Most of us now understand identity theft and how it can happen and what it can mean for us. When we think of identity theft, we think mostly of someone stealing our financial information, or getting some access to our financial files to steal from us.  But less than 15% U.S. adults understand the risks and costs of medical identity theft.  Worse yet, almost no one takes any steps to protect against the costs of these kinds of losses with insurance.

Medical identity theft is both a misunderstood and an underappreciated risk exposure for most Americans.  Here are some sobering facts about medical identity theft.  1.5 million Americans are victims of medical identity theft each year.  The costs of medical identity theft are more than $30 billion.  The average cost of resolving a medical identity theft issue is $20,000 and the time it takes to do so is, on  average between 4 and 6 months.  And just to help you compare medical ID theft to financial identity theft, note that the street value of a stolen social security number is about one dollar while the street value of a stolen medical identity is fifty dollars.

There are many ways that your medical identity could be stolen or compromised, but here are the three most common ways that it happens:

Financial medical identity theft – Someone is getting medical help using another person’s name or other information.

Criminal medical identity theft – A victim may be held responsible for the actions of another person’s criminal behavior.

Government Benefit Fraud – Someone’s medical benefits are being used by another person.

So what can you do to lessen the odds that your medical identity becomes stolen or compromised?  Well, first of all, you should carefully monitor and review all explanation of benefits letters that are sent to you by your health insurance company.  Make sure that each and every benefit listed is accurate.  Proactively request a listing of benefits from your health insurance company and check for accuracy.  Request a copy of current medical files from each health care provider that you use.  Act quickly to promptly correct any erroneous or false information that you find in any medical files.  Keep a close eye on your credit reports in case they show medical debts outstanding.  And request an accounting of disclosures from your health insurance company.

There are also a few insurance options emerging for protection against this type of fraud.  Check with your homeowners insurance agent to see if you can add medical identity theft insurance to your home insurance policy.  The number of insurance companies that provide this protection is quite small at this time but more and more insurance companies are evaluating this coverage each day and over time it may become much more of a mainstream type protection for the homeowners insurance policy.

If you need any help with your home insurance, your auto insurance, or if you want help with you identity theft protection options, please call our office, toll free at 877-687-7557.

Homeowners insurance is a policy that most everyone who buys a home has to purchase at some point in time. Often though, for the first time home buyer out there, this is just one of many distractions in the process that have to be checked off before the loan can close.  In that kind of scenario it is pretty easy to see home insurance as something you have to buy rather than something you want to buy.   Of course if the fire engines are racing toward your home a year or two later, you may suddenly find yourself wondering what you left off or rushed through in the process.   Here’s a list of a few of the most common mistakes that homeowners make when buying home insurance.

Let’s start with a real biggie.  Under insuring your home.  Often when people engage in the insurance buying process they are primarily focused on one thing, how much it will cost.  This is basic human nature.  For most people, insurance turns out to be nothing more than buying a promise.  If you never have a loss, you could feel that you aren’t really buying anything at all, even though you are actually purchasing peace of mind and the promise of financial stability in the event of a large loss to your property.  I mean, as boring as it is to go mattress shopping or washing machine shopping, at least you do come home with something tangible for your efforts and for the drain on your pocketbook. 

The problem of underinsurance can be accentuated by the fact that when it comes to insurance protection you should be focusing on the replacement value of your home – you will have to build it back after all, and this can often exceed the price you just paid for the home.  Your agent should help walk you through the process of determining the replacement value of your home so that you can insure it for full value.  This won’t leave you with as much of a queasy feeling as those sirens are getting closer.

Another huge mistake that can be costly for homeowners is not checking to see if their home is in a flood zone area.  Homeowners insurance policies in North Carolina do not cover flood losses.  Imagine for a minute where you would come up with the money to clean up after a flood loss that does damage equal to 1/3 of your home’s value.  For those with mortgages, this will often be caught by the bank, whose job it is to look for this kind of thing.  In fact, I’ve seen several situations where a bank might require a flood insurance policy when the flood zone might only cross a lower corner of the homeowner’s back yard.  Again, if this happens, your agent can be very helpful in speaking with the bank to attempt to waive the flood insurance requirement.

Insuring valuable items separately is another place where homeowners often make a mess of their policy.  If you have valuable items like jewelry, painting, musical instruments, guns or silverware, then you should consider adding coverage for these items under a separate endorsement.  The advantages of doing so can be better coverage and protection as coverage for these items may be severely limited under your homeowners policy.  If these things are important to you, take a few extra minutes and make your agent aware of them and discuss the best way to protect them.  Some homeowners policies will allow you to add a blanket endorsement for a low limit of coverage for these types of items.  This is a simple, quick and inexpensive way to protect these items if your collections are not extensive.

At Clinard Insurance Group, located in Winston Salem, NC, we insure thousands of homes all across the state.  We will take as much time as you need to listen to your story and to help you fashion a homeowners insurance policy that best suits your needs and your budget.   If you would like help with your homeowners insurance or you auto insurance, please call us, toll free, at 877-687-7557.