Kidnapping levels continue to rise to unprecedented levels around the world in 2010. While the risk of kidnap-for-ransom has traditionally been associated with the hot-spots of Latin America, it has in recent years increasingly become a global issue.

More than ever, companies with operations or employees travelling overseas, or even tourists visiting certain areas of the world, face an increased risk of kidnap or extortion threats.

 

Foreigners are common targets

Targets are usually selected based on their profile or their perceived wealth, making foreigners a common target, whether they are tourists or working on behalf of their company, since it is assumed their family or employer will be able to pay a higher ransom.

While Colombia was for a long time the world's number 1 country for kidnapping, according to specialist security consultants Control Risks, Colombia has now dropped out of the world's top 10 kidnapping countr ies, replaced by Venezuela in 2009 which, together with Mexico and Honduras, represent the highest risk territories in Latin America today.

A large number of African countries have seen increasing numbers of kidnappings with Nigeria, Somalia and Sudan leading the way.

The wars in the Middle-East have resulted in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan becoming extremely risky for foreign visitors and expats, while political and religious unrest in the Philippines has resulted in it becoming the leading country for kidnappings in Asia-Pacific.

 

Important to mitigate risks

With these kinds of risks facing individuals and companies around the world, it is essential that they take the right steps to mitigate the risks as far as possible.

However, incidents still happen and it is critical to be as prepared as possible so that the incident is handled correctly. A Kidnap & Ransom (K&R) Insurance policy not only provides useful financial pro tection covering the ransom and a wide range of associated expenses, but most importantly it also provides the services of top security experts in the field of kidnap negotiation to assist in securing the safe and timely release of a relative or employee.

The early stages of a kidnap negotiation are extremely important as what you say and do and can have a huge impact on how the rest of the event will unfold. The response consultants are there to advise how to handle the first few hours and then will immediately deploy a consultant to the family home or corporate Headquarters to assist in the negotiations.

They will have extensive experience in the local environment and will know which authorities to contact and, more importantly, which authorities not to contact.

As the risks increase around the world and the risk environment can change in a territory almost overnight, a K&R policy is a relatively inexpensive way for companies to protect their balance sheet while doing everything they can to ensure the safety of their employees.