The Future of Identity Theft Protection & Employee Benefits

​ID Experts had the privilege of participating in a webinar on new trends and shifts in identity theft protection services. Insurance Business America hosted a conversation with Rudi Maggi, director of the identity theft department at Aon Benfield. And although our conversation was fairly wide-ranging, there are several key takeaways for our audience.

​Many company leaders wonder why and how identity theft protection fits into their risk mitigation strategy. Maggi observed that identity theft is crucial to protecting your employees and maintaining their productivity. If an employee discovers that their identity has been stolen, they will need to make a series of calls to financial services and other organizations – the vast majority of which are only open during business hours. The time they spend recovering their identity is company time lost. By having an experienced company manage all phases of recovery, the employee can focus on their work, knowing that skilled experts are helping to get their information back.

​Moreover, identity theft protection services also help a company in that they defend the HR database of sensitive employee information. If a thief were able to enter this database by getting ahold of this information, he or she would be able to do a good deal of damage not just to the employees, but to the company as a whole. Additionally, it’s a way of putting your money where your mouth is and demonstrating that, as a company, you’re committed to protecting both the sensitive information of your clients through cybersecurity initiatives, and the sensitive information of those who work for you.

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​Second, we discussed the major trends that are shaping identity theft protection services. One key trend is the internet of things; the more devices we connect to the internet, the more information we give thieves. As many Americans know, credit card companies are pretty good at catching and reporting card-related fraud. But this is a relatively easy level of fraud to fix; all they need do is send you a new card. The Equifax breach and others like it released information that was far more permanent (Social Security numbers, addresses, dates of birth, etc.) and far more likely to have long-lasting consequences.

​In light of that, growing numbers of people are asking about the details of the cybersecurity package and precisely what it contains. We talked about what a good package will contain and agreed that not only will it cover all nine types of identity theft, but it will oversee and manage the entire recovery process. It may even include social media monitoring – a service that has become very popular over the past several years.

​Increasingly, companies are offering identity theft protection services not as an optional benefit that employees can select, but as an automatic one. It’s a good sign – it means that companies are committing to protecting everyone in their organization. Personally, it’s a trend that I hope to see grow in the coming years. We want to make it as hard as possible for thieves to access personal information.

​Comprehensive coverage of all employees isn’t a guarantee that nothing will happen – but it’s a solid assurance that if and when something does, the affected individual’s identity will be restored quickly and safely.