Insure Them Against Identity Theft

Recently, insurers particularly those offering prepaid legal insurance benefits have been offering identity theft benefits along with other benefits products.

Most employers are asking employees to pay for the identity theft coverage. Typical annual premiums range from $25 to $60, depending on the coverage provided.

Identity theft coverage offers employees access to specialists who can guide them through the process of restoring their identity and credit records. Coverage can be provided for lost wages as a result of time taken off work to cope with a stolen identity, and for out-of-pocket expenses, such as notarized affidavits and long distance phone calls. Some policies will cover defense costs for civil lawsuits, as well as costs of reapplying for loans and paying other fees.

Related coverages may protect against losses from direct physical damage to computers or even damage to software as the result of a computer virus.

Our prediction is that identity theft protection will grow, as today’s computerized society makes the crime far easier than it has been. The first buyers will be companies already offering benefits to help employees cope with personal distractions, such as child care benefits and elder care benefits.

, CEBS, is vice president, employee benefits, at Associated Financial Group, Minnetonka, Minn., and chair of the employee benefits practice group of RiskProNet International, a network of 28 independent U.S. and Canadian insurance brokers.

Reproduced from National Underwriter Edition, April 15, 2005. Copyright 2005 by The National Underwriter Company in the serial publication. All rights reserved.Copyright in this article as an independent work may be held by the author.