What a commercial crime policy was built for
A commercial crime policy protects an organization against dishonesty and fraud, including theft by employees, forgery of checks, computer fraud and fraudulent instructions that cause funds to be transferred. It was designed for money, securities and tangible property, and its definitions reflect that history.
Where the gaps appear for digital assets
When a loss involves digital assets, the first question is whether the assets fall within the policy's definition of covered property. Some crime forms exclude virtual currency outright. Others include it only with a sublimit, or only for certain causes of loss. A separate issue is cause. A policy that responds to employee theft may not respond to an external hack of a wallet, and the reverse can also be true.
These are exactly the points that are litigated after a loss, so it is better to learn the answers when buying than when claiming.
What custody coverage adds
Custody coverage is built around the way digital assets are actually stolen or lost. It defines covered property to include the assets themselves, addresses private key compromise, and often distinguishes between storage methods, with terms tied to the security of each. It is generally the primary protection for the assets, while a crime policy continues to protect against ordinary fraud and employee dishonesty affecting the rest of the business.
Putting the two together
A well structured program is intentional about which policy responds to which event, so that there are neither gaps nor confusing overlaps. Your broker should map each realistic loss scenario, such as a hot wallet compromise, an insider moving assets, a social engineering attack on the operations team and a lost key, to the policy and limit that would respond. Seeing that map is the clearest way to judge whether your coverage fits how you operate.
Last updated October 22, 2026. Written by the Alton Risk placement team.