Dangerous liaisons

It is almost ten months since I wrote about “kidnap insurance” in this column. Much has happened since. Trinidad and Tobago while not at that time seen in the eyes of the international community as a hotspot, was just getting on the radar screen on account of the few high profile families who had been affected by the kidnap and extortion phenomenon. All this has changed. Trinidad and Tobago has achieved notoriety as a dangerous place in the short space of a few months. Now, the entire country is gripped in fear and the ease of communication via the internet has made the crime situation in the country a key cause for concern for our friends and relatives abroad, who keep in touch daily by logging on to the newspapers. The question is, who’s next to be killed or kidnapped? In fact it could be anybody! There is a complete breakdown of law and order. Criminals feel empowered that they could commit crimes and even mastermind crimes secure in the knowledge that they would not be caught or if caught, stand a big chance of getting away in view of our legal system. Crime is a business. In fact it is big business.

Our present legal system and our laws favour the criminals and unless and until the authorities take strong action to correct this imbalance to send fear into the minds and hearts of these criminals the situation will only get worse. Criminals know only force — not kid gloves or ole-talk. The issue of Kidnap Insurance made it to the front page of one of the Sunday newspapers. The article suggested that there was an increased demand for insurance coverage. There is no doubt that there would be an increased interest on account of the current crime situation. Until about a year ago there was little or no interest in this kind of insurance cover. Everything is relative and only those of high net worth will be in a position to afford it or have their companies/employers pay for this cover. However the premiums are generally out of the reach of the average citizen. Trinidad and Tobago is a copycat society. We adopt the worst aspects of the developed world and the spate of kidnapping has been turned into a business. We hear of the body-snatchers who are the underlings and are paid for their “wuk” and the criminal bosses who then take over the negotiations for ransom. How come the low level criminals know who the bosses are and the law enforcement authorities are unable to apprehend and dent these operations? There are more questions than answers!

We must remind ourselves what kidnap insurance is all about. It does not prevent kidnapping. What it does is to make ransom money available where the family of the victim might otherwise be unable to raise it but again only up to the limit of the cover purchased. Of greater importance, it makes available to the family and the law enforcement agencies the worldwide expertise of hostage and kidnap negotiators whose prime objective is the safe return of the victim. These experts do not know our “culture” and therefore they must rely heavily on local imput although their advice is valuable. There is no real indigenous insurance market for kidnap insurance and eventually the international market is the ultimate provider of the cover. At present there are insufficient buyers to make a market, as insurance depends on the law of large numbers. Importantly, there must be complete secrecy as the existence of this cover must not be disclosed to anyone. That is the condition of the purchase of insurance cover. Usually the international insurance community sees the risk of kidnapping as being above average for an expatriate working in a foreign country because an employer would more than likely have the financial resources to pay and secure safe release. Some foreign companies purchase kidnap insurance as a prerequisite of the terms and conditions of service in order to encourage that employee to take up an overseas appointment in particular in countries recognised as known “hot spots” for kidnap and ransom. It is possible that Trinidad and Tobago is fast reaching that stage if it is not already there.

The situation in Trinidad and Tobago is almost unique. Almost anyone is at risk. It would appear that the body snatchers are going after anyone who happens to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Just for a few dollars, it is seen as a pay day, as the committal of any other crime with less risks attached and with the chance of a higher cash income. Regardless of one’s station in life, the victim’s family will try to raise whatever monies to secure the release of loved ones. This is where the incidence of kidnapping poses a real incentive to cash which cannot be ordinarily earned by these kidnappers. As has been reported, the kidnappers mean no harm. They are only doing a job for which they receive money but sometimes these situations get out of hand resulting in injury or death of the victim. The insurance industry has many challenges. It is faced with an inordinately high level of criminal activity in the country — kidnapping being the most serious — but it goes right to the heart of lawlessness and governance. One only has to look at the PH drivers and the impotence of the Police to do anything — some even take the view that they are making an honest living — but this is where it all starts by the inaction and the turning a blind eye to lawlessness in the country. There is the need for action and it is only the results that count. Not promises. Not words that ring hollow. The time for serious action from the government and law enforcement authorities is long past and criminals must be put on the run. The country is under siege. Buying kidnap insurance is not a solution. It will not prevent kidnapping. It is only a plaster on a sore.

E-mail: daquing@cablenett.net