This blog is by Jenean McLoskey from Foremost Insurance Group. You can view the original blog here.
Last year alone, over 14 million consumers became victims of Identity Theft.1 To put that into perspective, that’s about one in 15 people. Some of you reading this may have already experienced I.D. Theft – or will, unfortunately, experience it some time in your life.
Identity Theft is the misuse of another person’s identification.2 If it’s true Identity Theft, the identity thief may go as far as using another person’s Social Security number and other important information to open new accounts for their financial advantage. This kind of crime can go on for months or even years without the victim ever knowing. Some examples include stealing money from the victim’s existing accounts, applying for loans, or receiving medical care under the victim’s name.
With how costly and common this problem is becoming; it could be time to think about investing in Property and Identity Fraud Coverage for peace of mind. To protect yourself from these types of devastating crimes, Foremost® offers two different coverage options to choose from in our property insurance programs*:
Identity Fraud Expense and Management will reimburse our policyholders for certain expenses necessary to correct flawed information and restore their credit when the identity thief creates debt using the policyholder’s name. This plan will also provide a personal advocate to assist with any questions, or other identity safety concerns (available in most states).
Identity Fraud Expense and Management Including Credit Monitoring is the second type of protection you can add to your Foremost policy. This type of coverage offers the same protection as the plan above, and in addition, will provide continuous monitoring of credit files, including credit alerts. The policyholder must register to begin the credit monitoring.
Please note: Both of these coverage options are only available for policies issued in the name of an individual.
In addition to these important coverages, you can also take these steps to keep your information protected:
- Use a different password for each account.
- Avoid clicking any suspicious links in emails or text messages.
- Check your credit report every 12 months.
- Don’t carry any personal documents in your purse or wallet (i.e. Social Security card).
- Use security features on your mobile phone.
- Shred any important documents you need to throw away such as account statements, credit offers, or expired credit cards.
*Not all products, coverages or discounts available in all areas.
