Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance (BHSI), a division of Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway, has announced the launch of a new policy designed to help companies address fraud exposure in Asia.
The policy, called Commercial Crime Insurance, will offer coverage for both traditional employee crime and external crimes, including funds transfer fraud, credit card fraud, forgery, and impersonation coverage.
Impersonation coverage responds to losses arising when a perpetrator impersonates an employee, executive or business associate of the insured for the purpose of defrauding the insured.
“Corporate fraud is becoming increasingly sophisticated as technology advances at an exponential pace across the globe. Companies now face new threats and are tasked with protecting both traditional and digital assets,” said Scotland Walsh-Riddle, Head of Executive & Professional Lines, BHSI Asia.
“Our policy is important protection for a company’s balance sheet by both insuring against losses arising from a wide range of threats and providing support to investigate the cause of a loss,” he explained.
Scotland continued: “Impersonation fraud is quickly becoming a systemic issue around the world. We’ve recently seen a social engineering scheme utilize artificial intelligence-based software to impersonate an executive.”
“These schemes are testing the boundaries of what companies can prepare for – and we are committed to helping our customers protect against this rising threat.”
The Commercial Crime Insurance Policy also includes numerous extensions, including coverage for lost establishment fees an insured incurs to establish the existence and quantum of a loss.
“The Commercial Crime Policy was crafted with BHSI’s clear and concise underwriting and is backed by our excellent claims handling,” Scotland added. “Through BHSI’s unparalleled financial strength and experience, our customers and brokers can have the confidence BHSI will be there when it matters most.”
