What Is Commercial Crime Insurance?
Commercial crime insurance covers direct financial loss — money, securities and other property stolen from your business. Typical insuring agreements include:
- Employee theft / dishonesty — an employee embezzles or diverts funds
- Forgery or alteration — forged checks or altered payment instructions
- Computer fraud — someone hacks in and moves money
- Funds-transfer fraud — your bank is tricked into sending money without your authorization
- Social engineering (endorsement) — an employee is tricked into sending a wire to a fraudster posing as a vendor, client or executive
- Client property (often optional) — theft of money you hold for clients
Crime vs. Cyber: Which Pays for Wire Fraud?
Cyber policies focus on breach response, ransomware and liability. Many include social-engineering or funds-transfer coverage only as a small sublimit (often $100,000–$250,000) with verification-callback conditions. Crime insurance can carry higher limits for the same fraud and also covers insider theft, which cyber does not. Firms that move client or company money — law firms, RIAs, MSPs handling payroll or vendor payments — commonly carry both.
What It Costs
Price depends on the limit, headcount, financial controls (dual sign-off, callback procedures, segregation of duties) and locations. Inside a management liability package, a $1M crime limit with a $5,000 deductible recently quoted around $2,100–$2,200 a year for a small professional-services firm on Cowbell's program underwritten by Zurich.
