Kolkata: Increasing trend of kidnap and extortion might be disturbing for the police and common people but insurance companies have reasons to be happy at the new opportunity to encash.

"The demand for kidnap ransom (KR) insurance policies are increasing in recent times after several such cases have been reported", a Tata AIG General Insurance official said.

KR is a corporate policy which offers financial protection to a client from his release from captivity till complete rehabilitation of the client or any sort of financial involvement in a perceived threat of kidnap.

According to estimates, 100 such policies were being annually sold by the insurance companies, both private and PSUs.

The trend in the eastern region for the KR insurance policies remains no different.

Companies like ICICI Lombard, Bajaj Allianz General Insurance, Tata AIG, New India Assurance (NIA) and Oriental Insurance offers policy of similar nature. "The number is rising. With awareness for this policy rising, sale is also on the rise," New India Assurance chairman B Chakrabarti said.
A Tata AIG official said, "we have sold policies to two prominent tea companies having operations in the north eastern states. However, we cannot reveal names due to confidentiality issue."

Coal India Ltd and NTPC, are among few others who are contemplating to insure their employees. Coal India is also looking at the possibility of covering its employees working in mines. "We are thinking on these lines," CIL chairman P S Bhattacharyya said when asked about such policies. "This is a western concept which is growing in India. KR policies are typically taken by corporates for their executives working in insecure locations. Few celebrities have also gone for the cover in the past," associate director and an expert on insurance at KPMG Shaswat Sharma said.

"Insurance companies do not handle the cases of kidnap for negotiations. Specialised agencies in the western countries are engaged in the job to negotiate and arrange realease," he said.

Source : PTI