Crime, Fraud & Fidelity Insurance

Q: What types of fraud does Crime Insurance cover?

Depending on the policy, cover can include:Social engineering & impersonation fraudPayment diversion/mandate fraudForged cheques or documentsTheft of money, stock or securitiesExtortion and ransom demandsLosses suffered by clients due to your employee’s fraud

Q: What are typical deductibles (excesses)?

Deductibles usually range between £5,000 and £25,000, depending on your industry, turnover and risk profile.

Q: If an employee steals stock, is it covered?

Standard business theft insurance often excludes employee theft of stock, especially for items that are easy to resell.This is where Fidelity Insurance becomes essential.

Q: How do insurers assess my fraud risk?

Insurers look at:Internal controlsSegregation of dutiesPayment processesStaff turnoverCybersecurity measuresVolume of financial transactionsGood controls can reduce premiums.

Protect your business from employee dishonesty, third-party fraud and social engineering attacks.

Crime, Fraud & Fidelity Insurance (often called Commercial Crime or Financial Crime Insurance) helps to protect your organisation against direct financial loss caused by theft, fraud and other dishonest acts – whether committed by your own employees or by external criminals. It can cover losses from stolen cash or stock, embezzlement, mandate fraud, forged documents and sophisticated email scams.

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What is Commercial Crime, Fraud & Fidelity Insurance?

Financial Crime Insurance helps protect your organisation against direct financial loss caused by theft, fraud and other dishonest acts. Unlike standard commercial property or business policies, it is specifically designed to respond when money, stock, or other assets are stolen, diverted, or misappropriated – whether by an employee or an external criminal.

Cover can extend to losses arising from embezzlement, false invoicing, forged documents, mandate and payment diversion fraud, social engineering scams, and other schemes that exploit people, processes, or systems. Because these events often fall outside traditional insurance, Financial Crime cover plays a key role in safeguarding your balance sheet when internal controls are bypassed.

Fraud is rarely a one-off incident. Once a weakness is identified, businesses can be targeted repeatedly – sometimes over many years – by trusted insiders, organised criminal groups or both. Crime, Fraud & Fidelity Insurance is designed to help organisations absorb these losses and continue trading.

Who is Financial Crime Insurance for?

Financial Crime Insurance is relevant to businesses of all sizes – from SMEs, who may have limited resources for internal controls, through to large commercial organisations and financial institutions handling high volumes of payments and assets.

Any organisation that:

handles cash, stock or other valuable assets
processes electronic payments or bank transfers
relies on staff to authorise or reconcile transactions, or
has multiple locations, suppliers or customer accounts
faces an exposure to financial crime and may benefit from specialist protection.

Fidelity Insurance: Protection Against Internal Fraud

Fidelity Insurance protects your business against losses caused by dishonest or fraudulent acts committed by employees, whether they act alone or in collusion with third parties such as suppliers. Internal fraud is often sophisticated, can run unnoticed for years, and is frequently carried out by trusted or long-serving staff with detailed knowledge of your systems and controls.

Common Internal Fraud Risks Covered

Theft of money, stock or valuable goods

Employees removing cash, raw materials, finished goods or high-value items for their own gain.

Embezzlement and diversion of funds

Manipulating bank details, payroll, expenses or online banking to redirect payments to personal accounts.

False invoices and bogus suppliers

Creating fictitious vendors or inflating genuine invoices, then pocketing the difference.

Collusion with outsiders

Employees working with contractors, suppliers or other third parties to share the proceeds of fraud.

Long-running, concealed frauds

Senior or trusted staff exploiting their knowledge of systems and controls to hide irregularities over months or years.

Misuse of company credit cards and expense systems

Personal purchases disguised as business expenses or altered statements to conceal spending.

Unauthorised removal of tools, components or electronic equipment

Particularly relevant where small, portable or high-value items can be taken with ease.

Standard business or property policies typically exclude losses caused by employee dishonesty, which can leave a serious gap in your protection. Fidelity Insurance helps to plug that gap, supporting your balance sheet when the worst happens and giving you confidence that you are protected against internal fraud.

Commercial Crime (Fraud) Insurance

Commercial Crime Insurance protects your business from theft, fraud and financial loss caused by external criminals. This includes losses from social engineering attacks, forged documents, diverted payments, impersonation fraud and other sophisticated schemes that target your systems, suppliers or finance teams.

Why it matters

Fraud is no longer limited to physical theft — today’s criminals exploit email, payment systems and supplier relationships to bypass security controls. Even the most diligent businesses can fall victim to cleverly engineered scams that appear entirely legitimate.

Why standard insurance doesn’t cover this

Most business insurance policies do not cover these types of financial losses, leaving companies exposed to some of the most common and costly forms of modern fraud. Commercial Crime Insurance closes this gap by protecting your organisation when criminals manipulate documents, payments or digital communication.

Why Businesses Need Crime Insurance

Fraud is now one of the fastest-growing risks for UK organisations, with losses occurring daily
across every sector. Crime insurance is essential because:

£193 billion – the total cost of fraud to the UK economy each year
£144 billion lost by the private sector, including:
- £8 billion in payroll fraud
- £127 billion in procurement fraud
Charities lose nearly £2 billion annually
The average organisation loses around 6% of its revenue to employee or external fraud

This level of risk means that even well-controlled organisations can suffer major financial loss
from a single successful scam.

What Does the Policy Cover?

Most policies provide an “All Risks” insuring clause, typically including cover for:

Theft of money, securities or assets belonging to your organisation
Theft of money, securities or assets belonging to your clients
Social engineering fraud (e.g. mandate fraud, fake payment instructions, impersonation fraud)
Forgery and counterfeit documents
Extortion and ransom demands
Costs and expenses arising directly from a crime event (including investigation and recovery costs)

What Limits Are Available?

Standard limits: often up to £5 million per insurer for any one claim
Higher limits: can reach £10 million for a single claim, with excess layers available where higher cover is required
Deductibles: typically between £5,000 and £25,000, depending on your size, risk profile and claims history

Claim Examples

Below are examples of how crime and fraud losses can affect organisations across different industries:

Industry	Fraud Type	What Happened	Loss Amount
Construction Services	Social Engineering & Supplier Mandate Fraud	Fake emails impersonating senior staff led to unauthorised payments. A second fraud involved a spoofed supplier invoice.	£66,000
Retail Property Investment	Employee Collusion	Staff colluded to remove cash from payment machines due to poor segregation of duties.	£92,000
Restaurant Group	Email Interception	A genuine supplier email chain was intercepted and bank details changed, leading to payment being sent to criminals.	£130,000
Air-Conditioning Contractor	Internal Fraud	Employee created fake invoices and diverted company funds over a five-year period.	£400,000
Industrial Contractor	Business Email Compromise	A hacked email account allowed criminals to impersonate a machinery supplier and divert payment.	£50,000
Drinks Manufacturer	Director-Level Fraud	A senior director authorised repeated fraudulent payments over several years without detection.	£1,200,000
Civil Engineering Firm	Supplier Impersonation	A spoof email was used to secure upfront payment for portable buildings that never arrived.	£150,000
Audio Equipment Manufacturer	False Orders / Internal Theft	Director falsified sales orders to boost performance, leaving the business with unsellable stock.	£900,000
Pet Food Wholesaler	Inventory Manipulation	Warehouse staff altered stock system figures to steal products and sell them privately.	£200,000
Clothing Manufacturer	Multiple-Method Internal Fraud	Finance team member used fake invoices, altered account details, and unauthorised card use over several years.	£1,300,000

Policy limits and exclusions may apply, please see policy wording for full terms and conditions.

Crime, Fraud & Fidelity Insurance FAQs

What is the difference between Crime Insurance and Fidelity Insurance?

Crime Insurance protects your business against fraud and theft committed by external criminals, such as social engineering scams, mandate fraud or forged documents.
Fidelity Insurance (Internal Crime) covers financial loss caused by dishonest employees, including embezzlement, false invoicing and theft of company funds.

Does standard business or property insurance cover fraud or theft?

In most cases, no. Standard commercial policies typically exclude losses caused by employee dishonesty, cyber-enabled fraud, or social engineering scams. Crime and Fidelity Insurance fills this gap.

What types of fraud does Crime Insurance cover?

Depending on the policy, cover can include:

Social engineering & impersonation fraud
Payment diversion/mandate fraud
Forged cheques or documents
Theft of money, stock or securities
Extortion and ransom demands
Losses suffered by clients due to your employee’s fraud

Who needs Crime, Fraud & Fidelity Insurance?

It is suitable for businesses of all sizes, including SMEs, charities, professional services, manufacturers and large corporate organisations.

Any business that handles money, payments, stock or sensitive financial information is at risk of fraud.

What limits of cover are available?

Typical limits range from £5 million to £10 million per claim.

Higher limits can be arranged using excess layers depending on your risk exposure.

Are social engineering scams covered?

Yes — but only if specifically included in the policy. Not all insurers automatically cover email impersonation or fake invoice scams, which is why specialist Crime Insurance is essential.

Does Crime Insurance cover losses caused by suppliers or contractors?

Policies can include cover for fraud committed by third parties such as suppliers, contractors or external criminals.

Internal employee fraud is normally covered under Fidelity/Employee Dishonesty sections.

What are typical deductibles (excesses)?

Deductibles usually range between £5,000 and £25,000, depending on your industry, turnover and risk profile.

If an employee steals stock, is it covered?

Standard business theft insurance often excludes employee theft of stock, especially for items that are easy to resell.

This is where Fidelity Insurance becomes essential.

How do insurers assess my fraud risk?

Insurers look at:

Internal controls
Segregation of duties
Payment processes
Staff turnover
Cybersecurity measures
Volume of financial transactions

Good controls can reduce premiums.

What happens if a fraud takes place over several years?

Many policies include retroactive cover for long-term fraud schemes, such as embezzlement or repeated false invoicing — as long as it wasn’t previously known or suspected.

How quickly can a Crime Insurance policy be arranged?

In most cases, a policy can be arranged within 24–48 hours, depending on insurer requirements and the complexity of your business.

Contact the Team

Mike Watkinson Dip CII

Insurance Sectors We Cover

We provide tailored insurance solutions across a wide range of sectors. Each policy is designed around your industry’s specific risks, ensuring you’re fully protected, compliant, and supported by our expert team.