Protecting Your Business from Fraud: Do You Have the Right Coverage?
It’s sad but true – no one is safe from fraud. As a business owner, you have a lot on the line ranging from money to sensitive data and proprietary information. Any breach of trust could ruin your business. So what can you do to protect your business from fraud? Let’s look at some security measures you can take as well as insurance options.
Employee Background Checks
These are important for two reasons. The first is that you want to make sure the people you are hiring don’t have a history of fraud, deceit, theft, or anything else that could potentially compromise your business. The second reason is that there are forms of business insurance that automatically void coverage for fraud if you hire someone with a known record and that person commits a crime against you.
Educate Your Staff and Set Policies
Your staff members are a huge risk-factor when it comes to inadvertently causing a security breach that could lead to fraud, but they’re also the ones you should turn to first for prevention. The more educated you make them, the more they will do to protect the business they’re invested in. New and seasoned employees should receive training, at least annually, on the different types of security threats that can impact your business (offline or on) as well as the things they can do to help prevent them.
Set policies that mandate this type of training. You should also work with your security team to create basic entrance and exit policies (security badges, et.) and basic password policies for your company. Every little bit can protect you from fraud.
Insuring Your Business
A lot of business owners think General Liability (GL) is all they need, but it may not be enough. Talk to your insurance agency about whether or not your GL policy covers fraud and theft. If not, ask about endorsements to the policy or separate crime policies. You’ll need to consider the risk factors associated with computer fraud, theft of money and securities, employee dishonesty, burglary, robbery, and things like forgery and alteration. You’ll need to make sure your employees are protected while they’re working both on and off your premises (such as at an event or in transit to a bank or another facility).
Does it all sound confusing? It doesn’t need to be. Contact us today to talk about your business insurance needs, what changes you might need to make, and what additional coverages you may need to add to your current portfolio. Protecting your business is our priority!