Australian companies face a heightened risk of staff being kidnapped while working overseas, according to Catlin Australia Specialty Underwriter Des Partridge.

“We’ve seen the exposure increase for Australian companies because… we’ve seen a move from typical kidnap and ransom (K&R) areas such as South America to areas such as Asia and Africa, where a lot of Australian companies have interests,” he told insuranceNEWS.com.au.

“You have mining companies, mineral exploration and oil companies. These are all operating in places such as central, east and west Africa, as well as in areas such as the Philippines where there are a lot of oil interests, and even in Papua New Guinea.”

Ransom demands are also rising as governments get involved in paying claims, Mr Partridge told a Catlin seminar in Sydney last week.

He says K&R policies are more comprehensive than corporate travel policies, which may leave companies uncovered for payments such as staff legal claims, psychiatric care and recovery, business interruption and even negotiators’ salaries.

In 2007 a worker employed by Dolphin Drilling was kidnapped in Nigeria and freed after the company paid a ransom. But in 2012 he sued his employer for £250,000 ($453.21 million), claiming he was traumatised and Dolphin had failed in its duty of care.

Mr Partridge says the problem is coming closer to home, especially with the rise of terrorist groups such as Islamic State and recent beheadings of aid workers.

Catlin Specialty Manager Steven Ward says the company has “quite a large global K&R book”.

“We have regular issues, not just in Africa and Asia but also in South America,” he said. “These are not just for kidnappings but for extortion and wrongful detentions. We’ve had a fair number of evacuations as well.”

Five years ago piracy was a major issue, especially off Somalia, but many companies operating there now employ security teams on ships.

“So what we’re seeing now is that those pirates and kidnappers are actually moving on land, and are starting to take people rather than ships,” Mr Ward said.