LegalShield Unveils New Identity Theft Plan Designed to Make Comprehensive Protection for the Entire Family More Affordable

DALLAS, April 16, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- To make comprehensive identity theft protection more affordable to today's financially strapped consumers, LegalShield has introduced Identity Theft Premium, a new program that will give families the comprehensive protection they need at a price they can afford.  LegalShield Identity Theft Premium essentially cuts in half the cost families must pay to receive comprehensive protection while also offering one of the industry's most robust identity theft restoration programs at no additional cost.

While most competitor plans cover only a single individual, LegalShield Identity Theft Premium covers members and their spouses and for only one dollar more each month, up to eight children under 18 also will receive identity theft protection.  LegalShield, the nation's largest provider of legal protection plans, developed its new identity theft offering based on needs expressed by consumers in a nationwide survey on what they truly want in identity theft protection. Consumers overwhelming said they want a plan with solid protection for the entire family that would not break the budget.

"We learned through our research that while most consumer want a comprehensive identity theft plan, they are not willing to pay any price for it," said LegalShield CEO Rip Mason.  "Our new approach gives them the protection they want and need at a cost the is manageable within the family budget.  Just as our legal plans open access to much-needed legal services, LegalShield Identity Theft Premium makes protecting your family from identity theft an affordable reality."

LegalShield Identity Theft Premium costs $24.95 per month, or $19.95 if purchased with a legal plan, to cover a member and spouse.  It includes:

• Single credit report and score provided by TransUnion when the member is activated.  Additional reports can be requested every 120 days
• Triple Bureau Continuous Monitoring – Monitoring and reporting from Experian, TransUnion and Equifax, online access to reports, alerts of credit activity such as new inquiries, new trade lines or derogatory events and new public record or address changes
• Web Watcher – Daily internet monitoring for use of social security number, credit/debit card numbers, emails, phone numbers, bank account and routing numbers, and medical identification numbers in hacker chat room, internet news groups and other internet sites where criminals trade stolen identities
• Public Persona – Monthly monitoring of names and addresses associated with social security numbers or address history associated with a member's name
• Lost Wallet Assistance – Help with things such as canceling and replacing lost credit cards and IDs and placing fraud alerts for lost or stolen wallets or purses
• Social Security Number Skip-Tracer – Social security number search through 34 million public records to detect public fraud
• Sex Offender Search – Search of sex offenders database to detect if a registered sex offender has used a member's address in the past
• Unlimited Identity Theft Consultation – Members have unlimited access to speak with experts on any matter relating to identity theft

LegalShield Identity Theft Premium comes with comprehensive restoration services provided by Kroll Advisory Solutions, a leading consulting company in identity theft restoration. By signing a limited power of attorney members are provided a dedicated licensed investigator who will help them to do such things as:

• Open a fraud case, including a tri-merged credit report
• Gather and complete all necessary paperwork, including police reports
• Investigate emergent and potentially complicated trails of fraudulent activity
• Determine if creditors extended credit due to misuse of identifying information
• Notify and work with collection agencies holding fraudulent accounts
• Contact creditors and collection agencies to dispute all fraudulent accounts
• Issue fraud alert packets to all appropriate parties such as creditors, credit bureaus, Social Security Administration, etc.
• Interact with affected financial institutions and credit card companies and prepare appropriate documents
• Examine both credit and non-credit components of fraud activity including searches of state and federal criminal databases, banking and postal records and certain "watch lists" known to the security industry
• Monitor identity status once restoration is complete and the case is closed, including examination of tri-merged credit report to ensure the member's identity has been restored to pre-theft status

A full list of restoration benefits can be viewed at www.legalshield.com/info/idtpremium.
For members who may be hesitant in executing a limited power of attorney, they still receive access to all of the information they need to undertake the restoration on their own or through other means.

LegalShield will continue to offer its basic identity theft product for $9.95-per-month. With this plan, member and spouse receive a single bureau credit report and score provided when their membership is activated. Additional reports can be requested every 120 days.  Member families also receive on-going single bureau monitoring plus the same comprehensive identity theft restoration services provided through the premium plan.

"For more than 40 years LegalShield has been helping consumers deal with serious issues that impact them on almost a daily basis," Mason said.  "Our new identity theft protection is just another part of our effort to empower consumers to protect themselves and their families, make smart decisions and live life with less worry."

About LegalShield

LegalShield is one of the nation's leading providers of legal safeguards for individuals, families and small businesses. LegalShield also offers one of the industry's most affordable identity theft plans. Members receive identity theft protection for the entire family for the cost most competitors charge to cover a single individual.  LegalShield legal plans cover more than 1.4 million families and 3.5 million lives across North America.  More than 34,000 companies offer the LegalShield plan to their employees as a voluntary benefit.  For as low as $17 per month, LegalShield members get access to attorneys who are experienced in the areas of law that most impact families and small businesses.  Unlike other legal plans or do-it-yourself websites, LegalShield has dedicated law firms in 49 states and four provinces in Canada that members can call for help without having to worry about high hourly rates.  The attorneys at these firms have an average of 19 years of experience in such areas as family matters, estate planning, financial and business issues, consumer protection, tax, real estate, benefits disputes and auto/driving issues.  In 2012 alone, LegalShield firms received more than 2.1 million calls from members.  For more information, visit www.legalshield.com or call 800-654-7757.

SOURCE LegalShield