And if they do it, it’s often a pattern repeated over years; sometimes on their own, sometimes in collusion with outsiders like suppliers. Fortunately, it’s only a minority who turn bad, but there are many reasons why they do. Like financial pressure resulting from divorce, impending retirement or simply management resentment. Too often it’s a result of addiction, in its many guises.
Fraud can impact the business beyond the money or stock that’s been taken. Customers and investors may lose faith in the management and employee morale may fall.
It can also be extremely hard to establish how much has actually been taken. Fraud investigation is a specialised field, especially when the period the crime took place over dates back a long time. It's a job best handled by experts, even without considering the sensitivities of having to investigate your own staff.
According to statistics many quite substantial organisations do not purchase specialised crime cover, relying on the token cover levels often included in property insurance policies. That could leave them exposed with no cover for stock or goods, uselessly-low limits or sharp restrictions on discovery periods.
Crime insurance from AIG not only provides comprehensive protection from the effects of dishonesty, but it also enables businesses to demonstrate their commitment to effective risk controls.