Identity Fraud in Focus quarterly report
8 min
Help your clients attract and retain the best talent (while protecting their bottom line) with a truly holistic financial wellness benefit plan that includes identity protection. Current and prospective employees will get the tools to monitor their financial transactions and keep an eye out for their sensitive information on the dark web. Plus, they'll get access to reimbursement and restoration in the event of fraud.
It's no surprise that holistic financial wellness benefits are on the rise. These programs are designed to help enrollees better understand and manage their money and reach certain goals, like repaying student loans or preparing for retirement. By building a team of employees who feel financially secure, employers can experience greater productivity, higher retention, and even reduced turnover — and that's a win-win.
In today’s article, we look at how a quality identity protection program can strengthen your clients’ benefits mix and help them stand out from the competition.
Why identity protection belongs in a holistic financial wellness program
All the planning, budgeting, and financial forecasting in the world can be derailed if an employee falls victim to fraud. Identity theft is often expensive — especially advanced forms like medical identity theft, which costs victims an average of $22,000.
Missed work is another common cost associated with identity theft. Restoring a stolen identity can take hundreds of hours. For an employee, that means lots of lost wages and time. For the employer, it can mean decreased productivity and increased absenteeism.
The good news is that a quality identity protection benefit can help protect an employee’s finances, and ultimately, the employer’s bottom line. In addition to credit monitoring and alerting, a quality identity protection benefit should include:
Financial transaction monitoring: Participants can link financial accounts and receive alerts if balances dip below a certain threshold or if a purchase exceeds a given amount.
Dark web monitoring: Participants can add important information, like their credit card numbers, and receive alerts if bots or human operatives detect their sensitive details on the dark web.
Generous reimbursement coverage: There can be many out-of-pocket costs associated with identity theft, and an identity protection benefit should reimburse victims for legal fees, missed work, and even unexpected child care costs.
Identity restoration services: If an employee falls victim to identity theft, they should have access to certified remediation experts who can help complete the most time-intensive elements of the recovery process and remain by the victim’s side until their identity has been fully restored.
Identity protection is a benefit employees actually want
The best part is that identity protection isn’t just a benefit employees need; it’s a benefit they actually want! People are becoming increasingly aware of the dangers of fraud. In fact, around one in four Americans have already experienced at least some form of identity theft.
Additionally, Gallup reports that hacking and identity theft now rank as two of America’s greatest worries. It’s no surprise that 71% of respondents said getting their personal data hacked was a frequent or occasional worry, compared to just 40% concerned about home burglaries (the highest non-cybercrime on the list).
If you want to offer your clients a holistic financial wellness package that truly helps protect their employees from the dangers of identity theft, we hope you consider Allstate Identity Protection.