As gig work cements its place in the modern labor economy, staffing agencies are navigating increasingly decentralized and high-turnover environments. With rotating assignments, hybrid teams, and remote oversight, crime exposures have become more complex and costly. Theft, fraud, and impersonation scams are no longer outliers; they’re part of the everyday risk landscape.
For insurance agents working with staffing clients, it’s no longer enough to offer generic crime coverage. Today’s staffing firms need specialized protection that reflects how they actually operate.
Crime Risks Are Evolving Fast
The staffing industry’s biggest strength is flexibility, but that also comes with tradeoffs. Rapid hiring cycles, varying client environments, and widespread access to systems and assets create ideal conditions for dishonest activity. Employee theft alone costs U.S. businesses an estimated $50 billion each year and contributes to nearly 30% of business bankruptcies, emphasizing the need for updated crime protection.
Here are the common crime exposures staffing agencies face.
- Ghost employees or manipulated payrolls created by insiders
- Temps or contractors walking off with client-owned assets
- Unauthorized access to proprietary data or trade secrets
- Social engineering scams that target accounting departments
What complicates these risks even more is that many incidents occur at the client’s premises or within cloud systems, which aren’t always covered by standard policies.
What Staffing Firms Actually Need
Typical crime policies cover direct losses from employee theft or fraud. But for staffing firms, that’s just one piece of the puzzle. Many losses happen off-premises, involve client assets, or stem from sophisticated scams like impersonation or credential theft.
That’s why crime insurance for staffing industry clients must include the following key protections.
- First-party coverage for internal theft, fraud, and embezzlement
- Third-party fidelity to protect client property and financial interests
- Extensions for trade secret breaches, impersonation scams, and social engineering
- Legal defense costs tied to covered criminal acts
World Wide Specialty Programs’ Crime Plus policy was built with these concerns in mind, offering coverage that reflects how staffing firms function, not just how generic carriers imagine they do.
How Agents Can Bridge the Gap
Many clients assume they’re covered, but unless their policy includes the proper endorsements, they’re likely underinsured. Agents can add value by digging into the details and asking the right questions.
- Does your crime policy include third-party fidelity coverage?
- Are client trade secrets or property protected if misused or stolen by a temp?
- Does your policy respond to social engineering or impersonation fraud?
- Are defense costs and legal fees included under the limits or paid outside?
World Wide’s Crime Plus policy checks each of these boxes, offering staffing-specific protection against real operational threats.
Specialized Crime Insurance For the Staffing Industry Is Essential
As staffing firms rely more on gig placements, remote coordination, and tech-enabled operations, their risk profile continues to shift. Today’s exposures don’t just involve stolen laptops or missing invoices; they can trigger regulatory scrutiny, damage long-standing client relationships, and derail future growth.
Insurance agents have a distinct opportunity to help clients see around corners and close the gaps standard coverage leaves wide open. And with a partner like World Wide Specialty Programs, agents don’t have to settle for one-size-fits-all policies.
Contact us today to learn how World Wide Specialty can help you deliver crime insurance built for the staffing industry — one that protects both your clients and their reputations in the gig economy and beyond.
About World Wide Specialty Programs
For the last 50 years, World Wide Specialty Programs has dedicated itself to providing the optimal products and solutions for the staffing industry. As the only insurance firm to be an ASA commercial liability partner, we are committed to that partnership and are committed to using our knowledge of the industry to provide staffing firms with the best possible coverage. For more information about Staffing Professional Liability Insurance or any other coverage we have available to protect your staffing business, give us a call at (877) 256-0468 to speak with one of our representatives.