Beazley Launches Crime Insurance Product in the US

Beazley Group plc, a specialist insurer of professional liability risks, has launched a new crime insurance policy in the admitted market, offering coverage limits of up to $25 million for non-financial organizations.

The coverage insures against third party related losses for forgery, theft from premises or while in transit, counterfeit currency, and computer fraud. Client property, credit card and claims expense coverages are also available.

The product targets commercial crime for companies in the healthcare, technology, media and business services, manufacturing, distribution and retail markets with greater than $500 million in revenue.

Bill Jennings, underwriter for Beazley’s fidelity bond and crime insurance products, said: “In many lines of insurance, companies that have sustained a loss are regarded with suspicion by some insurers and automatically charged a higher premium. We look at things in a different way. We find that companies that have experienced a loss due to a breach of trust are often more acutely aware of the importance of a strong internal control environment than ones that haven’t had their controls tested.”

Beazley manages five Lloyd’s syndicates and, in 2011, underwrote gross premiums worldwide of $1,712.5 million. All Lloyd’s syndicates are rated A by A.M. Best. In the admitted market, coverage is provided by Beazley Insurance Company, Inc., an A.M. Best A rated carrier licensed in all 50 states. In the surplus lines market, coverage is provided by the Beazley syndicates at Lloyd’s.