Crime Insurance: Everything You Need to Know

According to the ACS Crime Report 2026, 5.8 million incidents of shop theft were recorded, as well as 42% of businesses heavily impacted by corporate fraud and cyber-attacks.

Sadly, no business is immune to crime. It’s important you understand the risks and have the right crime insurance in place to protect your business. In this article, we will look at types of crime to look out for, where crime cover sits, and how to protect your business. 

External Crime vs Internal Crime

As an employer, you are faced with internal an external risks:

Internal Crime

Internal crime refers to fraudulent or dishonest acts committed by someone within an organisation, such as an employee, manager or group of employees.

These acts are typically carried out with the intention of securing an improper financial gain for themselves or for another person acting in collusion with them. There must be reasonable grounds to believe that the employee knowingly intended to participate in, or benefit from, the improper financial gain.

For the purposes of this definition, improper financial gain does not include fees, salaries, commissions, bonuses, profit-sharing arrangements or similar employment benefits, whether these have been properly or improperly paid by the employer to an employee.

It was reported last year that over 4,500 workers in the UK were caught stealing from their employers in the past year. According to claims data, this is an average loss of £35,728 per theft.

External Crime

External crime is when a crime is committed by someone outside the organisation. This can include third-party theft, robbery or break-ins.

Cyber attacks are another form of external crime to look out for. With the rapid development of digital platforms and AI, cyber threats are becoming increasingly sophisticated. These attacks can include unauthorised access to systems, electronic funds transfer fraud and network hacking by external parties or impersonators.

Other external crime risks can include forgery and counterfeiting.

Where does crime cover sit?

With businesses facing a wide range of crime-related risks, it’s important to have the right level of cover in place to protect your business and meet its specific needs. Whether your dealing with fund transfer fraud, computer fraud, remote access fraud, social engineering fraud, understanding where crime cover sits is essential.

Crime Insurance

Crime insurance covers internal and external crimes. This goes above and beyond standard liability or property policies, as it protects from losses involving fraud, robbery, forgery, cyber financial crimes, and employee theft.

Management Liability Insurance

This is a package policy that covers financial damages and legal fees incurred due to the decisions of business leaders. Types of cover includes Directors and Officers, Employment Practices liability, and Corporate Legal liability, and usually internal crime.

Cyber Insurance

Cyber Insurance provides cover for first party costs, immediate breach response, and third party financial loss caused by a cyber attack. This may include an optional social engineering extension.

How to Protect your Business

Along with the right insurance, there are many ways you can protect your business from crime. This includes:

• Carrying out the right employee background checks when recruiting to flag any previous incidents.
• Have the correct policies and procedures in place. Share these with your employees and ensure they fully understand them.
• Document all transactions using invoices, receipts, and purchase orders
• Have a secure approval and verification process in place for payments
• Complete random audits throughout the year and use different internal auditors
• Make sure employees have the opportunity to safely report concerns through confidential whistleblowing channels.
• Invest in cyber security software and support
• Raise awareness of the current risks and dangers

How Anderson Smith Can Help

Sadly, no business is immune to internal crime, and it’s important you put the right insurance in place to protect your business. We are here to help you with it all. Whether you are looking to invest in crime insurance for your business or need advice with a current claim, we are here to help.

Contact us today for further advice on anything discussed in this article or for a free and no-obligation review.