When you consider what it means to insure your business it’s often a common misconception that insurance only extends to tangible, material items. In actual fact, insurance isn’t only limited to assets that enable you to run your business. It encompasses words and actions that are unlawful, dishonest and may damage the reputation and well being of your business as a whole. It’s called fidelity insurance and in case this is the first you’ve heard of it, we’re here to give you all the details.
What is it?
It’s the kind of insurance that safeguards your business against losses that stem from unlawful actions of employees. “Unlawful actions” refers to any deceitful or fraudulent actions that lead to dishonest financial gain for an insured employee. This cover compensates you, the business owner, for financial losses or stolen property as well as reputational damage caused by corrupt dealings.
Picture this…
You have been running a small but successful courier business that has seven vehicles that transport goods on a daily basis. You trust your employees immensely but still took out a Fidelity policy at the expert advice of your broker. Although, you probably would never need it in the long run, right? Unfortunately, you were wrong. A year down the line, one of your delivery vehicles and its driver go missing and after much investigation, it is discovered that this employee stole the van from you, with an entire day’s worth of deliveries in the back. Your loyal customers are unaware of the theft and are enraged at the fact that they are yet to receive their parcels. They are now taking to social media platforms to vent in a highly embarrassing and very public manner. This results in a damaged reputation and a loss of income as several customers opt to stop using your company for their courier needs. As you have fidelity cover, you are insured for these losses as well as the potential income that was lost due to malicious reputational damage. You claim and are able to purchase a replacement van and are up to normal working capacity. You then apologise to your upset customers, grit your teeth and address the social media onslaught. You know that you would have been left worse off had it not been for that extra policy. After all, your employees are never as predictable or reliable as the outcome of your claims made with Compendium Insurance Brokers.
At Compendium Insurance Brokers, we know that running your own business is tough enough on its own without the pitfalls of dishonest employees. That’s why we offer you a comprehensive Fidelity cover that looks out for you, even when your employees don’t. For more information on this plan and various other insurance products that we offer, contact us today on 031 242 6800. www.cig.co.za
