insurance

Crime Insurance

Insurance coverage that protects businesses against losses from criminal acts such as theft, burglary, robbery, forgery, and employee dishonesty. This coverage typically includes both money and property losses resulting from covered criminal activities.

Example

“The restaurant's crime insurance policy covered the $8,000 stolen from their safe during a break-in, plus the cost of repairing the damaged security system.”

Memory Tip

Think 'Crime Insurance = Criminal Cost Coverage' - it covers costs caused by criminal activities against your business.

Why It Matters

Crime insurance protects businesses from potentially devastating financial losses due to criminal activities, which can threaten business survival. Small businesses are particularly vulnerable as they often lack the resources to absorb significant theft or fraud losses without insurance protection.

Common Misconception

Many business owners believe their general business insurance automatically covers all types of criminal losses, but standard commercial policies often exclude or limit coverage for employee theft, forgery, and certain types of burglary. Crime insurance typically requires separate coverage or specific endorsements to fill these gaps.

In Practice

A small retail store experiences three incidents in one year: a burglary resulting in $5,000 in stolen merchandise, employee theft of $3,000 in cash, and check forgery totaling $2,000. Without crime insurance, the business absorbs $10,000 in losses. With crime insurance costing $800 annually and a $500 deductible per incident, the business pays only $2,300 total ($800 premium + $1,500 deductibles) instead of $10,000, saving $7,700.

Etymology

From 'crime' derived from Latin 'crimen' meaning accusation or offense, and 'insurance' from Latin 'securus' meaning secure - literally security against criminal offenses.

Common Misspellings

Crime InsurenceCrim InsuranceCrime InsuranseCime Insurance

Related Terms

Fidelity Bond Burglary Insurance

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