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Commercial crime insurance covers financial losses your business suffers because of theft, fraud, forgery, embezzlement, and related crimes, whether the perpetrator is an outsider or someone on your payroll. Most standard business policies do not cover these losses, which is why crime coverage exists as its own line. A bookkeeper quietly redirecting payments, a vendor submitting falsified invoices, a counterfeit check clearing your account — these are the scenarios crime insurance is built for. Bittick shops this coverage with multiple carriers and places the policy that fits your business size, industry, and risk profile.

What this coverage includes

Employee theft and embezzlement

Employee theft is one of the most common crime claims businesses file. This coverage responds when a trusted employee steals money, securities, or physical property. It matters regardless of whether that employee acted alone or in coordination with someone outside the company. One important note: most crime policies exclude losses from partners colluding with each other, so if your ownership structure involves co-owners, review that exclusion carefully with your agent before binding coverage.

Fraud, forgery, and counterfeit instruments

This covers losses from forged checks, fraudulent wire transfers initiated by a third party impersonating a legitimate contact, and counterfeit currency your business accepts unknowingly. As automated payments and electronic banking have replaced paper checks in most Treasure Valley businesses, social-engineering fraud — where a criminal impersonates a vendor or executive to redirect a payment — has become the more common exposure. Some carriers offer a separate social-engineering endorsement; ask Bittick whether your quote includes it or prices it separately.

Burglary and physical theft of money or securities

Beyond financial fraud, crime insurance can cover the actual physical theft of cash, checks, or securities from your premises or from an employee transporting them. This is a different coverage than standard commercial property insurance, which typically covers the building and its contents but not money and securities at the same sublimit. If your business handles significant cash or negotiable instruments, confirm the sublimits in both policies so there is no gap between them.

What crime insurance does not cover

Crime policies have clear boundaries. Losses from accounting errors, income lost because stolen property disrupted operations, and data breaches are generally outside the scope of a crime policy. A cyber liability policy addresses data breach costs. Business interruption insurance addresses lost income. Knowing where crime coverage ends and where those other policies begin is exactly the kind of overlap analysis Bittick runs for every client at renewal.

Pairs well with

Cyber Liability Insurance

Crime insurance does not cover data breach costs or ransomware payments. Cyber liability fills that gap, covering notification expenses, forensic investigation, and third-party claims from affected customers.

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Commercial Property Insurance

Standard property policies cover building contents and equipment but apply separate, lower sublimits to money and securities. Pairing crime coverage with a strong property policy eliminates that sublimit gap.

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General Liability Insurance

If a crime at your premises injures a third party or damages someone else's property, general liability responds. Crime insurance covers your financial losses; general liability covers your legal exposure to others.

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Business Owner's Policy (BOP)

A BOP bundles property and general liability into one policy, but it typically excludes crime losses entirely. Adding a standalone crime policy to a BOP is a common and cost-effective structure for small businesses.

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Directors and Officers (D&O) Insurance

D&O covers wrongful-act claims against leadership, but it is not a substitute for crime coverage when actual theft or fraud occurs. Businesses with a board or executive team often carry both.

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What this coverage protects against

Common risks and how this coverage addresses them. Tap any scenario to expand.

  • A trusted office manager quietly drains the operating account.

    The risk

    A Meridian construction company's office manager had check-signing authority and used it, writing small checks to a shell vendor over eighteen months before an audit caught the pattern. By then, more than $90,000 was gone. The company's commercial property policy covered none of it.

    How this coverage helps

    The company's crime policy covered the verified theft up to its employee-dishonesty limit, reimbursing the bulk of the loss and funding a forensic accountant the carrier brought in to document the full scope of the fraud.

  • A spoofed email tricks your accounts-payable team into wiring funds.

    The risk

    A general contractor in Eagle received what looked like a routine email from their lumber supplier requesting a change to their wire transfer instructions. The AP coordinator updated the record and sent the next payment — $28,000 — to an account controlled by a scammer.

    How this coverage helps

    A crime policy with a social-engineering fraud endorsement covered the misdirected wire after the contractor confirmed no authorized employee approved the account change. Without the endorsement, most base crime policies would have denied the claim.

  • A retail employee skims cash from the register for months.

    The risk

    A small Nampa retailer noticed inventory shrinkage but attributed it to shoplifting. When the owner installed a camera and reviewed footage, it became clear a part-time cashier had been pocketing cash on low-traffic shifts for over six months.

    How this coverage helps

    The crime policy's employee-theft provision covered the documented cash losses. The carrier also sent a risk-control consultant who helped the owner restructure the POS system to require dual verification on voids and refunds.

  • A contractor accepts a large counterfeit cashier's check for a deposit.

    The risk

    A remodeling company in Caldwell accepted what appeared to be a certified bank check for a kitchen remodel deposit. The bank returned it as counterfeit two weeks later, and the homeowner who issued it had disappeared.

    How this coverage helps

    The company's crime policy covered the counterfeit instrument loss after the carrier verified the check was fraudulent. The owner learned to call the issuing bank directly to verify funds before starting work on high-value deposits.

  • A vendor colludes with an inside employee to inflate invoices.

    The risk

    A property management company in Boise discovered that its maintenance coordinator had been approving invoices from a family member's landscaping company at rates two to three times market value. Both parties split the difference. The scheme ran for nearly two years.

    How this coverage helps

    The crime policy responded to the employee-theft component, since the employee was the one authorizing fraudulent payments from a position of trust. The carrier's investigation team documented the collusion, which supported the company's separate civil action against both parties.

  • A bookkeeper forges the owner's signature on a series of company checks.

    The risk

    A small Treasure Valley distributor gave its part-time bookkeeper limited check-writing access for routine vendor payments. The bookkeeper forged the owner's signature on a separate set of checks made out to a personal account, cashing them at a different branch.

    How this coverage helps

    Forgery falls squarely within the crime policy's covered causes of loss. The policy reimbursed the verified check amounts, and the carrier's forensic team produced documentation that supported the criminal prosecution.

  • The San Antonio office flags an unusual pattern in petty cash reconciliations.

    The risk

    For businesses Bittick serves through its San Antonio office, a similar exposure exists: a front-desk employee with petty cash access who submits inflated or fabricated receipts over a long period. The loss per incident is small, but the cumulative total adds up quickly.

    How this coverage helps

    Crime policies typically cover petty cash theft when the employer can document the discrepancy and establish that it resulted from dishonest employee conduct. The coverage applies regardless of whether the business is in Idaho or Texas.

Frequently asked questions

Does my general liability or property policy already cover employee theft?
No. General liability covers third-party bodily injury and property damage claims, not your own financial losses from internal crime. Commercial property policies cover physical assets at specific sublimits and typically exclude money and securities from the core coverage form. Crime insurance is a separate policy designed specifically for theft, fraud, and forgery losses your other policies do not reach.
How much does commercial crime insurance cost for a small Idaho business?
Premiums vary based on your industry, annual revenue, number of employees with financial access, and the coverage limits you select. A small professional services firm might pay a few hundred dollars a year for a basic crime policy, while a business handling significant cash or managing client funds will pay more. Bittick gets quotes from multiple carriers so you can compare actual numbers rather than guessing.
What is social-engineering fraud, and does crime insurance cover it?
Social-engineering fraud happens when a criminal impersonates a vendor, client, or executive to trick an employee into sending money to a fraudulent account. It is one of the fastest-growing sources of business financial loss. Some crime policies cover it as part of the base form, and others require a separate endorsement. This is one of the first things Bittick checks when reviewing a crime policy quote with a client.
My business partner and I both have financial access. Does crime insurance cover us if something goes wrong?
Most crime policies exclude losses caused by owners, partners, or officers of the company acting in their own interest. The employee-dishonesty coverage is designed for non-owner employees. If your business structure involves multiple owners with financial authority, review the policy's definition of 'employee' and the partner-collusion exclusion with your agent before you have a claim.
Are data breaches covered under a crime policy?
Generally, no. Crime insurance is focused on direct financial theft, fraud, and physical theft of money or securities. Costs associated with a data breach, including notification, credit monitoring for affected customers, and regulatory fines, fall under a cyber liability policy. The two policies solve different problems, and many businesses carry both.

Let's review your business's exposure to financial crime

Bittick is an independent agency licensed in ID, TX, CA, CO, NV, OR, VA, and WA — we shop multiple carriers and build a coverage structure that fits your business.

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