Beazley vs Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance: Commercial Crime Insurance

Beazley underwrites commercial crime insurance for commercial companies, advertising limits up to $25 million; Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance includes Commercial Crime as one component of a private-company portfolio, with shared or separate limits up to $50 million.

Van Ness Partners presents a practical comparison of source materials relevant to financial crime exposures.Research updated 2026-09-30

Beazley describes standalone Commercial Crime with social-engineering coverage subject to verification controls; Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance places crime inside a broader private-company portfolio.

What Are the Key Differences Between Beazley and Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance Crime Insurance?

Standalone Crime and Portfolio Structure

Beazley underwrites Commercial Crime for commercial companies and separately addresses financial institutions through Financial Fidelity Bonds. Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance lists Commercial Crime as one component of Executive First, alongside D&O, EPL, fiduciary and employed-lawyer cover. Buyers should establish whether they need a standalone crime contract or a combined portfolio with potentially shared limits. [1] [2]

Eligibility, Limits, and Access

Beazley says fraudulent wire instructions are covered only when payment instructions receive out-of-band authentication, and advertises limits up to $25 million. Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance advertises portfolio limits up to $50 million, shared or separate. Those numbers describe different structures; compare the crime-specific sublimit and required payment controls rather than headline maxima. [1] [2]

What Should You Confirm in Beazley and Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance Crime Insurance Quotes?

  • Ask Beazley what authentication evidence satisfies its social-engineering condition and whether the quote applies separate sublimits.
  • Ask Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance whether your crime limit is separate from other Executive First parts and what crime-specific terms apply.

Crime coverage

Beazley

  • role: Beazley underwrites Commercial Crime insurance for commercial companies. The same product page separately describes Financial Fidelity Bonds, a related but distinct product line for financial institutions. Crime and Fidelity product page; distinguishes the commercial-company product from the financial-institution fidelity bond described on the same page.company-reportedSource ↗
  • eligibility: Beazley markets Commercial Crime to ordinary commercial companies, not to banks or other financial institutions, which it addresses separately through Financial Fidelity Bonds. Product page target-customer language; no industry list or size threshold is published.company-reportedSource ↗
  • coverage: Beazley says Commercial Crime protects an organization from loss of money and securities caused by theft by its own employees, plus third-party-related losses such as forgery or alteration, on-premises and in-transit loss, money-order and counterfeit-currency fraud, computer fraud, client-property loss, credit-card fraud and related expense coverage. Product-page description of insuring agreements; exclusions, conditions and available sub-limits appear only in the issued policy.company-reportedSource ↗
  • coverage: Beazley says its Commercial Crime policy includes a fraudulent-instruction (social-engineering) insuring agreement covering losses from wire transfers made on instructions from someone posing as a vendor, client or authorized employee, and that this cover is conditioned on out-of-band authentication of payment instructions. Product-page description; Beazley says the out-of-band-authentication condition can be removed for insureds with documented controls and response plans, subject to an additional premium.company-reportedSource ↗
  • limits: Beazley advertises Commercial Crime limits of up to US $25,000,000. The page does not publish retentions, sub-limits by insuring agreement, or a minimum limit. Product-page headline limit figure; the page does not split the figure between Commercial Crime and Financial Fidelity Bonds.company-reportedSource ↗
  • services: Beazley says its underwriting and claims professionals for this line work side by side so that, when a claim arises, the original underwriting intent of the policy is respected. Company-stated internal process description; no independent claims-handling outcome data is provided.company-reportedSource ↗
  • application: Beazley lists a standalone Crime application, a Massachusetts-specific Crime application and a separate Social Engineering application among its Tools & Resources, distinct from the Financial Fidelity Bond application forms on the same page. Tools & Resources section of the product page; the page does not describe an online quote or self-service purchase flow.company-reportedSource ↗
  • claims: The product page links to Beazley's general claim-notification channel for this line. It does not disclose a claims response-time commitment or a dedicated claims-handling process specific to Commercial Crime. Product page "Notify a Claim" link as read on 2026-09-23; response times were not found.not-disclosedSource ↗

Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance

  • role: BHSI describes Executive First Private Company Portfolio as one comprehensive form combining D&O, EPL, fiduciary, Commercial Crime and employed-lawyer insurance. Portfolio marketing establishes a listed product structure, not a buyer’s entitlement or standalone availability.company-reportedSource ↗
  • eligibility: BHSI identifies private companies with at least $10 million in revenue among the portfolio’s target accounts. Portfolio-level target, not a guarantee that a particular applicant qualifies for the crime component.company-reportedSource ↗
  • limits: The portfolio page advertises shared or separate limits up to $50 million. This is a portfolio-wide figure, not a crime-specific limit; the page does not say how limits would be allocated on a specific policy.company-reportedSource ↗
  • coverage: The portfolio page specifically names Commercial Crime as one component of the comprehensive form. The page names the line but does not state its insuring agreements, coverage triggers or relationship to fidelity bonds.company-reportedSource ↗

Sources consulted

  1. 01
    Crime and Fidelity

    Beazley · What we offer: Commercial Crime for commercial companies; fraudulent-instruction/social-engineering insuring agreement and out-of-band authentication condition; Limits up to US $25,000,000; How can we help; Tools & Resources application forms · accessed 2026-09-23

  2. 02
    Executive First Private Company Portfolio

    Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance · Product Highlights, lines 11–15: D&O, EPL, fiduciary, Commercial Crime and Employed Lawyers in one comprehensive form; shared or separate limits up to $50 million; EPL First HR resources and attorney helpline. Top Targets, lines 16–25: private companies with at least $10 million revenue and listed industries. Reopened 2026-09-30. · accessed 2026-09-30

  3. 03
    Commercial Insurance Guide

    California Department of Insurance · Crime · accessed 2026-09-16

  4. 04
    Social Engineering Fraud Insurance

    Chubb · Opening; coverage highlights · accessed 2026-09-16

  5. 05
    Crime Terms and Conditions

    The Travelers Companies, Inc. · I.A–G, printed/PDF pages 1–4; III.RR, printed/PDF p.13; V.B.1–2, printed/PDF pp.18–20; Consideration, printed/PDF p.1; III.P p.8; V.A.3 pp.16–17; V.A.4 p.17; V.B.3 p.20; I.A.3 p.1; III.C p.7; III.S pp.8–9; III.II and III.KK p.12; III.QQ p.13; V.A.5 pp.17–18 (printed/PDF pages); IV.J–O, printed/PDF pages 14–15 · accessed 2026-09-16

  6. 06
    Crime Non-Financial Applications and Forms

    Travelers · Opening paragraph; Sample Policy Forms · accessed 2026-09-16

  7. 07
    Commercial Crime Coverage Application

    Travelers Casualty and Surety Company of America · I–III pages 1–2; IX–XI pages 3–4; V–VII, printed/PDF pages 2–3 · accessed 2026-09-16

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