ID Theft Insurance for only $10!

ID Theft Insurance for only $10!

Identity theft has become a serious issue here in the USA and globally!  Although identity theft issues have been a common concern for several years; however, the frequency has skyrocketed the past three years!

See the statistics from the National Council on Identity Theft Protection below:

  1. Losses from Identity Theft Cost Americans $5.8 billion in 2021.
  2. The FTC (Federal Trade Commission) received 5.7 million total fraud and identity theft reports in 2021, of which 1.4 million were ‘consumer’ identity theft cases.
  3. In 2021, $2.8 billion of losses were from imposter scams and $392 million were from consumer online shopping scams.
  4. Fraud cases are up 70% from 2020.
  5. Reported Cases: 2021= 5.7M, 2020= 4.8M, 2019= 3.4M
  6. The average amount of money lost has doubled since 2019.
  7. Experts claim there is an Identity Theft case every 22 seconds and it should increase by year-end 2022.
  8. The number of Identity Theft cases reported in the USA is nearly 3 times higher than in other countries.
  9. Reports have it that 33% of all Americans have had some type of Identity Theft issue in their lifetime.
  10. Credit card fraud is the most commonly attempted theft among credit card users with 2.8m thefts reported in 2021.

I had my American Airlines Mastercard hacked 3 times in an 18-month period, so this issue is near and dear to me.  People who post on social media online are more likely to get hacked!  It is difficult for the average American (especially mature seniors) to deal with this widespread problem as scammers have become more sophisticated every year. 

One potential inexpensive option can be utilized through your triple AAA membership.  Triple AAA (the Automobile Association of America) offers a variety of inexpensive plans to assist. 

They (AAA) have three levels of plans.  They have a free plan and two other more comprehensive plans for $10.95/month and $15.95/month respectively for their top plan. 

One thing I noticed when dealing with this problem myself is that there are 3 important things that come into play with identity theft: IT is

  1. Time Consuming
  2. Costly and
  3. Very Stressful

For many people, insurance is for protection and “peace of mind,” which is sometimes difficult to put a price on.  For this column, I will break down both the AAA Free plan (called their Essential Plan) and a “rider” that can be added to the Free plan for $10 per year.

The AAA Free plan includes:

  1. Credit monitoring from Experian
  2. Experian Credit Report (upon enrolling)
  3. Lost Wallet or Purse (Pocketbook) Protection
  4. Fraud Resolution Support

With the AAA Safeco $1/month (or $10 per year) Identity Recovery coverage, they add the following to their Free plan:

  1. Case Manager: For no additional charge, a dedicated case management company works directly with the consumer throughout the claim process.
  2. High Annual Limit and No Deductible: Expense reimbursement up to $25,000 annually for expenses incurred after identity theft.
  3. Lost Wages and Child and Elder Care Expenses: They are covered for up to $250 per day with a $5,000 maximum aggregate per claim.
  4. No Adverse Premium Impact:  Claims will have no adverse effect on future premiums.  This is the opposite of auto and homeowners insurance which usually raises premiums after a claim.

For my clients, insurance planning has to do with finding the maximum coverage for each premium dollar spent.  It is ALL about VALUE for life insurance, health insurance, long-term care insurance, and ALL other types of insurance. 

A responsible independent broker shops insurance companies looking for “pricing sweet spots” to see where the best VALUE can be found.  The AAA Identity Theft plans are no different, as I think there is value to be found looking at these AAA Identity Theft plans, especially the Free plan with the $1 per month (or $10 per year) rider added.

What do you think?  Feel free to reach out to me at [email protected] and best of luck to you!