Commercial theft insurance is a form of business insurance that protects your business from the financial losses associated with crime or fraud, whether by an employee or a third party.

Company money and property are the targets of various types of crime and company theft insurance will protect your business from these types of loss.

Commercial Theft Insurance Ireland

Table of Content

What is commercial theft insurance?

Commercial theft insurance or business crime insurance will offer financial protection from the effects of crime, whether by employees or third parties.

Specific business crime insurance will offer a business financial protection from:

Loss of company or clients’ money through theft or fraud is protected by crime insurance. Further to this, this form of business insurance will support businesses to manage and protect their reputation following a theft.

Employees are in a unique position to circumvent security measures and commit theft or fraud. Employee fidelity or employee dishonesty insurance offers protection from losses associated with employee deception.

Computer and funds transfer fraud by a third party can result in financial losses for your company or business. Insurance will protect your business from these losses and insurers may support you to investigate the loss and safeguard yourself from future losses.

If your business sells online and handles or stores customer data, particularly financial data, your business will need commercial theft insurance.

Extortion and kidnap and ransom of employees may br covered by business crime insurance. This type of cover would be additional and is not relevant to all businesses.

There is very limited availability of standalone commercial theft insurance in the Irish business insurance market. However, various types of business insurance will offer cover for the effects of crime as part of a combined business insurance package.

What is commercial theft insurance

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What is covered by ​​commercial theft insurance?

Businesses are subject to various types of crime and fraud, some by employees and some by outside third parties, with the purpose of stealing company money or property. 

The different types of crime and fraud are covered by different forms of cover within a combined business insurance tailored to your business. Different aspects of business insurance protect your business from the effects of theft/ dishonesty or crime and you may need to identify and specify which forms of crime your business is vulnerable to when purchasing business insurance.

Some of these types of crime and fraud include:

Cash cover is usually included in business cover for shops, surgeries,and offices, for example. This type of cover will offer protection for cash on the premises, in transit, and in an ATM in your business, up to a specified limit.

Stock or inventory would usually be included in a business combined insurance package. Higher value stock or targeted stock such as alcohol, and/ or tobacco may need to be specifically covered by your insurer. Many insurers will increase the amount of cover for stock in the Christmas period as standard.

Theft of tools or equipment, for example, would be covered by tradesperson insurance which would include other forms of cover relevant to your trade. Commercial property insurance may also offer cover for theft of plant or machinery installed at your premises.

Employee fraud or forgery can involve the loss of money, stock, or property from your business. Employee fraud can continue over a long time period and be very difficult to detect. 

Insurance cover for employee dishonesty or employee fidelity cover can protect your business financially from this type of loss. This type of cover can also include protection from computer fraud, or fund transfer fraud as well as employee cheque frauds.

Employee Dishonesty cover can also include protection from the loss of reputation associated with employee fraud. It can be arranged as part of a wider business insurance or commercial property insurance package.

Personal accident insurance which provides financial protection for staff who have been assaulted can form part of a wider business package tailored to your business. Retail insurance may also include cover for wrongful arrest in dealing with possible shoplifters.

Cyber crime is crime committed by computer or electronic means or over the internet. With the rise in electronic payments and online shopping, the potential for your business being subject to a financial loss by cyber crime is increasing.

If you handle customer data, your business may also be subject to a data breach, often resulting in financial loss for you or your customers. This type of crime can also lead to reputational loss and halt your business. 

Cyber insurance is available as part of business insurance which will help your business to prevent this type of loss, as well as manage the fallout for your business and customers.

What is covered by ​​commercial theft insurance

Who offers commercial theft insurance in Ireland ?

Specific commercial theft insurance or business crime insurance has limited availability in the Irish market. Generally, the types of business insurance that offer protection from employee or third party crime are included in a business insurance package that is tailored to your unique business and area of business.

AIG offers Crime and Employee Fidelity insurance to businesses. This offers protection against employee theft and fraud, cyber crime and optional cover for occupational assault. 

RSA offers Crime Insurance with cover for Money or Commercial all risks cover. This offers financial protection for money held on a premises or by staff in a locked safe or strong room or money while in transit, as well as cover for accidental injury as a result of robbery or attempted robbery.

Aviva offers Employee Dishonesty or employee fidelity insurance as part of a commercial property insurance product. This protects your business against loss of insured property as a result of employee fraud or theft.

KennCo insurance offers specific cyber or data breach insurance to businesses. This offers protection for cyber or data breach, including financial loss, loss of reputation, and business disruption.

Business insurance tailored to the needs of your business or commercial combined business insurance is provided by the following insurers:

AIG - Home Insurance
AXA - Home Insurance
Aviva - Home Insurance
FBD - Home Insurance
Allianz - Home Insurance
Zurich - Home Insurance
An Post - Home Insurance

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Commercial theft insurance premium calculator

The premium your business will pay for commercial theft insurance will be determined by a number of factors. These factors relate to the size and nature of your business and the risks associated with your business in terms of crime.

Generally, commercial theft insurance, or insurance cover to protect your business against the effects of employee or third party crime, will be included in a business insurance package tailored to your business.

Your premium for commercial theft insurance will be affected by these factors:

If you have a business that handles cash transactions, electronic transfers, or customer data you will pay more for commercial theft insurance.

If you have high levels of stock, particularly high value, target stock such as alcohol and cigarettes, you will pay more for commercial theft insurance.

The volume of sales and number of employees in your business will affect the premiums you pay for commercial theft insurance. Conversely, having fewer employees that you rely on to handle cash, electronic transfers, customer or financial data, or stock may mean that there is less oversight in your business and more opportunity for employee dishonesty or fraud.

Physical security such as cash management and use of a safe and property security such as use of locks, alarms, and CCTV or monitoring will all affect the premium you pat for commercial theft insurance.

Cyber security and data handling measures and procedures will also affect your risk of data breach, or fraud leading to financial loss for your business or its customers, especially if you sell online. This will affect your premium for commercial theft insurance.

If you have had previous claims you will pay more for commercial theft insurance. 

Generally, you are covered for the period of insurance if fraud or employee crime is uncovered. You can pay more for insurance which covers you if historic crime is uncovered during the period of insurance. This may be relevant in the event of, for example, employee fraud which can take place over a long time period.

The level of cover afforded by your commercial theft insurance can vary and depends on the size and nature of your business.

For example, the amount of cash cover you require will depend on how much cash your business handles on a regular basis.

Generally, you are covered for cash on a ‘named perils’ basis, where there are specified limits on the amount of cash your business can hold or transport. You can also be covered on a ‘commercial all risks basis’ which covers you for all losses, unless they are specifically excluded from your policy. The different types of cover will affect your business or commercial theft premium.

The factors which affect your life insurance quote

Why consider Commercial theft insurance?

All businesses are vulnerable to the various forms of crime outlined. Although taking out business insurance that protects your business from the effects of crime may seem an unnecessary expense, smaller businesses may actually be more vulnerable to crime. 

This is due to the reliance on key staff who have access to cash and valuable stock and equipment and the expense of safety or auditing controls which can identify or prevent crime by employees or third parties. This can make small businesses less secure.

If your business accepts cash or electronic transfers, holds stock or inventory or handles customer or client data you would be well advised to consider commercial theft cover.

If your business has a website and/ or sells online and has access to customer data and financial data, then you should consider commercial theft or cyber insurance.

Business crime can lead to substantial financial losses as well as a loss of reputation and loss of customer satisfaction which can be catastrophic for your business.

Business insurance for trades people usually includes product liability cover

Learn more today

You have worked hard to build your business and make it a success. However, even though nobody likes to think that it will happen to them, the success of your business can make it a target for crime and dishonesty

Commercial theft insurance or a tailored business insurance package will offer your business financial protection and support in recovering from the effects of crime and will give you financial security and peace of mind.

Talk to us today about the best protection for your unique business and we will find the best business insurance for you at the best price.

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