Do You Need Identity Theft Insurance? - McFarlin Insurance Agency

Electronic devices have become ubiquitous in our culture thanks to the increased efficiency and access they offer. Modern-day technology may make our lives easier but it also exposes us to more risk because most of these devices, such as Smartphones, tablets, laptops, and e-readers, allow us to store and exchange sensitive information with vendors or other people.

To use these tools properly, you may have private personal data stored within them such as credit card numbers, birth dates, Social Security numbers and so on. By leaving this data within these devices, you open yourself up to the possibility of being a victim of identity theft.

The Odds of Being a Victim versus the Value of Insurance?

There are many ways you can think about the problem of identity theft and decide whether or not you need insurance to protect yourself against it. Right now, instances of identity theft are relatively low which could indicate to some that identity theft insurance is an unnecessary product. Unfortunately, that line of thinking is too simplistic to actually address the problem at hand and ignores the purpose of having insurance as well as the value this coverage brings to the table.

When insuring one?s home against covered perils, an individual generally doesn?t look up the risk of fire or hurricane damage and then decide whether to get home insurance. Instead, individuals understand that the risk exists, contemplate the expense of suffering that damage and then buy home insurance. The same reasoning can be behind the purchase of identity theft insurance. Once your identity is stolen, a great amount of time and money must be spent notifying creditors and reporting agencies of the crime and subsequently untangling your credit history from it. You may face legal fees trying to unwind your credit report from the activities of the thief and you may miss work trying to deal with the credit reporting agencies and creditors. Identity theft insurance can cover these kinds of expenses with limits from $10,000 to $25,000 in exchange for an extremely low annual premium.

Identity theft is a problem that we are just now seeing the first stages of. Over the next several decades no one knows how pervasive this issue will get or how many tens of thousands of dollars of damages will be suffered. By securing an inexpensive identity theft?insurance policy today, you can ensure that you have the resources to deal with the fallout of identity theft should you become its victim.

Posted Friday, June 15 2012 3:43 PM
Tags : identity theft, safety, insurance, risk, Maryland Insurance

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