Retail crime surging – Protect your Business

There has been a rise in ram raids across New Zealand, with shopping malls, dairies, bottle shops and high-end retail stores being targeted.

A ram raid is where a vehicle is used by thieves to drive into a retailer’s establishment to bring down its doors and proceed to loot its contents and other attractive items. Ram raids are noteworthy not just for their frequency but also for their brazenness. For example, a ram raid at Auckland’s Ormiston Mall in April 2022 involved three vehicles and several more perpetrators.

Data released by New Zealand Police under the Official Information Act (requested by Dairy and Business Owners Group) showed within the first eleven months of 2021, ten of the nation’s twelve police districts reported increased retail crime. Auckland was the worst-hit region in 2021, with recorded retail offences soaring by 25.8 per cent, while retail offences in Canterbury increased by 14.2 per cent*.

Retail crime is a very real source of concern for New Zealand retail businesses of all sizes. Such events can be deeply disruptive to the owners and costly for a business to rectify. It may present financial and emotional implications including:

• Replacing stolen property and stock
• Repairing damage to the building
• Carrying out extra admin tasks related to the criminal activity, e.g., Police reports
• Stress from staff and owners in dealing with the aftermath of the criminal activity

As a retail business owner, if you are worried about the financial burden of protecting your store, Rothbury can help. The right risk management and insurance solutions are some of the ways to reduce disruption to your business. Our brokers are well-versed in understanding the risks associated with retail crime.

• Business Assets - Covered under your Material Damage Insurance

Business Assets Insurance can provide cover for physical loss or damage to your buildings, equipment and stock caused by burglary or weather-related events. Commercial property, equipment and stock are big capital investments for any business so having the right protection is vital.

• · Business Interruption Insurance

Business owners can benefit from business interruption insurance to help their business recover after experiencing an unexpected event that brings operations to a temporary standstill, such as a burglary or natural disaster. For example, if a ram raid has bought your operations to a temporary halt, it can cover lost revenue, insurable gross profit and fixed expenses including staff wages, electricity or loan repayments.

Talk to your broker about the right insurance cover for your business. We can tailor the right insurance policy to protect your retail business and the assets within it.

*Dairy and Business Owners Group, 10 February 2022: https://dairyowners.org.nz/menu-layout-24/