Commercial Crime Program
May 2008
Summary: The crime section of the Insurance Services Office's and the Surety Association of America 's commercial lines program was introduced in 1986. The crime program has undergone numerous revisions since its introduction, with the latest changes becoming effective in 2006. This article introduces the changes and sets the stage for an analyses of the new crime coverage forms and endorsements that will appear in subsequent articles.
Topics covered: General Information
The ISO commercial crime program includes coverage for fidelity loss exposures. ISO has agreed with the Surety Association of America (SAA) to share forms, endorsements, and rating information so that each organization can develop its own crime and fidelity products independently
Crime coverage may be written as part of a package policy or on a monoline basis. It can address the specific coverage needs of commercial and governmental entities. The crime general provisions form, CR 10 00 04 97, is now part of the commercial crime coverage form and the government crime coverage form. Coverages now apply to:
1. Employee Theft.
2. Forgery or Alteration.
3. Inside the Premises – Theft of Money and Securities.
4. Inside the Premises – Robbery or Safe Burglary of Other Property.
5. Outside the Premises.
6. Computer Fraud.
7. Funds Transfer Fraud.
8. Money Orders and Counterfeit Paper Currency
Note that the new crime coverage provisions are applicable in most jurisdictions to all policies written on or after May 1, 2006. However, subscribers should check with the insurance department in their respective states to ascertain the exact effective date.
Format
The crime program consists of basic coverage forms, monoline policies, optional crime and fidelity insuring agreements, common crime and fidelity endorsements, fidelity amendatory endorsements, and crime amendatory endorsements. There are five basic coverage forms and policies, with each form having a discovery version and a loss sustained version. The five basic coverage forms are: commercial crime coverage, commercial crime policy, government crime coverage, government crime policy, and employee theft and forgery policy. Each policy has a declarations page listing the insuring agreements, the limits of insurance, the deductible amounts, and the endorsements forming part of the coverage part.
The endorsements that can be made a part of the crime coverage policies are numerous and reflect the particular insured's exposures and choices. There are crime and fidelity endorsements, and endorsements that pertain only to fidelity coverage and that pertain only to crime coverage.