A personal response: homeowners insurers are adding identity theft coverage to policies.Identity theft is a rapidly growing problem. The incidents and news stories are scary--what's a person to do in a world where using online computers, credit cards and Social Security numbers is unavoidable but can result in considerable loss? In addition to the actual amount directly attributable to the ID theft, expenses involved in "clearing" the situation can include lost wages, costs of reapplying for mortgages and credit accounts, and numerous miscellaneous fees. Estimates of the expense on an individual basis range from $500 to almost $1,500. One answer to the problem is insure Insure can mean:
adj. 1. Recurring regularly or frequently: the continual need to pay the mortgage. 2. . American International Group
American International Group, Inc. (AIG) (NYSE: AIG; TYO: 8685 ) is a major American insurance corporation based in New York City. and St. Paul St. Paul as a missionary he fearlessly confronts the “perils of waters, of robbers, in the city, in the wilderness.” [N.T.: II Cor. 11:26] See : Bravery Travelers have developed group insurance products that can be used as employee benefits or for the use/protection of customers (or both). Home Base In personal lines, homeowners insurers also have responded to the situation. Relatively inexpensive endorsements (coverage built into the homeowners insurance form) for ID theft exposure are now available from many homeowners insurers. Insurance benefits available are in the form of incurred expense reimbursement Reimbursement Payment made to someone for out-of-pocket expenses has incurred. , but no liability insurance, or coverage for any actual financial loss sustained by covered persons covered person, n an individual who is eligible for benefits under a dental benefits program. covered person Health insurance An insured person who is eligible for medical benefits or other services covered by a health policy , is provided. Almost all insurers providing some form of "identity fraud expense" insurance include coverage for lost wages (or lost earnings). For example, Chubb Corp.'s limit is $250 per day, to a total of $10,000; Cincinnati Financial Cincinnati Financial Corporation (NASDAQ: CINF) offers property and casualty insurance, its main business, through The Cincinnati Insurance Company, The Cincinnati Indemnity Company and The Cincinnati Casualty Company. Corp. covers $250 per day for a maximum period of 40 working days, whether incurred individually or consecutively and Encompass ENCOMPASS Enhanced Consequence Management Planning and Support System (DARPA) Insurance offers a limit of $500 per week for a maximum of four weeks. The use of per-claim deductible That which may be taken away or subtracted. In taxation, an item that may be subtracted from gross income or adjusted gross income in determining taxable income (e.g., interest expenses, charitable contributions, certain taxes). amounts varies also. Some insurers use some type of "per event" deductible amount (Atlantic Mutual, $500; Cincinnati, $250), while others, such as Fireman's Fund, do not use a per claim or aggregate deductible. The total limits for II) theft also vary. Grange Insurance Cos. offers limits ranging from $2,500 to $10,000; Atlantic Mutual offers limits of $25,000 as a single option, as do Chubb and Hanover Insurance Hanover Insurance (formerly NASDAQ: HINS) based in Worcester, Massachusetts is one of the oldest continuous businesses in the United States, still operating within its original industry. Co. Some insurers, such as Atlantic Mutual and Chubb, offer the coverage with no additional charge, while others require an additional premium: Cincinnati, $25: Montgomery Insurance, $25; State Auto, $40 and Travelers, $25. A Good Defense The following risk management steps may be helpful to clients and insurers in deterring identity theft. * Check personal credit reports regularly. A federal law effective in December 2004 mandates free credit reports sooner or later in 2005, depending upon the state of residence; * Shred all documents that contain credit card numbers, banking account information or any other personally identifying data or information as soon as possible alter verifying the accuracy of the information; * Make sure your mail is secure. Post office boxes offer more security than single family residence mailboxes; * Guard your Social Security number jealously jeal·ous adj. 1. Fearful or wary of being supplanted; apprehensive of losing affection or position. 2. a. Resentful or bitter in rivalry; envious: jealous of the success of others. . Its sole purpose is to secure individual benefits under the Social Security Administration. Question any request to use it other wise by merchants, educational institutions, etc; * Destroy any receipts from ATMs, gas station purchases, restaurants or related transactions; * Never reveal financial information related to you or your family over the telephone, or in response to computer requests (called "phishing Pronounced "fishing," it is a scam to steal valuable information such as credit card and social security numbers, user IDs and passwords. Also known as "brand spoofing," an official-looking e-mail is sent to potential victims pretending to be from their ISP, bank or retail establishment. "). * Destroy any solicitations for credit cards or bank cards arriving through the mail which contain personally identifying information; and * Quickly review credit card statements when received for accuracy, and if incorrect, notify the sender in writing to preserve individual credit reporting rights. ID theft is growing, and insurers are responding with several types of coverage. The easiest to access for most individuals may well be under a homeowners policy, although some employers are considering offering "group" ID theft insurance as an additional employee benefit. In reality, the best course of action is likely to be a combination of insurance and individual loss control measures. Identity Theft Coverage by Selected Homeowners Insurers Insurer Expense Reimb. Limit American International Group $15,000-$100,000 per occurrence Atlantic Mutual Insurance Co. $25,000 per occurrence Allstate Insurance Co. $25,000 per occurrence Chubb Corp. $25,000 per occurrence Cincinnati Financial Corp. $25,000 per occurrence Encompass Insurance $20,000 per occurrence Fireman's Fund Insurance Co. $15,000 Fireman's Fund Insurance Co. $15,000 Grange Insurance Cos. $2,500 to $10,000 per occurrence Hanover Insurance Co. $25,000 per occurrence Hartford Financial Services Group $15,000 per occurrence Lexington Insurance Co. $15,000 per occurrence MetLife Auto & Home $25,000 per occurrence Montgomery Insurance $15,000 per occurrence Southern Guaranty $15,000 per occurrence State Auto Insurance Co. $15,000 per occurrence Travelers Property Casualty $15,000 per occurrence USAA $5,000 per occurrence Insurer Deductible American International Group Policy Ded. Atlantic Mutual Insurance Co. $500 Allstate Insurance Co. $0 Chubb Corp. $500 Cincinnati Financial Corp. $250 Encompass Insurance $100 Fireman's Fund Insurance Co. $0 Fireman's Fund Insurance Co. $0 Grange Insurance Cos. $250 Hanover Insurance Co. $250 Hartford Financial Services Group $250 Lexington Insurance Co. $100 MetLife Auto & Home $0 Montgomery Insurance $250 Southern Guaranty $250 State Auto Insurance Co. $250 Travelers Property Casualty $100 USAA $100 Insurer Premium Charge American International Group $25 per $10,000 limit Atlantic Mutual Insurance Co. Included in Atlantic Master Plan Allstate Insurance Co. $30 Chubb Corp. Included in Masterpiece Cincinnati Financial Corp. $25 Encompass Insurance $25 Fireman's Fund Insurance Co. Included in Prestige Premier Fireman's Fund Insurance Co. $15 for HO-3, HO-4 and HO-6 Grange Insurance Cos. $10 to $16 dependent upon limit Hanover Insurance Co. $35 Hartford Financial Services Group $24 Lexington Insurance Co. $25 MetLife Auto & Home Included Montgomery Insurance $25 Southern Guaranty $28 State Auto Insurance Co. $40 Travelers Property Casualty $25 USAA $25 Note: There may be some states in which ID theft coverage is not offered by an insurer from which it is otherwise shown to be available, due to statutory form approvals, or for underwriting reasons. This information is as of May 6, 2005. Source: Dawn Long Potential ID Theft Incidents in 2005 Personal information marketer ChoicePoint said it accidentally sold information on approximately 145,000 U.S. residents to illegitimate ILLEGITIMATE. That which is contrary to law; it is usually applied to children born out of lawful wedlock. A bastard is sometimes called an illegitimate child. business operations Business operations are those activities involved in the running of a business for the purpose of producing value for the stakeholders. Compare business processes. The outcome of business operations is the harvesting of value from assets in California. Leading discount shoe seller DSW DSW - penis war said that customer names/correlated credit information from 108 stores had apparently been removed from a company database. Lexis Lexis® An online legal information service that provides the full text of opinions and statutes in electronic format. Subscribers use their personal computers to search the Lexis database for relevant cases. They may download or print the legal information they retrieve. Nexis databases apparently were compromised for more than 30,000 individual customers. Boston College Boston College, main campus at Chestnut Hill, Mass.; coeducational; Jesuit; est. and opened 1863. Actually a university, the school's Chestnut Hill campus comprises colleges of arts and sciences and business administration, the graduate school, and schools of nursing announced that it had notified almost 120,000 alumni that individual Social Security numbers and addresses had been potentially compromised by an intruder An attacker that gains, or tries to gain, unauthorized access to a system. See attacker, intrusion and IDS. . Bank of America
Bank of America (NYSE: BAC TYO: 8648 ) is the largest commercial bank in the United States in terms of deposits, and the largest company of its kind in the world. said that it had lost tapes containing the financial records of about 1.2 million federal employees. Contributors: Dick Clarke is a senior vice president and Dawn Long is a personal lines supervisor at insurance broker J. Smith Lanier. Identity Theft By the Numbers * 1 in 10 The number of identity theft victims in the United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. $50 Billion The cost of identity theft to businesses and victims 635,000 The number of consumer fraud/ID theft complaints made to the Federal Trade Commission 26% The amount that credit card fraud Credit card fraud is a wide-ranging term for theft and fraud committed using a credit card or any similar payment mechanism as a fraudulent source of funds in a transaction. The purpose may be to obtain goods without paying, or to obtain unauthorized funds from an account. accounted for of all ID thefts * In 2004 Source: Federal Trade Commission Key Points * Insurers are responding to identity theft by offering both group products and coverage via homeowners policies. * Some insurers offer the coverage at no extra charge. * Identity theft policies typically cover only incurred expenses. |
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