The Travelers Companies, Inc. announced that it is now offering a new financial institutions bond specifically for asset managers. The product will help protect asset managers against financial loss caused by employee theft or third-party criminal activity and also includes coverage for social engineering fraud, a scheme where an employee is fraudulent into transferring funds to an legitimate account. The current bond provides insurance protection to asset firms and professionals for a variety of financial loss, including theft, forgery and specified fraudulent account activity.

The new version from Travelers builds nearly 30 endorsements into the standard form and expands the definition of who is an employee, as well as who is an insured, so that it will now include subsidiaries, private funds and special purpose investment vehicles. The new bond is easier to read and doesn't require verification for fraudulent instruction coverage. More days are also available to policyholders when they are required to report claim activity: 60 days instead of 30 days to send written notice of a loss after discovery; 90 days instead of 30 days for notice of any legal proceeding involving an insured's liability for damages; and 90 days instead of 30 days to provide proof of loss after adjudication or settlement.

Pending state approval, the new bond will be available starting Jan. 1, 2024, for new customers and April 1, 2024, for existing customers up for renewal.