Have you ever received a letter in the mail from your credit card company letting you know that they’re issuing you a replacement card because of a potential compromise of your account? Now imagine the impact if someone was actually able to steal not only your credit card number but your entire identity. This is a stressful and frustrating scenario that millions of Americans experience each and every year and it results in the time consuming and expensive process that is recovering an identity, reversing fraudulent charges, and cleaning or repairing an incorrect credit history.
The costs of identity theft recovery and credit repair can be costly. You’ll need to secure credit reports from each of the three major credit bureaus in addition to potentially paying fees to financial institutions effected by missed or late payments. Further, in more serious cases, someone might even be required to take time off working resulting in loss wages and the strain of this time consuming and potentially expensive process can even cause emotional pain and suffering. Identity theft insurance provides protection and cost reimbursement for these exact events.
Americans Effected in 2017
timeline 15.4 Million
Insurance Information Institute
Most commonly offered by an employer to their employees, this insurance coverage provides things like a dedicated licensed identity recovery manager that works on the victims behalf contacting credit bureaus and financial institutions to remove fraudulent credit activity and reverse fraudulent charges or financial withdrawals. It will also reimburse victims for various expenses associated with the theft of their identity including the cost of obtaining credit reports, ongoing credit monitoring costs, lost wages, legal fees as a result of the stolen identity, and even counseling as a result of the mental and emotional stress. The insurance is easy to purchase, usually doesn’t require any form of underwriting, and is offered on both an individual basis in addition to as a company benefit. With the increased occurrence of data breaches, it’s no surprise that more and more Americans are strongly considering and adding identity recovery insurance to their current insurance portfolio. If you work for a company that doesn’t currently offer this employee benefit, consider mentioning it to the human resources manager to see if it’s something they would be open to adding to their benefits package.
At Layr, we have worked with a leading A++ rated insurance carrier to help companies deliver identity theft recovery insurance to their employees easily and affordably. A company can buy our commercial identity theft insurance plan for all of its employees for as little a $300 per year for up to 20 full time employees and additional employees are only $15 per employee per year. This proprietary policy provides 12 months of unlimited access to a licensed identity theft recovery manager and up to $25,000 in expense reimbursement.
