Hiscox says new entrants because of lack of other business
The US Insurance Information Institute estimates global premiums for kidnapping and ransom policies are worth $300m (£184m), the FT reports in an article on hostage negotiators.
Hiscox is the biggest provider, claiming to account for about two-thirds of the market. Guillaume Bonnissent, kidnap and ransom underwriter, says his business has expanded modestly over the years, stressing that the market is "not cyclical - there is not a sudden peak one year, despite the headlines".
He says interest from rivals in kidnap cover is more to do with other underwriting business drying up than with a long-term market change. "Many do it for a year and give up," he says.
Not like buildings insurance
"We are in a soft insurance market so there is a lot of spare capacity. People fail to realise that you don't insure this in the same way as a building - a loss may be very high and we are dealing with the lives of people."
As well as ransoms, insurance policies cover psychological counselling for victims and families, media consultancy on reputation risk and the salary of replacement workers.
