Hello from bizjournals.com! Todd Hudspeth (todd.hudspeth@wellsfargo.com)
thought you might like the following article from the Orlando Business
Journal:
Insurer adds ID theft coverage for small biz owners
Starting Jan. 1, Hartford will offer add-on to policies
Carlos Galarza Staff Writer
Published: January 2, 2006
------------------------------------------------------------
The rise in identity fraud has many business owners concerned, and it's
prompting at least one insurance company to do something about it.
Starting Jan. 1, The Hartford Financial Services Group Inc. (NYSE: HIG)
will include a new identity recovery coverage program to all its new or
renewed small business policies.
The Hartford's coverage will protect individuals, including sole
proprietors, partners of a business and owners of 20 percent of a
business, but not the business itself.
Coverage includes advice and information from The Hartford on how to
respond to a suspected case of identity fraud; personalized help from a
case manager who will assist the business owner on correcting personal
credit history and identity records; and provides up to $15,000 for
out-of-pocket expenses such as obtaining credit bureau reports, postage,
phone and shipping fees, and notary and filing fees.
Targeting small biz
Sue Honeyman, a spokeswoman for Connecticut-based Hartford, says that
while other companies offer identity fraud protection as part of
homeowners' policies, this is the first time it is being offered to
small business owners.
"We did an analysis and found (identity theft) is an important thing to
cover," says Honeyman. "It's one of the things that came up as a concern
by small businesses and independent agents themselves."
Jim Brown, a spokesman for the National Federation of Independent
Business (NFIB) in the Southeast, says recent surveys of the group's
members found that identity theft is a growing concern.
A growing problem
Brown says a 2004 survey of small business owners ranked crime
(including ID theft) No. 62 among the top 75 problems they face. This
was up slightly from 2000 when it was listed as No. 65.
"We know identity theft ranks well below problems such as access to
affordable health insurance, lawsuit abuse, workers' compensation and
other issues, but it's still a concern," Brown says.
According to a Florida Grand Jury Report, costs associated with identity
theft were estimated at $2.5 billion nationwide in 2002 and projected to
top $8 billion in 2005.
Honeyman expects other insurance companies to follow The Hartford's lead
by also offering ID theft recovery coverage.
"No one enjoys the lead long in this industry," Honeyman says.
Copyright(c) American City Business Journals Inc. All rights reserved.
You can view this article on the web at:
http://orlando.bizjournals.com/orlando/stories/2006/01/02/story8.html
No comments:
Post a Comment