In Bihar, insure against kidnapping

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Pune/Patna: If you are rich and fear abduction, worry not. Just buy an insurance policy against kidnapping and breathe easy!

If an ambitious project undertaken by five students from Pune materialises, the police may not be the only ones tackling kidnappings and extortion.

The students from Pune’s National Institute of Insurance Academy are working on an insurance policy against kidnapping and ransom and have chosen Bihar for their case study.

"We choose Bihar for our case study because the state has had a number of kidnapping cases, 90 per cent of which have been solved. Hence, we are planning to apply this policy in Bihar so we can relieve the families from the stress," says Yashaswi, an NIA student.

The policy, called 'A Kidnap and Ransom Insurance Plan', will have the following provisions:

* The insurance agency will employ a consultant to take care of the client's security.

* If the client is kidnapped, the consultant will negotiate with the kidnappers.

* The policy will, however, remain a secret between the two parties.

The students say it’s a great way of running business while addressing a social cause and the police, too, are not ruling out the possibility of the policy gaining popularity.

“Even if people are not afraid of crime or kidnapping, maybe the fear factor will work. Maybe they would succeed in selling this insurance," says Inspector General (Headquarters) of Bihar Police, Anil Sinha.

While for those under threat, this insurance policy will come as a much-needed relief, it may also scare many others, especially in a state like Bihar where people hope that the kidnapping and extortion mafia will be brought to book some day.

HOW IT WORKS IN THE US

In the US, some of the biggest multinational corporations have quietly carried insurance coverage against kidnapping for years.

The policies not only provide money for ransom, but also pay for fees of kidnap negotiators and psychiatrist’s fees for treatment of the victims and their families.

While multinational executives are the typical customers, security experts say that some small banks also become their clients for being a tempting prey for kidnapping and extortion mafia.

The nation's football, baseball and other professional sports teams and Hollywood actors are some of the prominent kidnap insurance clients.

(With Prabhakar Kumar and Shilpa Dhamija)