A Closer Look at Insurance Coverage for Stolen Identity

After last week’s revelation that hackers penetrated a database containing the credit information of about 35,000 Californians, consumers may wonder if it’s a smart idea to purchase identity-theft insurance.

Allstate Corp. of Northbrook, Ill., is the newest insurer to announce it will offer the coverage in Virginia starting this month. It joins a growing list of compe titors that are betting policyholders will want some help recovering their identity if somebody rips it off.

Virginia, as Allstate noted during the launch of its new “Identity Theft Expenses” endorsement on Feb. 7, ranks 19th in the country for per-capita incidences of identity theft.

But it’s a nationwide problem. In 2004, identity theft ranked No. 1 for the fifth year in a row on the Washington-based Federal Trade Commission’s annual top 10 consumer-complaint list.

For this complete story, please visit A Closer Look at Insurance Coverage for Stolen Identity.