Commercial Crime Insurance: What Does It Cover?

Updated: October 27, 2025

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Key Takeaways

Commercial crime insurance provides financial protection when criminals steal money, commit fraud or forge documents targeting your business.

Coverage includes employee theft and computer fraud but excludes owner crimes and data breaches, which need separate policies.

Your coverage amount depends on business size, annual revenue, valuable property and employee access to financial accounts.

What is Commercial Crime Insurance?

Commercial crime insurance protects you when criminals steal from your business. The Association of Certified Fraud Examiners' 2024 Occupational Fraud Report found organizations lose 5% of revenue to occupational fraud annually, with median losses hitting $145,000 per case. You can buy crime coverage standalone or add it to your business owner's policy (BOP) as an endorsement. Coverage works on a named perils basis, protecting only against specific criminal acts listed in your policy.

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Crime insurance stops thieves and fraudsters, but these coverage types protect your business from financial risks that have nothing to do with criminal activity.

Cyber Liability Insurance: Handles data breaches and ransomware attacks, which crime policies won't cover even though cybercriminals are probably your biggest threat these days.
General Liability Insurance: Protects you when customers get hurt on your property or you accidentally damage someone's stuff, everyday risks that drain bank accounts fast.
Employment Practices Liability Insurance (EPLI): Covers you when employees sue over wrongful termination or discrimination, legal nightmares that cost a fortune even when you did nothing wrong.
Directors and Officers Insurance (D&O): Protects your leadership team's personal assets from shareholder lawsuits, because management decisions gone wrong can cost you personally, not just the business.
Professional Liability Insurance (Errors & Omissions): Kicks in when clients claim your advice cost them money, covering honest mistakes that crime insurance ignores since nobody stole anything.
Fiduciary Liability Insurance: Essential if you run employee retirement plans, protecting against lawsuits claiming you mismanaged their 401(k) funds, which happens more than you'd expect.

What Does Commercial Crime Insurance Cover?

Commercial crime insurance covers losses when criminals steal money, forge documents or commit fraud, but excludes certain scenarios that require different coverage types. These examples show when coverage applies, with reimbursement coming after you pay your policy deductible (the amount you're responsible for before insurance coverage begins):


An employee steals cash from the register.	✅	A restaurant cashier pockets $50 from each transaction over six months, totaling $15,000 in theft covered under employee dishonesty provisions.
The business owner embezzles company funds.	❌	A CEO transfers $100,000 to personal accounts because crime insurance excludes theft by owners, partners or senior management from coverage.
Hackers infiltrate your system to wire funds electronically.	✅	Cybercriminals access an accounting firm's banking portal and transfer $25,000 to overseas accounts, which computer fraud coverage would reimburse.
A customer pays with a forged company check.	✅	A contractor receives a $5,000 forged check from someone impersonating a regular client, covered under forgery provisions of the crime policy.
Hackers steal customer credit card data from your database.	❌	Cybercriminals breach a retailer's system and steal 10,000 customer records, but data theft requires separate cyber liability insurance.
Criminals physically rob your business at gunpoint.	✅	Armed thieves steal $8,000 in cash and equipment from a jewelry store during operating hours, covered under robbery provisions.
An employee makes honest accounting mistakes.	❌	A bookkeeper accidentally miscategorizes $20,000 in expenses, causing financial losses that aren't covered because they lack criminal intent.
Your CFO falls for a fake email requesting wire transfers.	✅	A finance manager wires $15,000 after receiving an email appearing to be from the CEO, which is covered if the social engineering endorsement is purchased.
Business operations halt during the crime investigation.	❌	Police investigate employee theft for two weeks, shutting down operations and costing $30,000 in lost revenue, which requires business interruption insurance.

How Much Commercial Crime Insurance Do I Need?

Commercial crime insurance isn't required by law for most businesses, but companies offering employee retirement plans must carry ERISA fidelity bonds (requirements may vary by state; consult with a qualified professional). For everyone else, the decision comes down to protecting your business from financial losses.

Your coverage needs depend on several key factors:

1
Business size and employee count
The more employees you have, the higher your theft risk. Insurers also consider whether staff work at one location or multiple offices.
2
Annual revenue and cash flow
Higher revenue businesses need more coverage since criminals target companies with more available funds to steal.
3
Valuable property and equipment
Businesses with expensive inventory, equipment or significant cash on hand need higher coverage limits to protect these assets.

Who Needs Commercial Crime Insurance?

All businesses can be victims of crime, but certain industries face higher risks and should strongly consider commercial crime insurance coverage. High-risk industries include:

Financial services and accounting firms

When your employees handle client funds daily, employee dishonesty coverage protects against embezzlement. If your bookkeeper transfers client money to personal accounts, crime insurance reimburses those stolen funds.

Retail and hospitality businesses

Cash registers and valuable inventory make tempting targets. Crime coverage pays for employee theft from registers plus external burglary of merchandise, protecting your profit margins from both internal and outside criminals.

Health care practices

Beyond expensive medical equipment, you're vulnerable when staff process patient credit cards and insurance payments. Computer fraud coverage helps if criminals hack your payment systems to steal funds electronically.

Technology companies

High-value servers and client database access create double exposure. Coverage protects against equipment theft, while computer fraud provisions cover losses if employees misuse client information for financial gain.

Even if your industry isn't considered high-risk, you should still consider commercial crime insurance if your business handles significant cash transactions, stores valuable inventory or equipment or gives employees access to financial accounts and sensitive customer information. These create opportunities for both employee theft and external crime that could impact your bottom line.

Commercial Crime Insurance Policy: Bottom Line

Commercial crime insurance covers losses from employee theft, fraud and computer crimes, but requires separate policies for data breaches and owner-committed crimes. Choose coverage amounts based on your business size, revenue and employee access to funds. Your policy stops financial hits that could sink your business, making it critical if you handle substantial cash, store valuable inventory or give employees access to company accounts and financial systems.

Commercial Crime Insurance Coverage: FAQ

MoneyGeek answers common questions about commercial crime insurance to help you make informed coverage decisions:

What is commercial crime insurance?

Commercial crime insurance shields you financially when criminals steal money, commit fraud or forge documents targeting your business. This coverage works on a "named perils" basis, meaning it only covers specific criminal acts listed in your policy.

Does business insurance cover theft?

Standard business insurance typically doesn't cover employee theft or many criminal acts. Commercial crime insurance fills these gaps by covering employee dishonesty, computer fraud and forgery that general liability and business property policies exclude.

Does commercial crime insurance cover cryptocurrency theft?

Basic commercial crime policies may not cover cryptocurrency theft. You'll likely need specific endorsements for digital currency protection, similar to how social engineering fraud requires additional coverage beyond standard computer fraud provisions.

What's the difference between commercial crime insurance and fidelity bonds?

Fidelity bonds typically offer lower limits and cover specific employee positions. Commercial crime insurance provides broader coverage with higher limits for multiple criminal acts, including computer fraud and forgery.

Is commercial crime insurance required by law?

Commercial crime insurance isn't legally required for most businesses. However, companies offering employee retirement plans must carry ERISA fidelity bonds, which you can add as an endorsement to commercial crime policies.

About Mark Fitzpatrick

Mark Fitzpatrick, a Licensed Property and Casualty Insurance Producer, is MoneyGeek's resident Personal Finance Expert. With over five years of experience analyzing the insurance market, he conducts original research and creates tailored content for all types of buyers. His insights have been featured in publications like CNBC, NBC News and Mashable.

Fitzpatrick holds a master’s degree in economics and international relations from Johns Hopkins University and a bachelor’s degree from Boston College. He's also a five-time Jeopardy champion!

He writes about economics and insurance, breaking down complex topics so people know what they're buying.

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sources

Association of Certified Fraud Examiners. "Occupational Fraud 2024: A Report to the Nations." Accessed August 23, 2025.