What is the method that "abduction insurance" incorporates to lower the amount of ransom of the kidnapping case?

Insurance covering damages and losses when relatives and employees are kidnapped "Abduction insuranceThere is what is called. It is not dealt with in Japanese insurance companies, but it is treated as one of the general insurance products overseas, and people of the high net worth and many companies are subscribing. When a kidnapping case actually occurs, the insurance company intervenes not only in the burden of ransom but also in the place of negotiations with the criminal, and there are techniques for lowering ransom among them .

How kidnapping insurance keeps a lid on ransom inflation - Market capture
https://www.economist.com/finance-and-economics/2018/05/26/how-kidnapping-insurance-keeps-a-lid-on-ransom-inflation

The ransom of the kidnapping case is an enormous amount of 500 million dollars (about 54 billion yen) to 1.5 billion dollars (about 162 billion yen) every year, some of which are paid by kidnapping insurance. As of 2018,Fortune magazineAbout 75% of the top 500 companies listed in the company are subscribing for abduction insurance, and their market share is expanding.

Also, in countries where kidnapping cases occur frequently, police are rarely involved in cases as in Japan. Because of this, there is a possibility that wealthy families around the world may be seriously hit not only by human life but also in terms of property at the time of incidents, there is also a reality that they have to subscribe to kidnapping insurance It has become a product that can not be separated even if it cuts out for the insurance company from its high share.

However, there are points to be noted when subscribing for abduction insurance. That is, "If you are known to an unspecified number that you are subscribed to abduction insurance, insurance will be invalid." This is because if someone knows that you are subscribing for insurance, the risk of being kidnapped and the risk of requiring a high ransom will increase.


This "It should not be known to anyone" is thoroughly done through the incident. When the insured is actually kidnapped, the insurance company not only pays the ransom but also dispatches crisis management experts to the scene, but this expert advises only the basic negotiations with the criminal In this way, concerned parties will do so, and the culprit will not be realized that the insurance company is intervening. By doing this, we prevent the problem of lifting the ransom.

There seems to be a case in which experts are involved in negotiations with kidnappers successfully reducing the initial ransom amount up to 10%. In fact, when a kidnapper determines the amount of ransom, it tends to set it higher than the target amount in preparation for the subsequent reduction negotiations. For this reason, if we immediately accept the request for ransom, it is possible that the kidnappers will recognize that there is still room for negotiation and that they will develop into a situation where the amount can be raised.

In the case of a kidnapping case, even if a large amount of ransom is paid, treatment of hostages is not improved, and it is rare that they are released safely. Carlos Seoane, director of the crisis management company Seoane Consulting Group, said that "paying a high ransom will not lead to hostage safety."


Even so, it is also true that experts are involved in negotiations leading to hostage survival. In the book on abduction insurance that Mr. Anya Shortland wrote, "The risk that the hostage is killed is 2% when it is subscribed to kidnapping insurance and 9% if not subscribing", and insurance It is said that the risk of hostage death can be lowered to about one fifth by just joining.

However, the situation that the number of companies that adopt abduction insurance is increasing is concerned that the insurance company is raising the risk of kidnapping on the assumption that it will pay the ransom, and it is necessary to start new measures There are also opinions raised to point out that there is.