SAN ANTONIO – Whether you’re shopping online or swiping your card at a store, hackers have lots of opportunities to steal your identity. In 2015 alone, $15 billion was stolen from 13.1 million Americans.
Some companies are offering identity theft insurance. For $25-$50 a year, companies such as Allstate, Liberty Mutual and State Farm offer it as an add-on to your home or rental insurance.
In most cases, the companies reimburse you up to $25,000 for covered losses. Consumer Reports said that sounds good, but points out that most banks and credit card companies already cover you for losses due to fraud, and most victims suffer little or no out-of-pocket losses.
So what does ID theft insurance actually get you? Typically, coverage includes assistance in dealing with the time-consuming aftermath of identity theft, such as covering out of pocket expenses or supplying a case manager to make calls on your behalf.
But this insurance isn’t designed to alert you to identity theft. That’s what identity protection services do. It’s mostly for what happens after you’ve been compromised. Consumer Reports said taking matters into your own hands can be more effective and cheaper, such as freezing your credit report and signing up for free online apps to monitor your checking and credit accounts daily.
If you do opt to purchase insurance, Consumer Reports said to make sure you look closely at what you are getting and what you’re paying for.