Employee Theft & Employee Dishonesty

The “Employee Theft & Employee Dishonesty” course is designed to help adjusters enhance their knowledge, understanding, and professional competence of employee theft and employee dishonesty insurance coverage principles. The module is presented by Dee Studler, MAcc, CPA, CFF of SDC CPAs, LLC, and Marti Schimanski of Westfield Insurance Co.

This course begins with an overview of basic employee theft and employee dishonesty principles and definitions. The course then navigates through the history of the Commercial Crime Policy, leading up to modern Policy forms. Next, the course dives into a detailed review of specific coverage doctrines, including the rights and responsibilities of both insurers and their insureds as identified by the language of each Policy. The course highlights common ISO Policy forms and endorsements along with their contents, including covered losses, exclusions, timing elements, definitions, and more. The course later culminates with a discussion of liability, ownership, and recovery concepts.

After completing the course, the attendee will be able to comprehend employee theft and employee dishonesty coverage concepts; describe the history and objectives behind modern Commercial Crime Policies; recognize the duties of the insurers, insureds, and principals in the event of loss; grasp the basic components of Acknowledgement Letters, Reservation of Rights Letters, and Proof of Loss Forms involved in an employee theft or employee dishonesty claim; develop a claim timeline and claim chart to aid in claim processing; implement learned strategies to investigate the Proof of Loss; define common Policy terms including employee, theft, and dishonesty; understand important ISO Loss Sustained Form and Employee Theft Endorsement coverages and exclusions; recognize the limits of liability related to continuous and non-continuous insureds; identify the ownership of property that is stolen; and avoid the common pitfalls related to the transfer of rights and subrogation settlement agreements.

The course is designed for insurance professionals working in the area of property adjusting.