statements or for monetary gain. According to CNN, it has been estimated that there between 8,000-15,000 kidnappings a year globally. Actual abduction numbers are difficult to obtain because the vast majority of kidnappings go unreported.
Properly managing a kidnapping, ransom, extortion or other crisis event is essential in protecting the life and well-being of a victim as well as an organization’s assets. When a situation as stated above arises, K&R Insurance responds by appointing an emergency response team, expertly trained to respond to these complex and harrowing experiences. This team is then charged to do anything within their power to safely repatriate the victim by communicating professionally with the kidnappers and negotiating a ransom and safe…show more content… It is no surprise that kidnappers have discovered people are willing to pay more money for the safe release of children. It is estimated that up to 80% of kidnap victims are under the age of 18.
• Internet terrorism is on the rise.
In the Internet age, extortion has become a serious threat to web-based companies. A savvy programmer can bring down a website located anywhere in the world using complicated Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack that renders the site inoperable. They then demand a ransom to stop. These attackers use an army of bots that they use to infect thousands of individual computers, turning them into slaves of the hacker. In many cases there is no way to stop the attack unless you pay the ransom.
• Most insured victims live.
The good news is that when a kidnapped person has insurance coverage and a professional response, they are likely to survive the ordeal. In most cases, the bad guys want money, and if we can provide them with what they want, everyone stays safe. In fact, only 2% of abducted persons die when expert negotiators are involved — and the majority of these occur at the time of the