First Floridian Auto & Home Offers Identity Theft Coverage
First Floridian Auto and Home Insurance Company of Tampa now offers Identity Fraud Expense Coverage in Florida. According to the company First Floridian homeowners and tenants policyholders can be covered for expenses related to clearing their name and financial records after an identity theft incident for additional $25/year.
The coverage offers consumers insurance protection for the cost of clearing their name and correcting their financial records if they are the victims of the growing crime of identity fraud. In cases of identity fraud, criminals steal the identities of innocent consumers—by theft of Social Security numbers and other forms of personal identification – to use the victim’s good credit to fraudulently obtain money and property.
Nancy Baily, president and CEO of First Floridian said, “We recognize that identity fraud is a crime that victimizes more and more American consumers every day. So we want to offer our customers protection for the expenses they could incur if affected by this crime.”
The Federal Trade Commission has noted that victims of identity theft frequently suffer indirect monetary harm such as phone bills, lost wages and legal fees – all of which are covered expenses under First Floridian Identity Fraud Expense Coverage.
The new coverage, pioneered by Travelers in 1999, can be added to a First Floridian homeowners, tenants or condo policy for an additional premium of $25 per year. It reimburses policyholders for up to $15,000 in expenses they may incur as a result of becoming a victim of identity fraud. Expenses covered include legal expenses, loan re-application fees, telephone and certified mailing charges, notary expenses and lost wages for time taken from work to deal with the fraud.