Victims of identity theft typically don’t know that they’ve been victimized until bills start showing up for items they didn’t purchase, or until a credit check reveals that their credit score has tanked. Once the victim realizes what has happened, it can feel like it’s a full-time job straightening out their credit and undoing the damage that has been done. It can take months or even years to recover. For this reason, you may wish to consider getting identity theft insurance.  

What is identity theft? 

In order to understand the insurance coverage for identity theft, it’s important to understand exactly what identity theft is.  

This act is a criminal offence. It occurs when someone commits fraudulent acts or transactions under your name. Having access to your full name, driver’s license, social insurance number or even your address can cause your identity to be compromised.  

When your identity is stolen, the person who stole it can open credit cards, wrack up debt and destroy your credit rating. In serious cases, the thief may commit crimes while using your name, which could leave you with a criminal record.  

How does identity theft happen? 

The hard part is that this can happen anywhere, to anyone. For example, if you are shopping online and the site you are shopping from gets hacked, someone may be able to access your personal information or even your credit card. 

When this happens, they can start spending on your credit card and even open other credit cards in your name.  

How can you prevent identity theft? 

There are a few things experts suggest doing to help prevent identity theft from happening to you.  

Simple things like not storing passwords on your computer can be helpful. Make sure to check your credit card statements carefully to ensure all the transactions on the statement are ones you made.  

Further, many financial institutions will have features like voice recognition or personal identification numbers (PINs) on your account so that when you need to access your account information, they can verify it’s really you contacting them.  

You may also want to review the passwords you have for your accounts. Adding capitals, numbers, and special characters can make it harder for strangers to guess your password.  

How identity theft insurance can help  

If identity theft happens to you, it can be really costly. It’s not just about the amount of money spent on credit cards in your name. There could be legal fees, time off work, lost wages, damage to your credit score, a criminal record and a lot of emotional distress.  

Having identity theft insurance can go a long way into helping you manage all of these things in the event it happens to you. Under your existing homeowner’s or tenant’s policy identity, you may be able to add optional identity theft insurance for a very low rate – often for as little as $100 per year.  

Identity theft insurance will cover reimbursement for legal fees (should you require it), referrals to the right legal services/experts, restoring your identity, and even future cyber protection so it doesn’t happen again.  

Contact ICD Insurance today 

Identity theft is a serious issue which can cost a person a lot of time, money, and heartache. To learn more about identity theft insurance, contact one of our brokers today.