Identity Theft Insurance 

According to some reports, identity theft insurance is the fastest growing insurance product to come along in years.

Some believe that referring to it as “insurance,” gives people a false sense of security.  Why?  Maybe it’s because when your home or car is damaged, insurance pays for the repair whereas, identity theft insurance does not automatically repair or restore the damage to your credit rating or your good name.  It simply provides re-imbursement to victims for some of the costs of restoring their identity and repairing their credit.

And restoring your credit and your name can prove to be a slow, painstaking process…involving countless phone calls, letters and possibly time away from work.

Identity theft insurance benefits vary but typically covers:

• notary and certified mailing costs for completing and delivering fraud affidavits
• fees for reapplying for loans that were declined due to erroneous credit information
• phone charges for calling merchants, financial institutions and law enforcement agents to discuss the fraud
• possibly some attorney fees
• a portion of loss wages as a result of time taken off from work to deal with your fraud case.

These expenses can add up pretty quickly especially if quite a few fraudulent accounts have been set-up in your name.

Some insurance companies may include identity theft insurance as a part of their home owner’s or renter’s insurance policy with coverage up to $25,000.

Other companies offer stand-alone policies, such as:

Identity Theft Shield ^SM from Pre-Paid Legal

Identity Guard® Fraud Protection from Identity Guard

An average cost of these types of policies can start as low as $13/month and include credit monitoring services.

Identity theft insurance coverage is subscribed to by hundreds of thousands of folks.  It obviously gives them peace of mind that is well worth the few dollars.

When all is said and done, only YOU can determine if having identity theft insurance coverage is a good choice for you.

Check out . . . Counter-Measures: How An Identity Theft Victim Can Fight Back!