The number of insurance claims for crimes committed against businesses in the period between April and June 2007 rose by 11% on the same period in 2006.
According to Axa’s business crime survey, the amount of malicious damage claims rose by 28% while the number of arson claims rose by a staggering 43%.
Instances of theft fell by 2%, the survey revealed, although this remains the most common claim and accounts for over half (53%) of the total.
“What this survey continues to highlight is the increasing amount of crime related to business,” said Gareth Elliott, policy adviser at the British Chambers of Commerce. “Even though businesses have taken measures to reduce crime, they are fighting an ongoing battle that is becoming increasingly difficult to wage.
"Until there is a reliable definition of business crime with which national police forces can record crime statistics, the true extent of crimes against businesses will not be fully known,” he added.
Despite the rising level of crime, the proportion of insurance claims that were made during this period due to crime actually fell in 11 of the 15 cities measured by the index.
The hotspots for crime against businesses are Bristol where crime accounted for 25.4% of claims – a rise of 5.2% from last year – and Cardiff, with figures of 24.3% and 3.6% respectively. At the other end of the table, just over one in 10 (11.2%) of claims in Newcastle were due to criminal activity.
“Criminal activity is a growing problem for businesses,” said Doug Barnett, risk manager at Axa. “So far this year, we have dealt with 10% more crime claims by businesses than in 2006 and around one in every six claims is crime-related.
“We believe that businesses are making more of an effort to protect themselves from crime and are pleased to see that incidences of theft have actually decreased this quarter but acts of petty vandalism, which can be more difficult to guard against, are increasing dramatically.”
