3 ms·

Do businesses not have insurance? Does this insurance not ask for a police report?

by slg 5y ago

gjsman-1000 5y ago
Why file an insurance claim for petty theft when there's high insurance premiums in the area? Forget it - the time and effort for paperwork, and reporting, and paying premiums is greater than what you'll recover.
- slg 5y ago
  The amount being stolen is high enough to be debilating for businesses but low enough not to justify an insurance claim?
  - throwaway0a5e 5y ago
    Insurance money doesn't come from nowhere, it comes from the people who are paying for a policy. If everybody is losing to the thieves then all insurance is gonna do is convert the lump sum losses into a monthly payment.
    - slg 5y ago
      This isn't true. Insurance companies make money from float too which allows them to run on a loss when only comparing premiums to claims. It should be obvious that insurance serves as financial benefit for the insured or else the insurance industry would have collapsed a long time ago.
      - throwaway0a5e 5y ago
        > This isn't true. Insurance companies make money from float too which allows them to run on a loss when only comparing premiums to claims. You know what we call a business that makes enough money on float to cover its operating costs? A bank. If the float was so lucrative they wouldn't need to charge "high enough to matter" premiums. Insurance companies don't have magical investments they can make that other businesses can't. They're not going to be making $0.50 on the dollar you give them. They're going to be making pennies, just like literally everyone else. This will mostly go toward subsidizing operating costs. In no universe do insurance companies make enough profit from their money pile to even come close to offsetting payouts. The fact of the matter is that theft affects the entire area so it WILL be reflected in premiums, the same way things like the climate and adverse weather are reflected in premiums. >It should be obvious that insurance serves as financial benefit for the insured or else the insurance industry would have collapsed a long time ago. Using insurance to cover routine expenses never makes financial sense. There's a reason businesses self-insure as much as they can. Just because a financial product can be a net win doesn't mean that it will still be a net win if you use it exactly the wrong way. Speaking of things that should be obvious...
        slg 5y ago
        You are twisting my comment and pretending I said something I didn't. I didn't say float was enough to cover their operating costs. I said insurance companeis can and often do run for long stretches in which premiums do not cover claims. Float is the way this is accomplished. If an insurance company goes long stretches in which premiums do exeed claims, customers will begin to turn away. Interest on float is free money and therefore float has value regardless of how small the returns. These companies want as much float as possible and offering favorable terms to their clients is a great way to increase total available float.
phendrenad2 5y ago
Unlikely that Walgreens files a report each and every time someone walks out with a few sticks of deoderant. They probably just log it and send a monthly report to the insurance company.
Schweigi 5y ago
As a smaller business you’re not gonna waste your time to organize a police report if the theft is $100 or $200 dollars. It would cost you more than what you get back. There will also be an insurance deductible so not sure if it will even work at all.
nkurz 5y ago
No, I don't think that many businesses have insurance that covers shoplifting. I don't know the norms for everywhere, but based on personal experience running a small retail business in the Bay Area, it's not common. I guess it's possible that larger businesses have such insurance, but I'm very doubtful. I've never heard of anyone filing for reimbursement. Product that walks out the door is just a loss that needs to be recouped from someone else. Do you have any evidence that would suggest that they are repaid for their losses?

Do businesses not have insurance? Does this insurance not ask for a police report?

by slg 5y ago

Do businesses not have insurance? Does this insurance not ask for a police report?

Why file an insurance claim for petty theft when there's high insurance premiums in the area? Forget it - the time and effort for paperwork, and reporting, and paying premiums is greater than what you'll recover.

slg 5y ago
The amount being stolen is high enough to be debilating for businesses but low enough not to justify an insurance claim?
- throwaway0a5e 5y ago
  Insurance money doesn't come from nowhere, it comes from the people who are paying for a policy. If everybody is losing to the thieves then all insurance is gonna do is convert the lump sum losses into a monthly payment.
  - slg 5y ago
    This isn't true. Insurance companies make money from float too which allows them to run on a loss when only comparing premiums to claims. It should be obvious that insurance serves as financial benefit for the insured or else the insurance industry would have collapsed a long time ago.
    - throwaway0a5e 5y ago
      > This isn't true. Insurance companies make money from float too which allows them to run on a loss when only comparing premiums to claims. You know what we call a business that makes enough money on float to cover its operating costs? A bank. If the float was so lucrative they wouldn't need to charge "high enough to matter" premiums. Insurance companies don't have magical investments they can make that other businesses can't. They're not going to be making $0.50 on the dollar you give them. They're going to be making pennies, just like literally everyone else. This will mostly go toward subsidizing operating costs. In no universe do insurance companies make enough profit from their money pile to even come close to offsetting payouts. The fact of the matter is that theft affects the entire area so it WILL be reflected in premiums, the same way things like the climate and adverse weather are reflected in premiums. >It should be obvious that insurance serves as financial benefit for the insured or else the insurance industry would have collapsed a long time ago. Using insurance to cover routine expenses never makes financial sense. There's a reason businesses self-insure as much as they can. Just because a financial product can be a net win doesn't mean that it will still be a net win if you use it exactly the wrong way. Speaking of things that should be obvious...
      - slg 5y ago
        You are twisting my comment and pretending I said something I didn't. I didn't say float was enough to cover their operating costs. I said insurance companeis can and often do run for long stretches in which premiums do not cover claims. Float is the way this is accomplished. If an insurance company goes long stretches in which premiums do exeed claims, customers will begin to turn away. Interest on float is free money and therefore float has value regardless of how small the returns. These companies want as much float as possible and offering favorable terms to their clients is a great way to increase total available float.

phendrenad2 5y ago

Unlikely that Walgreens files a report each and every time someone walks out with a few sticks of deoderant. They probably just log it and send a monthly report to the insurance company.

Schweigi 5y ago

As a smaller business you’re not gonna waste your time to organize a police report if the theft is $100 or $200 dollars. It would cost you more than what you get back. There will also be an insurance deductible so not sure if it will even work at all.

nkurz 5y ago

No, I don't think that many businesses have insurance that covers shoplifting. I don't know the norms for everywhere, but based on personal experience running a small retail business in the Bay Area, it's not common. I guess it's possible that larger businesses have such insurance, but I'm very doubtful. I've never heard of anyone filing for reimbursement. Product that walks out the door is just a loss that needs to be recouped from someone else. Do you have any evidence that would suggest that they are repaid for their losses?