AIG world leader in kidnap and ransom and maritime piracy insurance

AIG is one of the world’s leading insurers for Kidnap, Ransom & Extortion (K&R). K&R insurance has received increasing focus over the last few years with the emergence of modem piracy and AIG has also developed a clear solution for this risk, having first started writing marine K&R insurance in late 2007. As one of the world’s leading insurers in this field with specialist underwriters locally, AIG has developed a truly comprehensive solution for corporate and individuals.

The difference between K&R insurance ashore and Maritime K&R insurance is that Maritime K&R, have more stakeholders involved during a piracy incident. The Maritime K&R policies are critical for ship-owners/charterers because they respond immediately in the event of a hijacking and consultants are notified immediately. Also K&R policy supports the urgency and immediacy needed to respond.

Further K&R insurance and the K&R offered onshore lies in the fact that land-based kidnap situations will typically involve one kidnapped individual whereas with piracy a number of crew members may be kidnapped at one time. If 15 seafarers are kidnapped, that’s 15 families who potentially could be from 15 different countries which is an additional burden for the shipping lines to deal with.

Pierre-Edouard Fraigneau, Head of Commercial Institutions MEA, at AIG briefed the local key insurance brokers and partners on latest developments and trends in exposures such as; kidnap, extortion, detention, piracy and hijack during his visit to Sri Lanka recently.

“The impact of a kidnap or a similar event can be enormous and is essential that it is been handled in a professional manner. At AIG, we bring all our vast experience and expertise to the market and work with our clients to reduce their exposure to any such threats. Our solution includes not only the insurance element but more importantly immediate access to specialist response consultants.”

K&R insurance provides a range of covers for piracy victims and their families, including access to consultants with expertise in these kinds of events - not only expertise in responding, but in working with shipping lines and crew members to ensure they are adequately equipped to deal with volatile and crisis situations.

As at 1 December, 2011 AIG entered into a new partnership with NYA International, a specialist in crisis management and response consultancy, and these services now form part of the AIG offering services to clients around the globe.

“Our global partnership with NYA International ensures our clients receive the most appropriate prevention and response services - which are critical for those conducting business in volatile areas around the globe. This allows us to create the most appropriate solutions for our clients with tailored wordings and guarantees, as well as risk management ensuring protocols are in place to mitigate the risks as much as possible. As these issues can occur anywhere in the world, it is essential that we provide a 24 hour emergency response, and our partnership with NYA international will now benefit our local clients, supporting their needs where ever they may be across the world.”

No doubt piracy, Kidnap & Ransom have growing trends in the modem world and the severity of these exposures should be managed effectively.