Includes bibliographical references (pages 231-242) and index.

Kidnap for ransom as a business
Part I. Why people are kidnapped for ransom
Understanding patterns of kidnapping
The protector's choice
Part II. Making kidnapping insurable
What is kidnap for ransom insurance?
Crafting an effective protection contract
The price of a life
The case of the CEC future
Trading with kidnappers
Governing kidnap for ransom
Part III. When kidnaps go wrong
Why do hostages die?
Debrief

Kidnap for ransom is a lucrative but tricky business. Millions of people live, travel, and work in areas with significant kidnap risks, yet kidnaps of foreign workers, local VIPs, and tourists are surprisingly rare and the vast majority of abductions are peacefully resolved - often for remarkably low ransoms. In fact, the market for hostages is so well ordered that the crime is insurable. This is a puzzle: ransoming a hostage is the world's most precarious trade. What would be the "right" price for your loved one - and can you avoid putting others at risk by paying it? What prevents criminals from maltreating hostages? How do you (safely) pay a ransom? And why would kidnappers release a potential future witness after receiving their money? Kidnap: Inside the Ransom Business uncovers how a group of insurers at Lloyd's of London have solved these thorny problems for their customers. Based on interviews with industry insiders (from both sides), as well as hostage stakeholders, it uncovers an intricate and powerful private governance system ordering transactions between the legal and the criminal economies