Kidnap & ransom insurance new buzzword among companies
There is an increase in the number of kidnappings and ransom in recent years With pirates striking with alarming regularity and Naxal menace on the rise, the demand for kidnap-&-ransom (K&R) insurance policies from the corporates is on the rise.K&R insurance provides coverage for abduction and other events through a combination of financial compensation, including paying the ransom and extortion money, and expert crisis management service. "We have seen corporates with operations in Maoist-infested areas buying these policies," said G Srinivasan, chairman and managing director, United India Assurance. Hit by piracies on the high seas, shipping companies, too, are now buying K&R policies, said a senior official of ICICI Lombard General Insurance."We have seen demand for K&R policies from shipping companies picking up," he said. Normally, international shipping companies take these covers, but, of late, Indian companies, too, are buying them, said Srinivasan.There has been a discernible increase in the average ransom payment in the recent years.The number of kidnappings has also risen. Insurers say that while, earlier, hardly 100 such policies were sold in a year, now the number has crossed 300. Companies which offer such policies are New India Assurance, United India Assurance, Tata Aig General Insurance and ...
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