Whatever your opinions on Republican Presidential candidate Donald Trump, you have to admit he’s worth a memorable quote or two. Now he’s gone and stuck his foot in his mouth with the Mexican people again – and given a hat tip to the insurance industry in the process.
Insurers and brokers alike are sure to be clamouring at the prospect of putting out a new line of “kidnap insurance” after Trump’s latest verbal tirade. Reacting to the PGA pulling a tournament from his golf resort in Miami and moving it to Mexico he came out with the not so politically correct comment of: “I hope the PGA tour have got good kidnap insurance.”
Needless to say, kidnap insurance is not something the average broker is regularly selling here in the UK… however, it really does exist.
Known more formerly as ‘kidnap and ransom insurance’ it is designed to protect corporations and individuals who operate in high-risk areas around the world. And amazingly, whether his words were ill-thought out or not, Mr Trump did touch on some truth – because Mexico is one of the locations most regularly named in policies, followed by the likes of Venezuela, Nigeria and some parts of the Russian Federation.
A typical kidnap and ransom policy will cover against such risks as wrongful detention, hijacking and extortion – with the process normally asking the insured to pay the ransom to incur a loss, before the loss is later reimbursed.
It’s not as niche as it may sound either. For example,
Travelers offers kidnap insurance underwritten by Lloyds; while
AIG, AON,
Hiscox and
Beazley are among the other names offering kidnap insurance in various countries.
Still, after previously revealing his plans to build a wall between Mexico and the USA, perhaps this was one truthful tirade that would have been better left unsaid.
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