Five-hundred thousand safe and secure
Nationwide’s ID Theft Assist program exceeds half million-policyholder mark
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 5, 2007
Contacts:
Liz Christopher 614-249-7705
Columbus, OH– According to a Federal Trade Commission, identity theft victimizes nine million Americans each year. While some identity theft victims can resolve their problems quickly, others spend hundreds of dollars and many days repairing damage to their name and credit record.
To combat the fastest growing crime in the United States, Nationwide joined forces with Europ Assistance-USA (EA) in 2005 to provide consumers with an optional rider to their insurance policy that helps them recover quickly and easily from potential threats to their identity. More than 500,000 Nationwide policyholders have opted for the voluntary policy to secure their financial futures.
“These statistics reinforce the significance of identity theft in today’s society,” said Deidre Abbitt, Property Product Consultant at Nationwide. “Consumers are looking for guidance and support when they have to recover from identity theft.”
ID Theft AssistSM is a premium, all-inclusive solution providing comprehensive aid to victims of identity theft and the organizations that support them. This program greatly reduces the number of hours spent restoring the credit histories of victims. With real-time access to credit records, EA's Identity Theft Assistance Specialists take rapid steps both to remove fraudulent activity and avert any further damage.
“We recognize the stress, frustrations and time that go into resolving identity breaches,” said Jessica Ashley, Marketing Director at Europ Assistance-USA. “We do the leg work for customers to provide them peace of mind and a resolution.”
ID Theft Assist takes the burden from the customer by having an EA representative contact the necessary parties, such as banks and credit institutions, completing legal paperwork and making the appropriate phone calls to amend the identity theft.
The ID Theft Assist product allows Nationwide customers to enroll for credit monitoring. One member per household receives this feature for free and other household members can receive this valuable service at a discounted price of $3.99 a month.
The product also offers customers a feature that allows them to lock and unlock their credit report through the credit monitoring service. In the event of ID theft, an EA expert will automatically lock customers’ credit to block prying eyes.
“Our customers can rest assured knowing they’re covered financially if their identity is compromised, and that experts will handle the task of restoring their identities,” said Abbitt. “They won't be left alone.”
For $45 per year, current policyholders can add the ID Theft Assist coverage to their policies. In some states, consumers without a Nationwide policy can purchase a stand-alone policy for $99.
Europ Assistance USA (formerly known as Worldwide Assistance), headquartered in Washington, DC, is a part of the multinational Europ Assistance Group and its network of 71 companies, 5,000 employees and more than 850,000 service providers offering assistance services in 208 countries and territories around the globe. Services include identity theft resolution, data breach response services, emergency medical transportation, case monitoring, and claims management. Twenty-four hours a day at 34 assistance centers worldwide, multilingual assistance coordinators answer more than two calls per second and handle one assistance case every two seconds. Visit www.europassistance-usa.com. Nationwide, based in Columbus, Ohio, is one of the largest diversified insurance and financial services organizations in the world, with more than $160 billion in assets. Nationwide ranks #104 on the Fortune 500 list. The company provides a full range of insurance and financial services, including auto, motorcycle, boat, homeowners, life, farm, commercial insurance, administrative services, annuities, mortgages, mutual funds, pensions, long-term savings plans and health and productivity services. For more information, visit www.nationwide.com.
Nationwide, the Nationwide Framemark and On Your Side are federally registered service marks of Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company.
ID Theft Assist is a federally registered service mark of Worldwide Benefit Services, LLC.
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