Daily News

July 30,2007

SECTION:Insurance

LENGTH: 482 words

HEADLINE:ID Theft Protection Can Be Added to Homeowner's Insurance



NEW YORK _ The key to recovering from identity theft may be your home.

As identity theft insurance becomes more common, carriers are including protection plans in their policies for homes and, in some cases, even cars.

"It's something people should consider because the threat of having your identity stolen is, unfortunately, very real," said Jeanne Salvatore, an Insurance Information Institute spokeswoman.

"If it's included in your homeowner's policy, you're going to be very glad you have it," she said.

But these tack-on policies may cover far less than buyers realize. They won't pay for actual losses; that money can usually be recouped from your credit card issuer. The policies do pay for costs incurred in the recovery and restoration process.

For example, if your Social Security number is stolen and used to obtain a credit card or loan, it will take time and money to fix the problem and repair damage to your credit score.

The average victim paid $535 and spent 25 hours recovering from identity theft, according to a 2005-06 study by California-based Javelin Strategy & Research. There were 8.4 million cases of identity theft nationwide, the Javelin study found, and the average victim was defrauded of $5,720.





"It's something that feels catastrophic and people need help through it," said Mark MacGougan of specialty insurer Hartford Steam Boiler, which offers identity recovery coverage.

Allstate and Nationwide offer plans that are added to homeowner's insurance at additional annual costs of $40 and $45, respectively. Allstate also includes plans on their automobile policies, and Nationwide sells its plan as a stand-alone product for $99 a year.

Other major carriers have variations of these deals at similar prices.

But Beth Givens of Privacy Rights Clearinghouse, a consumer organization, said in most cases you're better off monitoring your own credit through free annual reports from Equifax, TransUnion and Experian.

New Yorkers have the added option of freezing their credit, which prevents the opening of any new accounts. Freezes cost identity theft victims nothing the first time; renewals are just $5.

The availability of these options makes insurance policies unnecessary, Givens said.

"We don't recommend paying a lot for those plans," she said.

___

(c) 2007, New York Daily News.

Visit the Daily News online at http://www.nydailynews.com/

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.

_____

ARCHIVE ILLUSTRATIONS on MCT Direct (from MCT Illustration Bank, 202-383-6064): identity theft

For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.



LOAD-DATE:July 30,2007