In 2014 alone, there have been nearly $1 Billion records stolen due to data breaches. Kmart, Dairy Queen, Home Depot, JP Morgan Chase, Gmail, and Ebay are just some of the companies that have fallen victim, along with their customers. These companies are well aware of the threat of cyber hacking and invest a great deal into protecting and preventing these occurences, yet they still happen. For more details check these statistics out.
What does that mean for the companies? Hopefully cyber liability insurance kicks in and they spend what is necessary to contain and mitigate the risk. They have to notify customers whose information may have been compromised, and typically they have to pay for credit monitoring for those impacted.
What does that mean for YOU, the consumer? It means your account information on every electronic point of sale transaction, and online purchase you make has the potential to be stolen. It also means that all of the information gathered on you and entered into a computer at places such as the doctor’s office, fitness center, hardware store, school, or a public office is at risk of being stolen or compromised.
Given the reputability of the organizations impacted, it seems that aside from going completely off the grid, there is not a lot consumers can do to prevent their information from being offered up for the taking. Right? Wrong. Protect yourself with Identity Theft Insurance.
Identity Theft protection is the best way to prepare for unplanned and unexpected data breaches that have the potential of creating a nightmare for individuals. The services offered by ID Theft insurance vary. Most offer fraud alerts, credit freezes, credit monitory. Many offer services to help you rebuild or restore your identity by contacting consumer reporting companies, creditors and courts on your behalf to correct the information. Others also include reimbursement for time missed from work and expenses associated with getting your identity and credit repaired and restored.
How do you get ID Theft protection? Call your insurance agent today. Many homeowners and renters policies offer this coverage either standardly or as an endorsement. There are also stand alone policies that can be purchased for far less than your daily cup of coffee…. You know… that coffee you go through the drive thru in the morning to get? As you hand over your debit card and potentially a whole lot more.
Until next time, Stay Covered North Carolina!
