Willis counters business fraud threat with crime policy launch

CRIMEstar, a commercial crime all-risks wording, is designed to cover businesses for losses sustained due to dishonest activity or criminal activity. 

The broker said that the product - which was developed by Allianz, Axis and QBE among others - breaks away from the "conventional approach" of listing out specific crimes covered on an 'insured perils' basis.

Instead the offering is said to adopt an 'all-risks' approach in a bid to provide "broad, clear and transparent protection" from commercial crime. The broker added that the product's wording is "just six pages long".

Pressure
"The estimated cost to the UK economy of fraud each year is in excess of £30bn and the economic downturn is putting pressure on individuals and businesses, which is fuelling an uptick in fraud as well as other criminal activity," said Francis Kean, executive director of Willis' financial and executive risks division.

"We focused on delivering a policy which was easy to understand and where the cover was not tied or restricted to specific sub-categories of insured perils or events.

"These innovations are unique to CRIMEstar and greatly reduce the potential for friction in the claims settlement process."

And Mark Smith, underwriting manager for commercial and financial liability at QBE, added: "Given the heightened risk to businesses in this environment, it is imperative that any crime insurance policy is not restricted to antiquated clauses that may not respond to sophisticated frauds perpetrated in an increasingly complex business landscape. This need is met by CRIMEstar."

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