英国卫报:绑架为何成了一门生意(2)

The second principle is that the policy will only reimburse¹ the ransom² once it is paid.

第二个原则是，只有支付了赎金，保险才会赔偿。

The insurance company never fronts any money.

保险公司从不预付任何款项。

In order to raise the cash, the victim’s family will probably have to liquidate³ assets – mortgage the house, sell stocks, pool money from other relatives.

为了凑够赎金，受害者家人可能汇清理资产——抵押房屋，销售股票，向其他亲戚借钱。

This process makes the negotiations⁴ credible⁵ by dragging them out.

这一过程通过拖延谈判，使谈判变得可信。

This is not just about minimising the payout by the insurance company.

这不仅是将保险公司的赔偿减到最小。

Quickly making good on a large ransom raises the expectations of future kidnappers⁶.

迅速兑现巨额赎金提高了未来绑架者的期望值。

It can make hostage-taking more lucrative⁷ and more common.

它可以使劫持人质变得更有利可图，也更普遍。

When K&R insurance first came on the market, the policyholders were left on their own to negotiate with the kidnappers.

当K&R保险首次出现在市场上时，保单持有人只能自己与绑架者谈判。

But in the mid-1970s, an insurance broker⁸ named Julian Radcliffe came up with an idea that would revolutionise the industry.

但是在20世纪70年代中期，一位叫朱利安·拉德克利夫的保险经纪人想出了一个将变革这个行业的主意。

Along with a few colleagues, Radcliffe convinced their company to set up a subsidiary focused on hostage response.

拉德克利夫和一些同事一起说服公司成立一个子公司，专们研究人质反应。

The subsidiary, which they named Control Risks, would hire security experts – mostly former military and police – to handle negotiations.

他们给子公司起名为“控制风险”，该公司将雇佣安全专家——大多数以前是军人或警察——来谈判。

The cost of hiring the consultant⁹ was included in the policy and borne by the insurance company.

雇佣顾问的花费会包含在该保险之中，由保险公司承担。

In 1982, Control Risks became an independent company.

1982年，控制风险成了一家独立公司。

By the early 80s, hostage-taking was on the rise in Latin America, particularly in Colombia.

80年代初，在拉丁美洲，劫持人质事件呈上升趋势，尤其是哥伦比亚。

When Milne arrived in Bogota, he discovered a vast, untapped market.

米尔恩到达波哥大后，发现了一个巨大的、未开发的市场。

As an insurance broker, he sold a variety of policies offered by different companies available through the Lloyd’s exchange in London.

作为一个保险经纪人，他在伦敦的劳合社销售了一系列由不同公司提供的保险单。

The job of the broker is to serve the client and to advocate for their interests in the event of a claim.

保险经纪人的工作是为客户提供服务，在发生索赔时维护他们的利益。

The underwriters represent the insurance companies.

承包人代表着保险公司。

Specialised, high-risk policies were placed on the Lloyd’s insurance exchange,

劳合社保险交易所提供了专门的高风险保单，

and Milne would field offers from different underwriters.

米尔恩会处理不同保险商的报价。

He would select the policy that best suited his client.

他会选择最适合他的客户的保险单。

1 reimburse   

v.补偿，付还

参考例句：

• We'll reimburse you for your travelling expenses.我们将付还你旅费。
• The funds are supposed to reimburse policyholders in the event of insurer failure.这项基金将在保险公司不能偿付的情况下对投保人进行赔付。

2 ransom   

n.赎金，赎身；v.赎回，解救

参考例句：

• We'd better arrange the ransom right away.我们最好马上把索取赎金的事安排好。
• The kidnappers exacted a ransom of 10000 from the family.绑架者向这家人家勒索10000英镑的赎金。

3 liquidate   

v.偿付，清算，扫除；整理，破产

参考例句：

• A unanimous vote was taken to liquidate the company.全体投票一致通过停业清理公司。
• They have not hesitated in the past to liquidate their rivals.过去他们曾毫不犹豫地铲除对手。

4 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

5 credible   

adj.可信任的，可靠的

参考例句：

• The news report is hardly credible.这则新闻报道令人难以置信。
• Is there a credible alternative to the nuclear deterrent?是否有可以取代核威慑力量的可靠办法？

6 kidnappers   

n.拐子，绑匪( kidnapper的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They were freed yesterday by their kidnappers unharmed. 他们昨天被绑架者释放了，没有受到伤害。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The kidnappers had threatened to behead all four unless their jailed comrades were released. 帮匪们曾经威胁说如果印度方面不释放他们的同伙，他们就要将这四名人质全部斩首。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 lucrative   

adj.赚钱的，可获利的

参考例句：

• He decided to turn his hobby into a lucrative sideline.他决定把自己的爱好变成赚钱的副业。
• It was not a lucrative profession.那是一个没有多少油水的职业。

8 broker   

n.中间人，经纪人；v.作为中间人来安排

参考例句：

• He baited the broker by promises of higher commissions.他答应给更高的佣金来引诱那位经纪人。
• I'm a real estate broker.我是不动产经纪人。

9 consultant   

n.顾问；会诊医师，专科医生

参考例句：

• He is a consultant on law affairs to the mayor.他是市长的一个法律顾问。
• Originally,Gar had agreed to come up as a consultant.原来，加尔只答应来充当我们的顾问。