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.

The ACE International Advantage insurance program is designed to cover a variety of risks for employees working or traveling internationally with their primary insurance offering for expatriates traditionally being international workers compensation insurance.

Kidnap and Ransom insurance is now a standard part of the International Advantage Insurance plan offered by ACE USA.  The Advantage Package now includes $100,000 of automatic Kidnap and Extortion coverage at no additional charge.

The Kidnap and Ransom coverage includes kidnapping, property extortion, bodily injury extortion, product extortion, and information extortion.  A $100,000 kidnap benefit is included with options to increase the benefit up to $5,000,000 USD. 

KNR incidents are handled by Neil Young associates founded in 1990.  Like any good KnR insurance company, the consultant is an independent company.  Neil Young Associates is a premier global crisis consultant that provides information services and crisis response to clients, of which ACE USA is one.

Essentially, throwing in Kidnap and Ransom Insurance at no cost sounds great, but the standard benefit does have the following country exclusions:  

Kidnap and Ransom insurance in Afghanistan, Nepal and Pakistan 
Kidnap and Ransom insurance in Algeria, Sudan and Syria
Kidnap and Ransom insurance in Angola, Sierre Leone and Somalia 
Kidnap and Ransom insurance in Brazil, Saudi Arabia, and Philippines 
Kidnap and Ransom insurance in Chad, Liberia, and Libya 
Kidnap and Ransom insurance in Chechnya, Indonesia and Sri Lanka 
Kidnap and Ransom insurance in Colombia and Zimbabwe 
Kidnap and Ransom insurance in the Congo, Nigeria 
Kidnap and Ransom insurance in Cuba, Russia, and East Timor 
Kidnap and Ransom insurance in Georgia, Venezuala, and Yemen
Kidnap and Ransom insurance in Hatii, Mexico and Peru
Kidnap and Ransom insurance in Iraq, Iran, and North Korea

… all excluded

 All of these countries, which are more expensive and difficult for kidnap and ransom underwriting, can be written by ACE USA at the discretion of their underwriters and for additional premium on a case by case basis with some exceptions like North Korea for example (and other sanctioned countries).

All HR Managers with employees working abroad should see the move.

Welcome to our website, dedicated to understanding global kidnap and ransom insurance and best practices for individuals and companies in dealing with global security threats.  The world in 2009 is not the same as it was just 10 years ago.  Americans are targets.  Executives that work for large corporations and industry are targets of kidnap, extortion, and other threats.  Even those on vacation can be targets. 

Unfortunately, most people are completely unprepared for any threat that may happen while they work or travel internationally.  Most Americans that travel into the third world do not even take out an international medical evacuation and assistance program let alone an international personal security plan or kidnap and ransom insurance.  We are here to provide the information necessary so the proper decisions can be made at any level.