Commercial crime insurance protects your business against financial loss caused by dishonest acts, whether committed by your own employees or by external parties. It is the cover that responds when money or property is taken through theft, fraud, or forgery rather than lost through accident or error. We structure commercial crime cover around how money and assets move through your business and where they are most exposed.
What commercial crime insurance covers
A commercial crime policy, sometimes called crime and fidelity cover, responds to loss arising from a defined set of dishonest acts. These typically include theft or dishonesty by an employee, theft of money or property, computer and funds-transfer fraud, forgery, and counterfeiting. The cover meets the financial loss itself, within the policy limit, and often the cost of investigating and establishing the claim. It is distinct from cover for accidental damage or professional error; the trigger here is a deliberate, dishonest act.
Does commercial crime insurance cover social engineering fraud?
A point worth understanding is the line between commercial crime cover and social engineering fraud. A traditional crime policy responds to money taken without the company's knowledge, such as an employee misappropriating funds. It may not respond where an employee is deceived into making a payment they believed was genuine, such as acting on a fraudulent instruction to change a supplier's bank details. That deception-based loss is the territory of social engineering fraud cover, which is often a separate section or extension. Confirming whether both exposures are addressed is one of the more important checks on a crime programme.
Why the exposure is rising
The dishonest acts a commercial crime policy covers are a live exposure for businesses of every size, and the environment has made them more so. As more payments move to electronic channels and fraud techniques grow more sophisticated, both internal misappropriation and external funds-transfer fraud become easier to attempt and harder to detect in time. A business does not have to be large to be targeted; it has to handle money.
Who should consider it
Any business that handles money, holds assets, or processes payments carries commercial crime exposure, and the size of the business is not a reliable guide to the risk. A small company where one person controls payments can be more exposed to internal fraud than a larger one with segregated duties. Businesses that move funds frequently, hold client monies, or rely heavily on electronic payment instructions have the most to protect.
What does commercial crime insurance not cover?
The common gaps are in scope, and in the social engineering line described above. A policy that covers employee dishonesty but not third-party computer fraud, or one that omits a social engineering extension, can leave a real exposure uninsured. Sub-limits on individual sections, and the conditions a claim must satisfy, also determine how much the cover actually responds. Reviewing which dishonest acts are insured, the sub-limits that apply, and whether social engineering is included is where the protection is decided.
Frequently asked questions
What does commercial crime insurance cover in Singapore?
Commercial crime insurance covers direct financial loss to the business arising from dishonest or fraudulent acts. The main insuring clauses typically include: employee dishonesty (theft of money, securities, or property by staff); forgery or alteration of cheques and financial instruments; computer fraud (unauthorised access to systems resulting in a transfer of funds); funds transfer fraud (fraudulent instructions causing a wire transfer to a wrong account); and money and securities cover for loss of cash on premises or in transit. Social engineering fraud, where an employee is deceived into authorising a payment, is a related but separate cover, often written as an extension or a standalone policy. Commercial crime insurance responds to the financial loss itself, not to the cost of a cyber incident or data breach.
Is commercial crime insurance the same as fidelity insurance?
They cover similar ground but are not identical. Fidelity insurance (also called fidelity guarantee insurance) is the older, narrower form: it covers employee dishonesty and theft, typically on a named-employee or blanket basis. Commercial crime insurance is a broader, more modern policy form that includes fidelity cover but extends to forgery, computer fraud, funds transfer fraud, and external crime. For most businesses, a commercial crime policy provides more comprehensive protection than a standalone fidelity policy. Financial institutions, fund managers, and companies with significant cash-handling or payment processes are the most common buyers, but any business with employees who handle money, authorise payments, or have access to financial systems has a relevant exposure.
How we structure it
We take time to understand how money and assets move through your business, who controls payments, and where the financial controls sit, and we place cover with our appointed insurers around that. We review the cover as your operations and payment processes change, and we remain your point of contact if a claim is made. The aim is cover that reflects the way your business actually handles its money.