Guest Author - Bonnie Sayers

Banks, Insurance Companies, Credit Cards and Employers have taken notice and are offering inexpensive identity theft insurance coverage. AIG American General and St. Paul Travelers are offering identity theft policies to employers. St. Paul Travelers started in 1999 with Allstate calling their policy identity restoration coverage.

Allstate is working with a third party to offer this service to homeowner's and renters insurance policies at an additional cost of forty dollars per year. This is not a stand-alone policy, but in addition to property coverage.

Identity theft coverage does not cover charges on your credit card, but will reimburse you for the time it takes to restore your credit. This would cover time taken away from work to make calls and obtain new forms of identity, some attorney fees, notary fees, postage fees, loan reapplication fees and lost wages. Some policies also coverage wrongful incarceration fees. This would be where the person that stole your identity committed a crime and you got pulled over and arrested for that crime, since they took your identity.

They will also deal with the credit bureaus for you and make calls, with some sharing sample dispute letters. There are other options to get reimbursed for the money withdrawn from bank accounts and credit cards.

If your Property Insurance is through Chubb, identity theft losses up to $25,000 is covered at no additional cost. Farmers charges $25 per year for coverage to a homeowner's or renters policy. Lloyd's America has partnered with Identity Fraud Inc. AIG will reimburse expenses incurred by victims and provides access to credit specialists.

Visa USA provides member banks with an optional benefit for cardholders. MasterCard has an optional benefit as well. You may be denied credit for a loan and then learn that you are a victim of Identity theft. Wells Fargo offers coverage with a $100 deductible.

You hear on the news of instances where electronic data was lost and thousands, if not millions of consumers have their data out there for someone to take. I was a victim of one of these mishaps through my employer in the State of California, In Home Supportive Services (IHSS). I received a letter with data on how to put a fraud alert on your credit files. This enables you to get a free report from each agency and check it out and note that you do not authorize any new accounts to be opened for a period, this may be ninety days or longer. They also remove your name from marketing lists for a few years so you should not get those pre-approved offers in the mail.

I suggest never tossing out your ATM receipts in the trash can at the ATM, instead hold on to it and use a shredder to toss out all receipts and banking data that you no longer store. I have copies of birth certificates, insurance cards, drivers license and social security cards all in my emergency kit.

I found a handy brochure with an ID theft affidavit from Union Bank of California. This brochure also mentions some excellent tips on protecting your identity, like study your statements, beware of telephone solicitors, safeguard your social security numbers and memorize your PIN numbers. Always use caution when using an ATM and when inputting your code while at registers this holiday season.

Keep your purse in front of you, leave the kids home with a sitter or other parent, keep all bags inside one large bag, leave your coat in the car since it gets warm walking around. Men need to carry their wallets in a front pocket or shirt pocket. Park on the street instead of in parking lots underground. Please use caution when going to stores that open before the sun comes up. Is your safety really worth the savings, especially with the mobs in the stores.


Equifax - www.equifax.com
order a report, 1-800-685-1111, report fraud 1-800-525-6285

Experian - www.experian.com
order a report, 1-888-397-3742,report fraud 1-800-397-3742

Transunion - www.transunion.com
order a report, 1-800-888-4213, report fraud - 1-800-680-7289

For more financial assistance watch Suze Orman weekends on CNBC.

The Money Book for the Young, Fabulous & Broke is the latest book by Suze Orman, and is available at Amazon



Federal Trade Commission on Identity Theft.

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