What It Covers

Commercial Crime coverage protects your business against financial losses caused by employee dishonesty (theft of money, materials, tools, or equipment), forgery or alteration of financial instruments, computer fraud, funds transfer fraud, money and securities theft, and social engineering fraud. Coverage applies to losses caused by employees and, in some forms, to certain third-party fraud schemes targeting the business. Standard property policies typically exclude theft by employees, making Commercial Crime coverage a necessary addition for any business with meaningful exposure to internal dishonesty.

Why It Matters for Welding Businesses

Employee theft is more common than most business owners anticipate — and it frequently goes undetected for extended periods because trusted employees exploit the access that trust provides. In welding businesses with high-value raw material inventory, expensive tooling, and valuable finished goods, employee theft can represent substantial losses before it's discovered. Additionally, businesses that process payments or have employees with access to financial accounts face exposure to embezzlement, check forgery, and wire transfer fraud. Standard property policies don't cover these losses — Commercial Crime coverage does.

Who Needs It

Fabrication shops and machine shops with significant raw material inventory and valuable tooling, welding supply businesses with cash, high-value consumables, and equipment inventory, manufacturing operations where employees have access to finished goods and shipping operations, welding businesses where bookkeepers or office staff have financial account access, and any operation with employees who handle money, materials, or purchasing authority.

Common Triggers

Businesses with employees handling cash or making purchases on company accounts; shops with high-value inventory or raw material stock that could be diverted; operations where employees have access to financial accounts, company credit cards, or purchase order authority.

Welding Industry Examples

• A shop employee systematically diverts small quantities of stainless steel stock over 18 months — cumulative losses reach tens of thousands of dollars before detection.

• An office manager embezzles funds by issuing fraudulent vendor checks to an account they control over a period of two years.

• An employee with purchasing authority creates fictitious suppliers and diverts payments to personal accounts.

• A delivery driver routinely short-delivers welding consumables to customers and pockets the difference from a side arrangement with a customer.

• A bookkeeper forges the owner's signature on business checks and deposits them into a personal account.

• A business email compromise attack tricks an accounts payable employee into wiring a large payment to a fraudulent vendor account.