Crime soars in desperate times

Incidents of arson in business premises spiked 23% last year, marking a rise in crime that is likely...

Incidents of arson in business premises spiked 23% last year, marking a rise in crime that is likely related to the recession.

Axa reported the figure in its fifth annual Business Crime Index, which showed that business crime rates went up by 10%. In addition, malicious damage crimes increased 14% and forcible theft increased by 13%, affecting 4% of businesses.

The only crime figure to drop was non-forcible theft, which decreased by 15%.

Gregor Elrick, head of property at Axa, said: "We are

Only users who have a paid subscription or are part of a corporate subscription are able to print or copy content.

To access these options, along with all other subscription benefits, please contact info@insuranceage.co.uk.

You are currently unable to copy this content. Please contact info@insuranceage.co.uk to find out more.

Sorry, our subscription options are not loading right now

Please try again later. Get in touch with our customer services team if this issue persists.

New to Insurance Age? View our subscription options

Register

Sign up and gain access to five complimentary news articles every month.

Already have an account? Sign in here

This address will be used to create your account

You need to sign in to use this feature. If you don’t have an Insurance Age account, please register now.

Sign in
You are currently on corporate access.

To use this feature you will need an individual account. If you have one already please sign in.

Sign in.

Alternatively you can request an indvidual account here: