Kidnap insurance has a name problem.

Our latest insight explains Kidnap & Ransom insurance and why the name matters.

What’s in a name?

A friend of mine’s wife is pregnant with their third child. They seem to have run out of acceptable options after the first two – George and David. ‘You’ve got to imagine their name being called by the teacher for the morning register.’

Kidnap insurance is running into similar issues. ‘Kidnap and ransom’, ‘kidnap for ransom’, ‘kidnap and extortion’, and their innumerable permutations, are not only horribly reductive – they are also the written equivalent of tattooing a highly confidential insurance policy across a shared access file or group email thread. The product demands discretion – the nomenclature denies it.  

Lost in Translation

So what has the market done about it? Over the years, underwriters and brokers alike have attempted to mask the product name with reassuringly generic but compellingly mysterious alternatives. Although well-intentioned, the clearer the disguise, the vaguer the product becomes. During an entertaining post-renewal meeting with a long-standing client, the risk manager evaluated her options with the critical eye of a copywriter:

Special Crime. ‘Too close to our crime policy… sounds like an excess layer for it. Also, what’s so special about crime?’

Special Risks. ‘This could be anything.’

Special Personal Accident. ‘Please stop.‘

What Does K&R Insurance Actually Cover?

The naming frustration is understandable but it arguably misrepresents what the product actually does. Kidnap and extortion represent around a third of claims filed against this policy, so leading with historical perils undersells everything else on the shelf. Coverage is triggered by the unexplained disappearance of an insured person – no ransom demand required. Malicious or violent threats alone activate crisis support, no extortive element necessary. As the threats facing clients changed, so did the product. In some ways, the policy has outgrown its name.

Then there’s the insurance market’s favourite pastime: acronymising everything, regardless of whether the result means anything beyond an easy shorthand – KR, K&R, KRE. Does any of this hint at comprehensive evacuation support, something recent events across the Middle East have made rather relevant? Do they capture the growing threat of active assailant and marauding terrorist attacks? What about home invasion, fixated threats, blackmail and stalking? Cases that continue to challenge this product’s unfair but persistent reputation as a glorified travel insurance upgrade.

‘Edward, Eddy, Thomas, Tom, James, Jimmy.’

The very British custom of shortening any given name has understandably rubbed off on the London-centric KRE insurance market.  I won’t deny that ‘K&R’ seems to roll off the tongue fairly easily nor will I commit to not using it in my exchanges with fellow brokers, underwriters and crisis response partners. I fully appreciate that the casual Google searcher won’t be questioning the suitability of the name when trying to source last minute coverage for a trip to the DRC.

Of course, ‘kidnap and ransom insurance’ remains commercially valuable terminology. The phrase carries search engine weight and immediate market recognition, particularly for buyers sourcing urgent coverage for high-risk travel. Legacy jargon persists partly because the digital economy rewards familiarity. But are we underselling the breadth and sophistication of the product through sheer force of habit?

What is the Right Name, Then?

Let’s boil it down to basics:

1. Does the name helpfully market the policy’s scope and how Assureds actually use it?

1. Does the name capture this without risking a broadcast of what is a highly sensitive product?

There’s no perfect answer. We call it ‘Security Risks’. It probably overlaps with other products. It isn’t particularly catchy. But it does what it says on the tin: a toolbox of support and resources for a range of critical security incidents.

‘Don’t try to be too unique with their name – they’ll be explaining it for life.

Sound advice. When it’s all said and done, we’d rather spend our time explaining what Security Risks covers than what it’s called.

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