PHILADELPHIA, June 27, 2007 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Identity theft is
the fastest growing crime in America today, affecting nearly 9 million
people each year.(1) It can have a profound effect on an individual's
finances and sense of security. Restoring the good credit that a person has
worked hard to build can be a daunting task that consumes a significant
amount of personal and workplace time.
That's why CIGNA Group Insurance has launched its new identity theft
program. The program helps prevent this crime and provides valuable tools
and resources for covered employees who fall victim to it. The program even
includes help for people when they are far from home.
"Beyond its impact to a person's personal and financial situation,
identity theft can also have a significant impact on workplace
productivity," said Jim Jacobsen, vice president for product development
and management, CIGNA Group Insurance. "That's why employers should have a
strategy for helping their employees prevent the situation and quickly
control the damage if it occurs."
Statistics show that, on average, each victim of identity theft will
spend 175 hours(2) tracking the crime and more than 23 months correcting
credit reports to restore their financial standing. Much of that time is
spent at the workplace, costing businesses through lost productivity. In
fact, American citizens and businesses spend more than 300 million hours
each year resolving identity theft-related issues(3). Identity theft has
been the number one complaint to the Federal Trade Commission over the past
seven years, accounting for 36 percent of complaints in 2006.(4)
People's identities are stolen in a number of ways. It may be from an
unprotected computer, unshredded documents, thieves invading a mailbox, or
phishing -- when thieves try to trick people into revealing personal
information by imitating emails from legitimate institutions.
CIGNA's program can help prevent and detect identity theft, and, if it
occurs, provide one-on-one assistance with the time-consuming
administrative tasks involved in the recovery work. Employees have access
to services 24 hours a day, 365 days a year -- in every country in the
world. Under this program, identity theft victims get unlimited access to
personal case managers, who assist them with every step of the process of
recovering their identity and repairing the damage.
Program services include contacting credit card companies to cancel
fraudulent accounts, helping complete documentation, assisting with
replacement of lost or stolen documents, and much more. The program can
even cover employees while they are traveling. If an employee is more than
100 miles from home, on business or personal time, he or she can get a
$1,000 cash advance, translation services for working with foreign
authorities, assistance in making travel arrangements, and help in relaying
messages to family and friends.
The identity theft program is available to employer customers who
purchase one of CIGNA's accident plans. Employees and their family members
listed on the accident policy have access to the program.
For more information about CIGNA's identity theft program, visit
http://www.cigna.com/idtheft
About CIGNA Group Insurance
CIGNA Group Insurance is the second leading provider of group accident
insurance, including voluntary accident and business travel accident, with
more than 90 years of experience in writing accident policies. CIGNA Group
Insurance provides group disability, life and accident coverage in the U.S.
and is one of the top five providers of disability management and insurance
with solutions that focus on helping employees return to a productive work
life as quickly and safely as possible.
"CIGNA" and "CIGNA Group Insurance" are registered service marks and
refer to various operating subsidiaries of CIGNA Corporation including Life
Insurance Company of North America, CIGNA Life Insurance Company of New
York, and Connecticut General Life Insurance Company. Products and services
are provided by these operating subsidiaries and other contracted
companies, not by CIGNA Corporation.
1 Javelin Strategy and Research, January 2006
2 Privacy Rights Clearinghouse and the California Public Interest Research
Group, 2005
3 Privacy Rights Clearinghouse and the California Public Interest Research
Group, 2005
4 http://www.ftc.gov
SOURCE CIGNA Group Insurance
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Related links:
http://www.cigna.com
http://www.cigna.com/idtheft
http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/165050.html /
CONTACT:
Judy Hartling of CIGNA Group Insurance,
+1-860-226-6272, judy.hartling@cigna.com
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