Specialist piracy policies for kidnap and ransom insurance can include cover for consultant and negotiator costs, ransom demands and medical care. These can be bought for individual transits or on an annual basis to bring down the cost.
Ashley Leszczuk from Aon’s crisis management team commented: “The cost of insurance is simply rising in correlation with the risk of kidnap in piracy hot-spots. Despite the presence of naval ships, the spate of piracy attacks over the last six months does not seem to be abating with increased civil unrest and pirates’ easy access to rocket launchers and AK47s. As such we’ve seen inquiries for cover escalate as shipowners seek to protect their employees and businesses.”
Some 70% of shipowners are opting for localized policies for the Gulf of Aden, the Gulf of Guinea stretching down to Somalia and the Straits of Malacca while a third of policies placed by Aon cover all locations worldwide.