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| Economy |
| Kidnap insurance costs soar on escalating piracy |
| 2009-04-10 |
| So when does it become cheaper to just start giving your crews guns? CHICAGO, April 9 (Xinhua) -- Shipowners navigating the Gulf of Aden are seeing insurance premiums for kidnap and ransom increase tenfold as piracy escalates, said Chicago-based global insurance broker Aon Risk Services on Thursday, one day after Somali pirates hijacked a U.S. cargo ship. This means shipowners could be paying 30,000 U.S. dollars premium for 3 million dollars of coverage for one journey through this piracy hotspot. However, more are opting for coverage to protect their employees as well as avoiding lengthy detours that threaten supply chains and increase petrol costs.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. One stop shopping for all your pirate ransom needs... "The cost of insurance is simply rising in correlation with the risk of kidnap in piracy hotspots. 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 enquiries for cover escalate as shipowners seek to protect their employees and businesses," said Ashley Leszczuk, an analyst from Aon's crisis management team. Aon indicated that some 70 percent 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. |
| Posted by:tu3031 |