NEW YORK, N.Y., May 20, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Hiscox, the international specialist insurer, today announced enhancements to its industry-leading Crime & Fidelity platform with the addition of financial institution bond coverage. The new coverage protects against incidents of employee theft, as well as a wide range of fraud and other theft risks, to financial services organizations including stockbrokers, mortgage and lending firms, banks and insurance companies.
The expansion of Hiscox's Crime & Fidelity offerings provides protection for companies facing these growing threats and serves to mitigate the potentially significant impact of crime incursions against financial services organizations. Financial institution bond coverage protects against risks including, but not limited to, fraudulent acts committed by an employee and outsiders such as theft, robbery, counterfeit money schemes, check forgery, and computer systems fraud.
According to the 2015 Hiscox Embezzlement Watchlist: A Snapshot of Employee Theft in the US, 21 percent of employee theft involved an organization in the financial services category. The 2014 median employee theft loss for financial services organizations with less than 500 employees, where the majority of occupational frauds occur, was $271,000. This loss is nearly equivalent to the average annual profit margin for an organization of this size, further illustrating the potential magnitude of impact of employee theft on financial institutions.
"No business is immune to crime. Employee theft and fraud are very real threats with potentially devastating implications," said Doug Karpp, National Underwriting Leader for Crime & Fidelity at Hiscox. "The expansion of our Crime insurance offerings to financial institutions demonstrates our continued commitment to understanding the needs of our customers and the market, as well as providing brokers with a holistic approach to managing and mitigating executive risk."
In 2014, Hiscox launched a Private Investment Fund Portfolio that provides comprehensive protection for many types of asset management firms, including private equity funds, venture capital funds, mezzanine funds, hedge funds and real estate funds. The portfolio provides coverage for lawsuits alleging breach of fiduciary duty, fraud, insider trading, securities law violations, conflicts of interest and other common risks faced in this industry. Coupled with this latest enhancement to the Crime & Fidelity platform, Hiscox continues to provide a full-suite of executive risk solutions.
In the US, Hiscox offers employment liability insurance alongside a diverse portfolio of professional liability and other specialty insurance products, such as crime protection, and has offices in New York, NY; Atlanta, GA; Chicago, IL; Los Angeles, CA; San Francisco, CA and White Plains, NY.
Additional information can be found at www.hiscoxbroker.com.
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About Hiscox in the U.S.
Hiscox, the international specialist insurer, is headquartered in Bermuda and listed on the London Stock Exchange (LSE:HSX). There are three main underwriting parts of the Group – Hiscox London Market, Hiscox UK and Europe and Hiscox International. Hiscox International includes operations in Bermuda, Guernsey and the USA. Hiscox Syndicates Ltd is authorized by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and Prudential Regulation Authority. The ability of syndicates at Lloyd's to do business in the USA, and its territories, is restricted as they are not US-based insurers. Hiscox Underwriting Limited and Hiscox ASM Limited are authorized and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.
Hiscox Inc., a Delaware corporation headquartered in New York, d/b/a Hiscox Insurance Agency in CA, is a licensed insurance intermediary for admitted and surplus lines business. Hiscox Inc. underwrites on behalf of, and places business with, Hiscox Insurance Company Inc., other domestic insurers, and syndicates at Lloyd's (www.lloyds.com). Hiscox Insurance Company Inc. is a Chicago, IL domiciled insurer which is admitted or licensed to do business in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.