Geico Insurance offers identity theft protection, so everyone (not just its policy holders) can rest assured they’re taking steps to shield their personal information every day. Through the help of their partner company, Europ Assistance they use anti-phishing and anti-keylogging tactics along with credit monitoring from all the major bureaus. It also scans the internet to ensure your information is safe from the wrong people and offers full-scale restoration services. Plans start for as low $7.99 a month making this an affordable solution for many.
We like Geico’s proactive approach when it comes to identity theft because key-logging and phishing practices are common. These sites get your information by fashioning themselves to look like a legitimate company, and then stealing your information by tracing your keystrokes or otherwise tricking you into signing up for a fake service. Sometimes the sites are incredibly well-designed and even the most savvy consumers can be fooled by false emails, bogus domain sites or phony log-in sites. Unless you’re prepared to constantly check and recheck every website you visit, this is definitely a wonderful way to feel more confident when you surf the web.
It also monitors the black market or Dark Web which is the online marketplace where your information might easily be sold to the highest bidder. It could be anything from an out-of-date credit card number to your social security information listed for criminals of the world to see. Geico looks for your name, numbers and demographic information so they can scrub your data off these harmful lists. Typically they do this through encryption, which turns your data and keystrokes into unhelpful characters and code.
They also provide emergency cash and travel protection and translation services if your wallet is stolen or lost abroad with total 24/7 support. You can access your credit information from all 3 bureaus at any time, and they offer medical identity protection so your hospital information is safe too. Their services are clearly explained, and provide sufficient detail so you understand what you’re buying. As mentioned above, this is a cost effective plan, and you can purchase a family option for $99 (2 adults and dependents) for an annual plan.
Geico is not offering this service directly, but rather going through Europ Assistance, and it’s difficult to find reviews of how effective their proactive techniques and promised customer services actually works in practice. It should be noted that while Geico offers more than most insurance companies in terms of saving your identity, they don’t offer an insurance policy or anti-virus software. It’s possible they feel their internal protection will save you from opening or happening into viruses at all, but that won’t do you any good if your computer is somehow infected despite their monitoring.
The emergency cash up to $500 offered does show that they’re willing to put their money where their mouth is during a difficult time, but most companies offer into the thousands and possibly up to a million for loss due to identity theft. While insurance policies do typically come with limits (e.g., getting a homeowners policy to cover the majority of the losses), it’s still nice to feel you have some recourse should your original claims be denied. Geico does not appear to offer any type of wage loss or stolen funds reimbursement.
There’s no denying that Geico does offer an impressive suite of services. Between its encryption methods and commitment to continuous service both at home and abroad, there’s a lot going for their plans in comparison to other companies. It’s also helpful to have restoration policies in place when you feel like you can’t handle all the accounts and information identity theft will compromise. However, despite all of its positive attributes, you’re not getting much in the way of a guarantee in terms of insurance if there is a problem. The $500 in emergency cash will not give you very far should you encounter a savvy thief. You’re also going through another company in order to receive the services, which can cause delays if there is a problem.
Geico has a whole host of services for a low monthly or annual price. Here’s how their prevention, detection and resolution process works to provide total protection.
All plans offer the same protection, but with different pricing depending on how you order and who you want on the plan.
The website seems to suggest that you can sign up online, however the buttons do not work on their Create Account and Payment Information sections. Our recommendation is to call the number for round-the-clock assistance to inquire about signing up.
Sign Up: 1-866-372-0634
General Support: 1-800-206-4065
Geico is one of the leading insurance companies, and they cover about 22 million automobiles. They have considerable financial and company stability, and they’ve received awards for their customer service. Geico has shown their ability to scale a variety of services to accommodate millions of people’s requests and needs, and do it all with significant cost savings across the board.