When you’ve worked your whole life to build financial security for your family and a legacy to one day leave behind, you go to great lengths to protect your income and assets against potential risks. One such risk – identity theft – is growing increasingly dangerous; so much so, in fact, that the average person needs identity theft insurance to protect his or her financial integrity.
The Risk of Identity Theft
The past few years – 2017 especially – have brought major pains for retailers, government agencies, insurance companies, restaurants, and other organizations that have been subject to major data breaches. The Equifax data breach of September 2017, for example, exposed the Social Security numbers and other private information of 143 million consumers. That is more than half of the U.S. population – all of whom are now at greater risk of identity theft.
Preventing and Combatting Identity Theft
You may not be able to prevent your information from being stolen, but you can take steps to prevent thieves from destroying your credit and draining your financial resources. The first step is enrolling in a credit monitoring program that will review your credit report for new or unusual activity and report back to you with the results periodically. This can help you pinpoint unauthorized accounts while they are still new and before delinquencies can begin damaging your credit score.
Next, we recommend purchasing identity theft insurance to ensure you have the appropriate resources to restore your credit and argue your case in the event your identity is stolen. Identity theft insurance can help pay for the cost of hiring legal assistance, taking time off work to handle your case, and other related expenses. You can get identity theft insurance as a stand-alone policy or as an additional coverage on your homeowners, renters, or condo insurance. Just talk to an agent here at Glass Insurance Center for more information or to request your free quote.
Finally, be quick to report fraudulent activity when you see it. If there are unauthorized charges on your credit card statement, tell the credit card issuer right away. Chances are you will get a new credit card with a different account number, and you may not even be responsible for paying the unauthorized charges so long as you report them in a timely way.
Protect Your Business
If you own a business, you need to take cybercrime coverage a step further. Often, businesses are targeted by hackers because they tend to house sensitive information about customers, such as credit card numbers, driver’s license numbers, names, addresses, and more. If a computer virus or hacker obtains access to this information, you could be liable for the damages.
That is why all businesses should speak to an agent about data breach insurance. Here at Glass Insurance Center, we offer coverage designed to minimize the financial fallout after a data breach with insurance that covers the cost of:
- Virus removal
- Website reconstruction
- Victim notification
- Credit monitoring
- Fines and penalties
- Business Interruption
- And more
If you do not have insurance that protects your business against data breaches, qualifying for new coverage may require certain loss-prevention protocols. Often, underwriters hope to minimize the risk of a claim by requiring business owners to implement security measures, such as frequent software updates, third-party audits, staff training, and more.
For more information about how you can protect yourself or your business against identity theft and cyber-crime, contact our office today.
