Tuesday, 27 March 2007
A New Product For The Internet Age: Identity Theft Insurance
Almost 8,400,000 Americans had their identities stolen last year. U.S. businesses spent over $49,000,000,000 dealing with identity theft. Now the insurance industry is stepping up to do what they do best: offer protection.
Many of the leading insurers — including Travelers, Allstate, and MetLife — are offering identity theft insurance. Premiums are cheap, often falling in the $50 – $70 range. And the policies offer upwards of $20,000 in coverage.
If you’re in the market for identity theft insurance, look for a policy with no deductible. The average cost of resolving identity theft problems is $535, so “(if) the deductible is $1,000 it doesn't really make sense,” as Jay Foley of the Identity Theft Resource Center points out.
When browsing online, take care to only share your information with trustworthy companies. Don’t give out your Social Security number. And remember that most reputable companies will never ask you to share your account information or password in an email.
Technorati Tags: Insurance Identity Theft
