Identity Theft Protection

Identity theft is a crime where someone takes your personal or financial information and uses it without your permission. Fraudsters will use this information to make transactions or purchases, obtain credit, services or benefits — anything for their financial gain Identity thieves take advantage of technology and use everything from deceptive emails to hacking into computers or networks and using information-gathering malware. They may also use text messages, social networking or digital public records — among other techniques. Lost or stolen wallets, checkbooks, credit cards or other physical documents are also common ways thieves get your financial information. It’s easier than you may think for someone to steal your identity. That’s why identity theft insurance is so important.

What Is Identity Theft Insurance?

Identity theft insurance helps protect you from the high costs related to restoring your identity — like legal fees and lost wages. Having identity theft coverage with American Family Insurance means you’ll have someone by your side every step of the way. They can help make the recovery process simpler, quicker and less expensive.

Why Monitoring Your Credit Is So Important

It’s important to know that identity theft insurance doesn’t prevent your identity from being stolen or even alert you if it’s been compromised — that’s why monitoring your credit report is so important. At American Family, we’ve partnered with CyberScout, the industry leader in identity and data defense.

With their expertise, they’ll help monitor your credit so you're better able to prevent and recover from the unexpected. Their credit monitoring service goes hand in hand with identity theft insurance to give you 360° protection and peace of mind that you’re doing what you can to avoid identity theft. What exactly does CyberScout do for you?

• Helps monitor your credit through web-based services that search millions of identity records
• Easy access to a web portal where you can view reports and quickly spot fraud
• You’ll have access to a CyberScout specialist for guidance on alerts received

While we can’t stop identity theft, we can help provide you with helpful resources, articles and tips on how to protect yourself from identity fraud and get through the recovery process. Start with this guide to preventing identity theft.

Add identity theft insurance to your existing homeowners, condo, renters or manufactured home insurance policy by calling up your agent — they’ll add it to your policy and it’ll go into effect right away. And, you can purchase a defense system with our partnership through CyberScout and start benefiting from their credit monitoring service today!

In the meantime, learn more about what to do after identity theft by following these identity recovery steps.

What Does Identity Theft Insurance Cover?

From reducing worry to overcoming obstacles during the identity recovery process, identity theft insurance is designed to support you during a stressful time. Identity theft not only comes with financial loss, but you’ll probably have a lot of issues to resolve, like restoring your credit and financial reputation. Identity theft insurance offers restoration services to help make the process easier on you and your family, including covering certain expenses.

Benefits of Identity Theft Protection Insurance

Find protection from identity thieves

This high-value, low-cost coverage helps protect against the expensive costs related to restoring your identity and good name. This endorsement covers expenses such as:

• Legal fees
• Loan reapplication fees
• Notary expenses
• Lost wages due to time taken from work to restore your credit

Get support, save time, enjoy convenience

Following an ID theft event, you’ll be reaching out to businesses and credit reporting companies — all of which can take up a lot of your valuable time. With identity theft insurance, you’ll have a dedicated fraud specialist from our partner CyberScout assigned to you to work with third parties like law enforcement, credit bureaus and collection agencies to help you get back on your feet again.

They’ll work with you one-on-one to provide guidance through the resolution process, minimizing your stress, expenses and lost time. We’ll also cover costs up to $25,000 that help you repair any damage done to your good name — think attorney fees, lost wages, and certified mail expenses.

Learn more on why we partnered with CyberScout to offer credit theft protection and monitoring here.

Document replacement assistance

We’ll help you obtain new documents, like social security cards, birth certificates, passports and driver’s licenses if yours have been lost, stolen or compromised.

Peace of mind after identity theft

Having identity theft insurance along with a credit monitoring service helps give you more peace of mind — because you’ll know you have a plan in place. If your information was ever to fall in the wrong hands, we’ll be by your side during the recovery process.

When Should I Get Identity Theft Protection?

Consider getting identity theft insurance now if your identity’s ever been compromised. This insurance can help protect you from becoming a repeat victim and can provide key assistance when recovering from identity theft.

In general, if you’re at high risk of identity theft or are unable to actively monitor your own credit you should consider getting identity theft protection right away
 

How Much Does Identity Theft Protection Cost?

You can add identity theft insurance to your existing homeowners, condo, renters or manufactured home insurance policy for an affordable price — usually less than one dinner out with family or friends!

And, while identity theft insurance is important to have, having a credit monitoring service in place hopefully helps you avoid ever having to use it. Often, early detection prevents bigger problems. We offer two options for your credit monitoring service: 

Silver credit monitoring plan

The silver plan allows you to stay up-to-date with daily monitoring of your personal records, including email alerts for any changes and an annual credit report and score from Experian.

Gold credit monitoring plan

The gold plan expands your monitoring services to three credit bureaus — TransUnion, Experian and Equifax. Daily monitoring from these three bureaus helps you make more informed financial decisions. It’ll also help you detect any suspicious activity of your personal records by sending email alerts for changes that m ay appear on your credit reports and to your credit score.

Want to boost your ID theft smarts? Check out our ID theft risk calculator.

What to Do If You’ve Been a Victim of Identity Theft

It can be hard to know where to start or what to do after identity theft strikes. Once you discover that your identity’s been compromised, it’s time to act quickly.  

• Set Up Fraud Alerts With Credit Bureaus
• Contact Your Financial Institutions
• Contact Federal Agencies

Take a look at these tips to help your life get back to normal after an identity theft event and learn more here about how to prevent fraud in the first place.

Find the Right Identity Theft Coverage

Experiencing identity theft is stressful, there’s no denying that. But with our help and resources, you’ll get back on track — and you won’t be doing it alone. Talk with your American Family Insurance agent to find out how adding identity theft protection to your homeowners coverage can help proactively protect your finances and your family.