Inside the world of hostage negotiation (2019)

And that would increase the value of the insurance

No, because if you read the article, they still need to raise the money themselves before the payout. The total payout is related to their net worth.

‘ There were caveats to prevent fraud and to ensure that the existence of the policy did not actually increase the risk of kidnapping. The first was that the policy had to be kept secret. In fact, it could be voided if its existence became public. The concern was that if the kidnappers knew of the policy, they would demand more money.

The second principle is that the policy will only reimburse the ransom once it is paid. The insurance company never fronts any money. In order to raise the cash, the victim’s family will probably have to liquidate assets – mortgage the house, sell stocks, pool money from other relatives. This process makes the negotiations credible by dragging them out. This is not just about minimising the payout by the insurance company. Quickly making good on a large ransom raises the expectations of future kidnappers. It can make hostage-taking more lucrative and more common.’

A few paragrphs into the article.

Whether or not that can entirely eliminate the moral hazard is yet unresolved.

Voss teaches classes, as well; they are useful well outside the bounds of hostage negotiation, in almost any context where soft interpersonal communication is a determining factor.

My introduction to Mr. Voss was through an immersive training event, where the participants got a small taste of his world/skillset. Watching him work was illuminating, to say the least. Mostly, the value I've retained from that experience has been applicable in business contexts, and, ironically, during the home-buying process. It changed how I looked at interpersonal conflicts, and has been very handy in figuring out a path which essentially leaves all parties feeling like they got what they needed to get out of the deal.

I just listened to an interesting podcast interview with the author of this book [1].

He discusses what the GP said above: there's a team of say, 7 people listening, and each person has a specific job, depending on the situation: listening for positive things they say, negative things, tone, timing, background noise. Pretty interesting interview.

[1] https://www.jordanharbinger.com/chris-voss-negotiate-as-if-y...