In this day and age, identity theft seems to be growing into a career. One incredible statistic that should stick firmly into your mind is that up to $230 BILLION are stolen each year world-wide as a result of identity theft. Did you know that we have just over 7 billion people living in the world? And you know very well that there aren't that many billionaires out there! Has it ever happened to you?
I can say that I am one of the 7 billion people in the world that have fallen victim to identity theft, and this just happened to me a couple of days ago. The first question I asked myself was, where have I made my last purchases? I had not purchased anything on the internet with my card in the past month. My wife is the one that does the shopping so the only times I ever use my card are when I get gas and once in a while if I am picking up a lunch or dinner. It's hard to understand how someone could steal your credit card information when you use secured payment systems at stores and on the internet. But, apparently someone out there is very sneaky and intelligent. Fortunately for my wife and I, we have fraud protection through our bank and we also have Identity Theft Protection through our Renters Insurance Policy. This brings me to the meat and potatoes of today's discussion, insuring yourself for identity theft.
Now, many individuals that I have sold insurance policies to were not aware of identity theft protection being available through a homeowners insurance policy. The truth is that many carriers don't push hard to promote Identity Theft as a feature product because homeowners policies are generally built around protection of the home and it's contents and protection for liability. What adding Identity Theft Protection does is add protection for your bank account and social security!
You may be wondering, how much does Identity Theft Protection add to the premium of a homeowners policy? Well, some companies include identity theft protection in their homeowner policy bundles. For some of the companies that don't bundle this product, you are looking at approximately $25 per year for $15,000 of protection at an average of $250 for the deductible. But, getting Identity Theft Protection through your homeowners policy is just one way to do it. Other avenues of fraud protection can be through your bank, and through reputable protection services such as LifeLock.
So, my message for today is, take your identity seriously and check your homeowners policy, check with your bank, and consider getting additional protection. It can happen to you, and you don't want to learn the hard way.
I can say that I am one of the 7 billion people in the world that have fallen victim to identity theft, and this just happened to me a couple of days ago. The first question I asked myself was, where have I made my last purchases? I had not purchased anything on the internet with my card in the past month. My wife is the one that does the shopping so the only times I ever use my card are when I get gas and once in a while if I am picking up a lunch or dinner. It's hard to understand how someone could steal your credit card information when you use secured payment systems at stores and on the internet. But, apparently someone out there is very sneaky and intelligent. Fortunately for my wife and I, we have fraud protection through our bank and we also have Identity Theft Protection through our Renters Insurance Policy. This brings me to the meat and potatoes of today's discussion, insuring yourself for identity theft.
Now, many individuals that I have sold insurance policies to were not aware of identity theft protection being available through a homeowners insurance policy. The truth is that many carriers don't push hard to promote Identity Theft as a feature product because homeowners policies are generally built around protection of the home and it's contents and protection for liability. What adding Identity Theft Protection does is add protection for your bank account and social security!
You may be wondering, how much does Identity Theft Protection add to the premium of a homeowners policy? Well, some companies include identity theft protection in their homeowner policy bundles. For some of the companies that don't bundle this product, you are looking at approximately $25 per year for $15,000 of protection at an average of $250 for the deductible. But, getting Identity Theft Protection through your homeowners policy is just one way to do it. Other avenues of fraud protection can be through your bank, and through reputable protection services such as LifeLock.
So, my message for today is, take your identity seriously and check your homeowners policy, check with your bank, and consider getting additional protection. It can happen to you, and you don't want to learn the hard way.
RSS Feed