Crime is a simple word for a multitude of dishonest acts. Crimes range from a simple street robbery to a safe burglary to a kidnapping. These definitions may help our look at crime insurance:
- Burglary-entering and leaving a premises with no legal right
- Robbery-taking property from a person by threat of physical or mental harm
- Theft-a catch-all category including the terms above
- Extortion-surrender of property by threat to of physical or mental harm to a person or related third party
- Embezzlement-theft of others' property in your care
Before you buy crime insurance, review the coverage in your existing property insurance policies. Is your property insurance policy on a named peril basis? Or is it on an "everything is covered except" basis? It makes a difference! If it's a named peril, your need for separate crime insurance is likely to be important.
Crime insurance covers a broad range of activity:
- robbery
- burglary
- theft
- disappearance and destruction
- fraud
- forgery
- embezzlement.
The available insurance coverage is divided into a number of areas. These cover only specific types of crimes. Make sure you and your agent consider your particular exposures to crime. Some businesses need coverage for outside sign theft. Other businesses require coverage for safe burglary. Others require only employee dishonesty coverage.
Some crime coverage may be available in other insurance policies. For example, kidnapping can be part of a Directors and Officers policy.
To learn more about Crime Insurance, visit our Learning Center or contact one of our licensed advisors. We're here to help!