Money insurance: what it covers and who carries it
Cover for cash and negotiable instruments on the premises, in transit and in the custody of a person.
This is usually a section inside a business pack, not a policy sold on its own. Which sections a policy includes is shown on its schedule, and insurers group and name them differently. Business pack insurance
Data as at · refreshed by scripts/seed-graph.mjs
In short
- Money cover responds to loss of cash and negotiable instruments on the premises, in transit and in a person’s custody.
- Limits differ sharply by situation, and the in-transit and overnight limits are usually the tightest.
- It is a business pack section rather than a standalone policy for most businesses.
Money cover is written for businesses that still handle cash: hospitality, retail, markets, clubs and services that take payment on the spot. It follows the money rather than the premises.
The structure is a set of separate limits for separate situations, and knowing which limit applies is the whole skill in using it.
Also called: money insurance, cash cover, cash in transit cover
The separate situations
Policies typically split money on the premises during business hours, money in a locked safe, money on the premises out of hours, money in transit to the bank, and money in the personal custody of a director or employee.
Each carries its own limit, and the out-of-hours and in-transit limits are usually much lower than the business assumes.
Conditions that decide claims
Safe specifications, banking frequency and the number of people accompanying a banking run are frequently conditions rather than suggestions.
The most common failed claim in this class is money held on the premises overnight above the out-of-hours limit.
What people get wrong about it
The first error is reading the highest limit on the schedule as the amount covered everywhere.
The second is assuming theft cover deals with cash, when property theft sections usually exclude money and direct it to this section.
The third is treating employee dishonesty as a money claim, when it usually sits under fidelity or crime cover instead.
Questions
- Is cash covered if it is left in the till overnight?
- Usually only up to a low out-of-hours limit, and sometimes only where it is in a specified safe. The schedule sets separate limits for each situation.
- Does it cover theft by an employee?
- Generally not. Employee theft is normally a fidelity or crime cover question, often found inside a management liability policy.
Occupations that commonly carry it
Ordered by how central this cover is to each occupation in the graph. A pattern in the data, not a statement that any business is required to hold it.
- Bar and pub operators — Licensed venues serving alcohol, with responsible service obligations.
- Travel agents — Booking and packaging of travel, holding client money ahead of departure.
- Retailers — Shopfront sale of goods, with stock, customers and a lease to manage.
- Cafe operators — Coffee and light food service with customers on the premises.
- Restaurant operators — Full food service, usually with a liquor licence and commercial kitchen.
- Caterers — Preparation and service of food off-site, at venues and private homes.
- Food truck operators — Mobile food service, trading across council areas and at events.
- Bakers — Production and retail of baked goods, with allergen and labelling obligations.
- Butchers — Preparation and retail sale of meat, licensed for food handling.
- Breweries and distilleries — Production of alcohol for sale, with excise and licensing obligations.
- Accommodation providers — Motels, holiday letting and short-stay operation with guests on site.
- Funeral directors — Arrangement and conduct of funerals, holding prepaid money in many cases.
Sources
- Moneysmart (ASIC) — General guidance on business insurance from the regulator’s consumer site. A starting point, not a definition of this cover.