Issue:  I’ve heard about Identity Theft Insurance and was thinking about offering this to my employees (my daughter’s ID was stolen and it took several years for her to get everything corrected).

Is this a legitimate insurance, how much does it cost and what does it cover?

Solution: This is definitely a legitimate coverage, and there is a legitimate and growing need for it. Generally, it provides for assistance with correcting the problems that come with identity theft. More on that later.

There are many ways to buy it. Many homeowner’s insurers will add it to your policy and many financial institutions will include it as a service they sell you for a fee. You may buy it directly from many insurance companies as an individual. Talk to your insurance agent, banker, etc., about what is available, but be sure to compare several products if possible.

This can be a very good benefit to offer to your employees. It can be offered and underwritten on a group basis for a very reasonable price per employee.

Many insurance carriers offer information on this product on their Web sites. For the purposes of this forum, neither I nor HVACR Business endorse any particular vendor, but an easy site to view is at www.aig.com.

Once there, click on the block in the upper left quadrant titled “View Our Most Popular Products” then click on MORE. Click on Identity Theft Insurance. Click on Personal ID Theft Coverage. This will give you a good overview of the product.