By John Jones, Divisional Managing Director, Champion Professional Risks

In today’s digital and interconnected world, protecting your business from financial loss goes far beyond traditional insurance policies. Two essential, but often misunderstood, covers are cyber insurance and commercial crime insurance.

At Champion Professional Risks, we regularly speak with clients who are unclear about how these two policies differ — and where they overlap. Understanding both is critical for building a robust risk management programme that protects your business from evolving threats.

In this article, we break down the key features of cyber and commercial crime insurance, highlight where confusion often arises, and explain how we can help you dovetail these covers for complete peace of mind.

What is Cyber Insurance?

Cyber insurance protects businesses from losses related to cybercrime and data breaches. It typically covers:

• First-party losses – such as the cost of IT forensics, data restoration, crisis communications, business interruption, and extortion payments following a ransomware attack.
• Third-party liabilities – including legal costs and regulatory fines from a breach of personal data or failure to secure systems.

Cyber threats continue to rise across every sector. The recent Marks & Spencer cyber attack in 2025 – which disrupted operations and exposed sensitive data – serves as a stark reminder that even household names are vulnerable.

But it’s not just large corporates at risk. SMEs, charities, and professional services firms are increasingly targeted due to less robust IT security and valuable data.

What is Commercial Crime Insurance?

Commercial crime insurance, sometimes called fidelity insurance, is designed to cover financial losses from:

• Employee dishonesty or fraud – such as theft of funds, inventory, or confidential information.
• Third-party crime – including social engineering scams, cheque fraud, invoice redirection, and forgery.

These types of crimes often exploit human error rather than technological weaknesses, making them harder to detect and prevent.

For example, if a staff member is tricked into transferring company funds to a fraudster posing as a supplier – this would usually fall under commercial crime, not cyber insurance.

Where do the two policies overlap?

This is where confusion often arises. Some cyber insurance policies include limited cover for crime-related losses, especially if the attack originates from a digital source (e.g., phishing email). Similarly, some commercial crime policies may respond to funds transfer frauds involving cyber deception.

But there are gaps.

For instance:

• A ransomware attack that shuts down your systems will not be covered under a commercial crime policy.
• A social engineering fraud that results in stolen funds may not be covered under a basic cyber policy.

Without careful coordination, businesses can be left exposed – either assuming they’re covered when they’re not, or holding duplicate cover that adds unnecessary cost.

Why businesses should consider both

The reality is that cyber insurance and commercial crime insurance protect against different – but increasingly interconnected – threats.

Modern cybercriminals don’t just steal data – they steal money, manipulate staff, and impersonate your business. And internal fraud, once limited to cheques and petty cash, now often takes place through digital channels.

No single policy offers full protection on its own. But together, cyber and commercial crime insurance form a vital shield against financial loss and reputational damage.

How Champion Professional Risks can help

As specialist financial lines insurance brokers, Champion Professional Risks understands the complexity of cyber and crime exposures across different industries.

We work closely with leading insurers to offer both cyber insurance and commercial crime insurance, tailoring policies to your business needs. More importantly, we help you:

✅ Identify coverage gaps between policies
✅ Avoid duplication of cover
✅ Dovetail cyber and crime protections for complete peace of mind

Whether you’re an SME, a professional services firm, or a large corporate, we can guide you through the right insurance strategy to stay protected in a fast-moving risk landscape.

Don’t wait until your business becomes the next cybercrime headline. With the right insurance advice, you can be confident that you’re covered – no matter where the threat comes from.

If you’re unsure whether your business has the right protection in place, get in touch with Champion Professional Risks today. Our experts will help you understand your exposures and build a smarter, stronger insurance solution.

Champion Professional Risks – Specialists in Cyber and Crime Insurance for Modern Businesses.

Contact us today for expert advice:

👉 Visit: www.ChampionInsure.co.uk
📧 Email: profin@ChampionInsure.co.uk
📞 Call: 03330 430 430 (option 1)