Cyber insurance covers the costs and liability that follow a data breach or network attack, such as forensic investigation, customer notification, card-brand assessments and ransomware response, while commercial crime insurance covers direct loss of your money, securities and property from employee theft, robbery, forgery and certain computer or funds transfer fraud. A restaurant can suffer both in the same week, and neither policy replaces the other.
Restaurants handle cash at the register, card data at the terminal, and payroll and vendor payments in the back office. Owners often assume one “fraud” policy handles all of it. This page separates the two coverages and highlights the scam that frequently falls between them.
Data and systems versus money and property
The simplest way to separate the two: cyber insurance responds when data or systems are compromised and when others hold you responsible for it, while crime insurance responds when your own money or property is taken. The gray zone is social engineering, when an employee is tricked into sending money to a fraudster. Standard computer fraud and funds transfer fraud coverages in a crime policy are generally aimed at unauthorized transfers, so a payment your own staff knowingly approved may not qualify. Many carriers offer social engineering or fraudulent instruction coverage as a specific endorsement on either the crime or cyber policy, usually with a sublimit.
Cyber and crime coverage, side by side
- What it covers — Cyber: breach response (forensics, legal guidance, customer notification, credit monitoring, public relations), data restoration, network business interruption, cyber extortion and ransomware, privacy liability, regulatory defense, and card-industry assessments, which are often sublimited. Crime: employee theft, forgery or alteration, theft of money and securities on premises, robbery and safe burglary, money in transit to the bank, computer fraud, funds transfer fraud, and counterfeit currency.
- Who needs it — Cyber: any restaurant that takes cards, runs online ordering or reservations, keeps a loyalty database, or stores employee payroll data. Crime: any restaurant where staff handle cash, make deposits, order inventory or have access to banking and bookkeeping.
- Common restaurant claim example — Cyber: malware on the POS system captures card data for months before the processor flags it. Crime: a general manager voids tickets and pockets cash over a year.
- How it’s usually bought — Cyber: a standalone claims-made policy, or a limited data compromise endorsement on a BOP. Crime: a standalone commercial crime policy, or smaller employee dishonesty and money and securities coverages inside a BOP.
- Common gaps — Cyber: social engineering may be excluded or sublimited, upgrades to systems after a breach are usually excluded, and failing to maintain required security controls can affect coverage. Crime: provides nothing for breach response or liability to customers, commonly excludes losses proven only by an inventory or profit-and-loss computation, and generally ends coverage for an employee once you know of that employee’s dishonest act.
Four losses and which policy responds
The POS breach. The card processor notifies you of a common point of purchase, a forensic investigation is required, and customers must be notified. This is cyber: breach response costs, liability, and card-industry assessments within any sublimit. Crime insurance does not respond because none of your money was stolen.
The manager’s voids. POS reports and camera footage show a manager voiding paid tickets and keeping the cash. Crime insurance’s employee theft coverage responds. Documentation matters, because a loss shown only by comparing inventory counts or profit margins is typically excluded. See employee theft and inventory shrink.
The fake produce invoice. Your bookkeeper receives an email that appears to come from your produce supplier with new bank details and pays two invoices to a fraudster. Because your employee authorized the payment, standard funds transfer fraud may not respond. A social engineering endorsement on the crime or cyber policy is what fits.
The ransomware weekend. Ransomware locks the online ordering and reservation systems for three days. Cyber extortion and network business interruption coverage respond. Property business income does not, because there is no physical damage.
Which do you need?
- You accept cards or run online ordering: cyber insurance, ideally standalone rather than a small BOP endorsement.
- Employees handle cash, deposits or vendor payments: crime insurance with employee theft coverage at a limit that reflects how much could disappear before you would notice.
- Someone in your business pays invoices by wire or ACH: add social engineering coverage and require callback verification for any change in bank details.
- Multiple locations or an outside bookkeeper: review whether third-party employees and contractors are included.
Pricing and quoting both policies
Cyber pricing reflects revenue, volume of card transactions and records, and security controls such as multi-factor authentication, offline backups, POS network segmentation, point-to-point encryption and prompt patching. Crime pricing reflects the number of employees, cash handling and controls such as dual control on deposits, separation of duties, owner review of bank statements and background checks. Provident Financial Group is an independent agency, so one application lets us quote cyber and crime from multiple carriers and compare them side by side. Call (866) 964-6660.
Frequently asked questions
Does my BOP already include cyber coverage?
Some BOPs include or offer a limited data compromise endorsement. A standalone cyber policy usually adds extortion, network interruption and higher liability limits.
Is credit card fraud covered?
It depends on the kind. A breach of card data is a cyber claim, counterfeit currency and forgery are crime claims, and routine chargebacks are generally not covered by either. See our credit card fraud answer.
Does crime insurance cover a holdup?
Robbery coverage in a crime policy or BOP money and securities coverage can respond to stolen cash; injuries are handled elsewhere. See our robbery answer.
Is cyber insurance claims-made?
Almost always, so keep your retro date continuous. See occurrence vs. claims-made.
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