Pilferage

What Does Pilferage Mean?

Pilferage is a theft of small quantities of goods or of low-value goods. Pilferage often connotes small theft performed repeatedly over a long period of time, such as an employee stealing small amounts of office supplies from their workplace every few days.

Pilferage is often used to describe theft by employees, but it can be used in other contexts as well. When the issue is internal, business owners typically combine stronger internal controls to prevent employee theft and fraud with a commercial crime insurance policy that pays for losses they can’t catch in time.

Insuranceopedia Explains Pilferage

Covering pilferage for marine operations is a high risk for insurance companies. As a result, some marine insurance policies will list pilferage as an exclusion. Cargo owners are, therefore, left to their own devices and must take measures to prevent this theft from happening. Shippers reviewing options for a commercial marine insurance policy should check whether pilferage is covered or excluded, and what limits apply if it is.

Coverage for pilferage can be added to marine insurance policies. However, since this presents a higher risk for insurers, it comes with a correspondingly higher premium.