Piracy attacks in the Gulf of Aden, near the Horn of Africa, for example, are decreasing, says Lang. Kidnappings on land are “absolutely” on the increase; in some parts of the world, kidnapping for ransom is a business. “Kidnappers consider it almost like a revenue stream,” he says.

Which is why Hiscox remains partnered with Control Risks, a crisis-response firm based in London with offices—and reach—worldwide. Hiscox has worked with Control Risks for decades, he says.

Such sustained partnerships are even more important in today's fragile worldwide political and economic climate.

“There used to be a time where people who purchased Kidnap & Ransom policies were traveling to foreign and exotic locations, or they were high net worth individuals who were worried about getting kidnapped for their wealth,” Lang says. Today, he adds, the K&R market has expanded to the point where there is “not a person who would not qualify as a typical customer. I've seen someone from every walk of life come by looking for Kidnap & Ransom coverage.”

K&R falls under a group of policies that Hiscox USA calls Total Security Solutions.

“Kidnap & Ransom is part of the policy but the base coverage also covers extortion, illegal detention, things like that,” Lang says. Other endorsements can be added for threats, disappearance or travel evacuation. “These are things far afield from a typical kidnapping for ransom.”

Indeed, Hiscox expanded its K&R products to include corporate use, personal use, academic institutions, houses of worship, the entertainment field and non-government organizations that may send their members overseas. The entertainment industry product includes HNW executives, celebrities, crews of major motion pictures, and musicians on tour.

One emerging coverage area: “We've seen more folks starting to ask for cover against stalking. That's a newer issue that we are addressing for our clients in the entertainment space,” Lang says. 

Stalking coverage is an endorsement to an existing policy, he explains, adding that some individuals also are becoming more interested in K&R because the policy includes Threat and Disappearance. 

Besides, no risk manager wants the legal liability of not having all the proper protections in place. “The last thing you want to be is the person who said 'no' when offered a Kidnap & Ransom policy—and then something happens that would have been covered,” says Lang. “And the [client] comes back to you and asks, 'Why wasn't this covered?'”

EXPRESS KIDNAPPINGS UP THE ANTE

Tourists in foreign lands remain a high target for a new type of kidnapping that often involves terror, violence and theft—but no ransom.

“We're seeing a lot of interest from tourists [over] express kidnappings,” Lang says. In these types of abductions, a person is grabbed off the street and thrust into a car—likely the trunk—while the kidnappers drive from bank to bank, seeking ATM withdrawals from the victim's bank accounts.

Often, the person is held beyond a 24-hour period so the kidnappers can withdraw the daily maximum allowed from the ATM.

“They do this one or two times until the bank gets hip to the fact that they've hit their daily limit,” Lang says. Then they withdraw the next day's full amount possible, strip the victim of every personal possession of value and dump them by the side of the road. “It's terrifying, and it's traumatic.”

During an express kidnapping it's quickly made known to the victim that no one is being called on his behalf; no ransom is being demanded.

“You conclude there's a good chance you're going to die. You've seen their faces,” Lang notes. And although most express kidnaping victims are not executed, “that still doesn't change the fact that while the ordeal is happening they do believe that they're going to die.”

Lang has been present during victim debriefings with Control Risks—after the kidnapper has released the victim—and it's the first time they are able to talk about their ordeal. That experience has helped him to design a product that fits the unique needs of express kidnapping victims.

“A good Kidnap & Ransom policy will have cover for Rest & Rehabilitation built into it,” he says. “That includes psychological counseling, anything they need to get them through that difficult time post-incident.”

It's an element that should be part of every K&R policy, he says.“We as specialists in the insurance industry can get a real idea of some of the trauma they are exposed to and we can build it into the policy coverage. That's really going to help,” Lang says.

BOOTS ON THE GROUND

While there are a lot of entrants in the K&R space there are also companies that are exiting the market, which is keeping rates steady. New carriers may enter the K&R space at times, but only the ones that attach themselves to a strong partner will succeed and stick around, Lang says. “Every once in a while you see new companies come into the fold, but unless they've got a really strong response firm attached to them they usually don't last very long.”

They also need a response firm that can go to any part of the world at any time. Control Risks has been helpful “in many locations and in many scenarios” and is fully equipped to work in the Middle East, Asia, Latin America and North America, Lang says.

“A lot of firms will bring in what you'd expect because of the movies: align themselves with a start-up firm full of ex-military folk ready to mount a rescue operation at the drop of a hat,” Lang says. But in many cases that is not a safe approach. “You need a strategist and thinkers on the ground to go for the long game. It's about getting the victim home safe and sound, not about trying to go in there [with] guns blazing.”

Logistics is also important: if the victim is kidnapped in a country that requires not only a passport but also a visa to gain entry, the crisis-response team needs to be able to accommodate the requirement of any border crossing as quickly as possible.

“As an insurance carrier, you need to be aligned with an organization that has the ability to get into any country we need them to get into within 24 to 48 hours, tops,” Lang says. He has seen competitors unable to get a visa, or those that tried to use a tourist visa and were rejected. “And they don't have a negotiation team on the ground.”

Hiscox and Control Risks became involved in the evacuation of clients from Egypt during the Arab Spring, when that country and others in the Middle East were in various states of political unrest.

Clients who could not leave the country because of strikes, protests and violence were starting to panic, planning to sneak out to the airport in the middle of the night. Control Risks was able to talk the clients into staying put until they could come and extract them, says Lang.

“That advice is priceless,” he adds. “That's the benefit of having a really good security and consulting firm behind you.”