XL releases US kidnap coverage & advisory services

XL Group has teamed up with terra Firma Risk Management to release a comprehensive kidnap, ransom and extortion crisis policy, which will be delivered through XL’s US crisis management team.

Coverage includes kidnap and ransom, hijacking, wrongful detention, child abduction, hostage crisis, disappearance and assault; and will include “response capabilities and crisis management guidance”.

The policy offers up to $50 million of liability protection and provides clients with access to specialised experts for “for crisis management pre-event, response and post-event services”. Coverage is available with one to three-year policy terms and no deductibles.

XL says that the policy will help individuals and business navigate a riskier world.

Commenting on the environment for kidnap coverage, Denise Balan, country manager of XL’s US crisis management business says: “In many parts of the world, kidnap and extortion are proving to be a lucrative business. Whether prompted by profit or politics, crisis events like kidnapping, disappearance and hijack are increasingly real threats.”

“Though the tendency is to focus on countries such as Mexico, which experienced a reported 100,000 kidnappings last year, many crisis events occur on a world-wide basis.”

“The true value of this coverage is realized long before a ransom payout is necessary. It lies in the precautionary assistance from world-class security advisors and crisis management experts, Terra Firma, that this coverage provides,” explains Balan.

“We take our clients’ safety seriously, helping them become as perceptive and knowledgeable as they can be to avoid predicaments that put themselves, their families and businesses at risk.”

XL Group also added KRE underwriter Todd Cranche to its US crisis management team. With more than 20 years of insurance industry experience, Cranche joins XL Group from Aon where he served as vice president in its business travel and accident unit.