Report | Hotels go for insurance policies against guest kidnapping

Major hotels, resorts and casinos in the territory are nowadays resorting to specialized insurance policies, the South China Morning Post has reported, in order to shield themselves from an emerging threat – the kidnapping of well-off patrons over bad debts.
Quoting Hong Kong insurance agent Ashley Coles, who is assistant director of credit, political and security risks at Jardine Lloyd Thompson, the newspaper reported that the gaming groups’ interest in this sort of insurance policy would continue to grow: “All the major casinos and hotel chains will have looked into this.”
Most abductions take place in hotel rooms, and this potentially endangers the gaming companies, as they could face lawsuits from victims and their families. It was said that the initiative to take out a specialized insurance policy could defuse the risks, particularly if the policy coverage includes legal liability and deployment of crisis responders in case of kidnapping.
The assistant director said that the mainland’s economic slowdown and plummeting casino earnings have led to a hike in unresolved debts, which often triggers disputes. Most of such rows eventually escalate into abductions.
Kidnapping, also known as illegal detention, is the method through which perpetrators have attempted to seek payment of unpaid loans.
The Judiciary Police receive reports of such crimes every week, with almost all victims being mainlanders. The government’s figures note that as many as 170 people were held against their will during the first half of the year, a number double that recorded during the equivalent period last year.