Kidnap and Ransom Insurance Risk Highest for Chinese Citizens in 2009
According to an international study on kidnap and ransom insurance risk, Chinese citizens are the most at risk for kidnap, ransom, and extortion demands. Chinese citizens make up the largest number of kidnappings in the world, followed closely by German and French citizens.
The results are very surprising because it’s expected that United States citizens would be the most at risk for kidnap and ransom. The reasons the Chinese are at risk is simple, they have the largest number of people traveling to high risk locations for kidnap and ransom around the world.
Of course, from this fact we can form several conclusions, most notably that the country of the kidnapping victim and how their country treats kidnappers is of no concern to the kidnappers. The United States made a strong case on how it will treat kidnappers in 2009 when the Navy Seals shot and killed maritime pirates on the Maersk ship Alabama. We suspect the Chinese special forces would not treat the kidnappers of their citizens with any gentler gloves than the Americans.
For more information on kidnap and ransom insurance for expatriates and travelers please contact McKinley International Risk Management.
