I'm sure companies doing business in areas where kidnap and ransom is common know the going rate for ransom. They also know how much an employee is worth to them (same rate as companies who take out life insurance on their employees). If you can get an insurance policy against someone's kidnap, you know how much they are worth and you know how much you'll be willing to spend on a ransom. If you can't narrow it down enough to escrow, you certainly don't have an insurance policy on it.