Sunday, February 04, 2007

Identity Theft Insurance

Identity theft has been reported to be the fastest growing crime in many parts of the world, especially United States of America. Identity theft is definitely not new and has been around for a long time. However, recent years have seen a tremendous increase in the number of identity theft related crimes, which is taking place in a variety of unusual forms.

In response to the problems presented by identity theft, the financial industry has developed theft insurance. Typically, such kinds of theft insurance policies are not used to reimburse you for money that may have been stolen from you through identity theft. Instead, they will help pay for the costs involved with correcting the problems that come with identity theft. For instance, you can claim for losses related to fixing your credit report and lost wages due to taking time off from work to repair your credit.

The average insurance companies that offered identity theft insurance, usually provide up to $25,000 of coverage for little cost. There are also some major companies that offer separate identity theft insurance policies for relatively small annual premiums from $30 to $200. In addition, most credit cards offer identity theft protection as an optional benefit for cardholders, usually at a small cost. Some card issuers provide the identity theft insurance to their credit card customers, while others provide it as an additional benefit of their premium card. Some credit card banks even use it as a form of incentive to attract new customers to sign up for their regular card.

But regardless of how little the premium might be, do you need the coverage? Generally, you are not responsible for unauthorized charges beyond $50 and most credit company do not even hold you responsible for that amount. In actual fact, the real cost of identity theft for many people is the cost of the time it takes to regain their good reputation and credit. If you are considering a identity theft insurance policy, make sure you look for one that has a low deductible and one that will provide for payment of legal fees, which can be quite a hefty sum if an identity thief commit crimes in your name.

Identity theft has been reported to be the fastest growing crime in many parts of the world, especially United States of America. Identity theft is definitely not new and has been around for a long time. However, recent years have seen a tremendous increase in the number of identity theft related crimes, which is taking place in a variety of unusual forms.

In response to the problems presented by identity theft, the financial industry has developed theft insurance. Typically, such kinds of theft insurance policies are not used to reimburse you for money that may have been stolen from you through identity theft. Instead, they will help pay for the costs involved with correcting the problems that come with identity theft. For instance, you can claim for losses related to fixing your credit report and lost wages due to taking time off from work to repair your credit.

The average insurance companies that offered identity theft insurance, usually provide up to $25,000 of coverage for little cost. There are also some major companies that offer separate identity theft insurance policies for relatively small annual premiums from $30 to $200. In addition, most credit cards offer identity theft protection as an optional benefit for cardholders, usually at a small cost. Some card issuers provide the identity theft insurance to their credit card customers, while others provide it as an additional benefit of their premium card. Some credit card banks even use it as a form of incentive to attract new customers to sign up for their regular card.

But regardless of how little the premium might be, do you need the coverage? Generally, you are not responsible for unauthorized charges beyond $50 and most credit company do not even hold you responsible for that amount. In actual fact, the real cost of identity theft for many people is the cost of the time it takes to regain their good reputation and credit. If you are considering a identity theft insurance policy, make sure you look for one that has a low deductible and one that will provide for payment of legal fees, which can be quite a hefty sum if an identity thief commit crimes in your name.