How Your Insurance Policy May Not Cover Your Crime & Theft Claims?

Companies commonly know that they need to insure their property, they know they need to carry Worker’s Compensation for their employees, and they know they need to insure their company vehicles. But what some companies may not know, is that often times they need Crime insurance - a coverage that many business owners assume is included in property insurance. This is not always the case.

A company’s own money and property can sometimes be a target for theft – and unfortunately sometimes by their own employees. Examples of these claims are cropping up in the news more and more and unfortunately, schemes are becoming increasingly sophisticated. You frequently see stories in the news of Employee Theft. Some examples are:

• An employee issues checks to “fake” companies and the money is actually deposited into their own account.
• Someone conspires with an employee of an outside vendor to submit phony or inflated invoices and splits the company’s payment.
• An employee issues unauthorized checks from a company account for their personal use or sends wire transfers of company funds to fictitious accounts .

A small amount of Crime may be included in your Package policy, but it is always worth considering additional coverage. Talk to your agent. If you currently don’t carry the coverage or need higher limits, he or she can discuss possible options. Typically, premium is small. In order to quote the coverage, you may need to respond to such questions as these –

• # and position title of employees who are authorized to handle money or bank accounts
• How often do you conduct audits?
• What are your check procedures?
• Who reconciles your bank accounts?
• Is countersignature of checks required?
• Are bank accounts reconciled by someone not authorized to deposit or withdraw?

Take the time to look at your procedures now. Do your part to keep your company from being a viable target.