In the year June 2014 – June 2015 the Office for National Statistics reported that Business and Trading Fraud had increased by 37%. This is of course only cases that have been noted and reported. Many of those victims will not have been insured for their loss. This introduction will give you a brief idea of the benefits of a Commercial Crime Insurance Policy.
Picture a situation where this money has been stolen through means which fall outside the remit of your bank’s reimbursement policy. An example was recently used in the press where an individual was purchasing a house. Thieves had been monitoring her email traffic having gained access to her email account. Seeing that she was in the process of purchasing a house they posed as the solicitors (having purchased an almost identical domain name) and sent an email requesting the deposit paid into a specific account. This was duly done. The next day the real solicitors contacted her in order to provide details of how she should pay the deposit. The house purchaser was distraught then to learn that they had just given £30,000 to the wrong person.
This is just one example but invoice fraud is a common occurrence, not just in the world of house buying but also in the commercial sector. Whether it is a physical invoice sent in the post on the most official looking headed paper or thieves have been monitoring your email communications. In the commercial world we all have suppliers, we all make purchases and so it is not difficult to see where the above example could apply.
The bank is not going to reimburse you so where would you look for assistance? Where a standard commercial policy will cover physical theft of stock or money, where violent entry / exit has been used, a Crime Insurance policy will cover your business for losses as a result of Fraud and deception. A Crime Insurance policy will not cease there and there are many benefits including some of the following:
Protection Against Theft and Dishonesty
Third Party and Employee Theft Available
Business Interruption Costs
Malicious Damage and Theft of Data
Corporate Identity Fraud
Erroneous Electronic Transfer
Misuse / Defrauding of Benefit Schemes
Court Attendance
Contractual Penalties
In order to obtain an indication we do not need a great deal of information. Key points such as Business Name, Number of Employees, Number of Locations and details of Relevant Losses should suffice. Otherwise and to approach a wider market a short proposal form may be required. Once completed there is of course no obligation to incept a recommended policy but you will be in a position to weigh up the benefits and reach a decision.
Our advice as always will be to ensure that you have the appropriate protection in place for the risks that you face.
