The Hiscox Group, a provider of specialty insurance, will now offer kidnap and ransom insurance in the US.

Last week, the Bermuda-based company announced the appointed two kidnap and ransom insurance experts, Lisa Zanotelli and Derek Rogers.

They will develop and underwrite unique, stand-alone kidnap and ransom insurance coverage.

This will be written on an admitted basis through Hiscox USA's two New York locations in Manhattan and Armonk.

Ed Donnelly, president of Hiscox USA, said: "We are very excited to welcome Lisa and Derek to our team and announce the launch of this kidnap and ransom product that reflects the continued investment we're making to provide our clients specialised insurance with premiere industry intelligence and service."

Hiscox USA's kidnap and ransom insurance policy includes exclusive access to Control Risks, an independent, specialist risk consultancy.

Founded in 1975, Control Risks has worked on over 1,500 cases of kidnap, extortion and other crises.

"The Hiscox approach to kidnap and ransom coverage in combination with Control Risks' expert response services is invaluable to risk management and security departments in dealing with complex security threats," said Gary Noesner, senior vice-president of crisis and security management at Control Risks.

Mr. Noesner was chief of the FBI crisis negotiation unit for the Critical Incident Response Group until 2003 and negotiated more than 120 kidnappings for the FBI.

Mr. Rogers said: "Our clients deal with a very difficult global security environment coupled with employers' duty of care that includes personnel security and effective crisis management.

"When we were brokers, Hiscox consistently demonstrated the knowledge and flexibility we needed to offer effective coverage to our clients."

Ms Zanotelli said: "In Control Risks, we are providing brokers and their client's exclusive access to the leader in this industry.

"You need to have the utmost confidence in the people you will be relying on to navigate you through a crisis.

"That is no time to discover that there are crucial differences in the expertise, reputation and logistical capabilities provided by the security firms offering these services."