After years of working, planning, and dreaming, you’ve finally moved into your dream home. Everything’s in place under your new roof.
But you’re a planner. You’re thinking ahead. What about break-ins? What about that expensive flat-screen TV you just bought? What about your jewelry and appliances?
You think, “I’d better get a burglar alarm.” In fact, you already know which one you’ll buy, the kind that “automatically alerts” the authorities in the event of burglary, fire, and so on.
Fast forward. You’ve just returned home from work to find your front door has been kicked in. The alarm, while certainly loud and obnoxious to the neighbors for the thour or so it was blaring, has since turned off. No one is around.
You discover that your kitchen has been vandalized. Your TV is gone. Your dresser has been ransacked, the good jewelry mostly gone.
What now?
BUNK ALERT: Credit monitoring and identity “security” services are essentially burglar alarms for your credit files. Just like a home security system, they’ll (hopefully) sound an alarm if someone has attempted to open accounts in your name, or tried to access your credit files – but usually AFTER the fact. When it comes to cleaning up the mess – these services will mostly leave consumers high and dry.
Alarms are nice, but most consumers need additional protection.
The problem with identity theft is that, unlike a home invasion, identity theft happens silently and for the most part, invisibly. But the resulting damage can be just as costly. And while alarms may tell you something’s happened, they won’t solve any of your (new) money-costing problems.
Plus, once the crime has occurred, not only will you have to prove you’ve been harmed, but you’ll also be responsible for reclaiming and restoring your good name.
“During that time that you’re cleaning up the mess — that is going to take anywhere between 6 months and two years — you don’t have credit,” said Jay Foley, of the Identity Theft Resource Center in San Diego.
This is where most consumers will wish they had bought Stolen Identity Coverage in the first place.
Stolen Identity Coverage Is Where the REAL Benefits Begin
Discovering that your identity has been stolen is only the beginning. Without adequate coverage, you may be required to spend a lot of your own time and money.
It’s at this point that you’ll want to have a reliable, professional resource – including legal representation, if necessary - in place.
Consider:
• You’ll likely spend days or weeks of your own time on the phone.
• You’ll be confronted with a complex maze of paperwork to manage.
• You’ll likely need professional legal assistance to help you deal with (often uncooperative) credit bureaus, lenders, government agencies, medical care providers, and others.
Why would any sound-minded consumer risk this unnecessary headache? We consider the cost of Stolen Identity Coverage a small price to pay, given the potential risk.
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Paying for ID Theft Protection Is Not Necessary
So you’ve decided to pay a few dollars each month for some peace of mind in the event you become a victim of identity theft.
You’ve decided to buy some sort of protection for yourself or perhaps your entire family. It may be insurance coverage, it may be a credit protection product, or some combination of both.
Smart thinking. Now, how do you choose the right product?
BUNK ALERT: All Identity Theft Prevention/Protection Products are NOT created equal.
Choosing the right protection product can be tricky. Some products available out there are excellent – offering sound financial protection with solid benefits. We happen to think that Stolen Identity Coverage is one of those options. While Stolen Identity Coverage is not an insurance plan, it does offer an impressive range of identity fraud resolution benefits.
Unfortunately, in today’s marketplace, many other options are … well, let’s just say less than great. Much of the coverage offered as part of credit protection services provides you with big promises and million-dollar guarantees in the event that your identity is stolen (such as TrustedID, LifeLock, LoudSiren, and other similar services).
But just when you think you’re safely protected, you may still be at risk. What you’ll likely discover if your identity is stolen is a complex maze of limitations, exclusions, and loopholes.
So how do you know if what are you’re buying is really good protection? Here are 5 rules to help you decide.
Rule #1: Don’t overpay.
Identity Theft Protection products typically cost somewhere in the range of $12 to $18 a month, and can be purchased as an insurance rider to a basic homeowner’s policy or as a stand-alone policy or non-insurance product from another company. If you’re paying more than this, you should consider shopping around. If you’re paying less – make sure you’re reading the fine print. It’s quite possible that something important isn’t covered. Which leads us to…
Rule #2: Know what expenses are covered.
Identity theft protection products typically cover some or all of the expenses you will incur in dealing with your situation, such as the costs of making phone calls and copies, mailing documents and possibly legal bills. However, some products don’t cover legal fees at all. Some won’t cover your lost wages or time away from work. And when it comes to the complex and time-consuming job of recovering your identity, some will leave you high and dry.
Given that the average victim spends over $1,100 of their own money and over 175 hours (5 full work weeks) restoring their identity, you’ll want to be sure that your coverage includes benefits to cover your time and expenses.
Rule #3: That clock is ticking!
Some identity theft protection and restoration products require that you report identity theft within a certain timeframe. That timeframe can be surprisingly short, often 30 days. Depending on how frequently you monitor your credit reports, your 30 days can slip away quickly. By the time you take action… you may be out of luck. Be aware.
Rule #4: What’s the deductible?
Make sure you can live with the deductible (or, in common language – the amount you’ll have to pay out of your own pocket before your coverage starts paying for you). It can be as high as $1,000 or more. We have to wonder: why would you pay a monthly fee, only to end up paying for everything yourself?
Rule #5: Don’t believe everything you read.
A $1,000,000 guarantee sounds great. But trust us, you won’t likely ever collect a million dollars. It’s a marketing offer. And if you think you’ll get a million bucks when and if your identity is stolen, you could be in for a big (read: unpleasant) surprise.
Read the fine print. Usually, what you’ll find behind the million- dollar guarantees are a lot of circumstances that won’t ever happen to you (or, at the very least, are highly unlikely to happen). Our recommendation: when it comes to ID theft protection, read everything with a skeptical eye.
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Why Stolen Identity Coverage May Be Your Best Bet
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