Many Commercial Package policy carriers include Employee Dishonesty AKA Crime coverage. Designated bookkeepers, accountants, or managing agents are included as employees of an Association. In the event monies are misappropriated or stolen, there can be a few months’ worth of income in Employee Dishonesty coverage in most Commercial Package policies. The income for Community Associations being maintenance fees.
Mortgagees now require employee dishonesty coverage as well, so you can either have it embedded in the Commercial Package policy or a stand-alone Crime policy which is much more comprehensive.
Employee Dishonesty is usually the only coverage included when embedded in a Commercial Package policy.
Why Get a Stand-Alone
Crime policies not only include Employee Dishonesty coverage, but include several other insuring agreements, and can provide higher limits of coverage than an embedded policy. Most monoline Crime policies include the following:
- Employee Dishonesty: Property Manager automatically included; Definition of Employee includes Bookkeepers and Accountants
- Forgery or Alteration: Covers checks, drafts, promissory notes, or similar written promises made or drawn fraudulently
- Theft, Disappearance, and Destruction: Covers theft of Money and Securities inside the premises or banking premises
- Computer Fraud and Wire Transfer Fraud: Covers theft of Money, Securities, and Property resulting from computer and/or wire transfer fraud
- Money Orders and Counterfeit Paper Currency: Covers counterfeit US or Canadian currency accepted in good faith that is counterfeit
Recently due to the many cyber liability breaches, many carriers have started to include Social Engineering which includes-
- Social Engineering Fraud coverage
- No call-back provision
- Protects against identity thieves who impersonate a vendor, board member, employee, or property manager and fraudulently misleads the association into transferring funds
- Discovery Form automatically provided
- Claims Expense Coverage
SOCIAL ENGINEERING FRAUD: Claim Example
The treasurer of an association receives an email that purports to be from a vendor requesting they transfer funds from a trust account for work to be performed. The treasurer transfers the funds as requested. Later it is discovered a thief was impersonating the vendor and the funds were transferred to the thief’s account.
We strongly suggest a stand-alone Crime policy as coverage is much broader. In many cases, it is mandated by a unit owner or Cooperative mortgagee. If you have any questions, please reach out to me anytime.
