Nationwide Insurance Phone Number for Recent Security Breach: How safe is your personal information with your auto or home insurance company?

Earlier this month, Nationwide Insurance had a database compromised, which resulted in the theft of confidential information for one million policyholders and non-policyholders. You may not be insured with Nationwide, but if you gave information to Nationwide for an insurance quote in the past, you may have been affected. If you think Nationwide might have your personal data, you can call this phone number, 1-800-760-1125, to see if your personal information was stolen. The information taken includes names, social security numbers, and other information, but no credit card information was supposedly accessed. Nationwide is notifying the people affected by this data breach, and offering free credit report checks and identity theft coverage. You can find out more about the Nationwide Insurance security breach, and links to articles regarding how several state insurance commissioners have reacted to it, by clicking the link to my Facebook page in this paragraph.

Computer hacking and theft of customer information from large companies is often in the news these days. This may be an even greater concern for customers of insurance companies, because unlike a retailer like Barnes & Noble, insurance companies are usually in possession of their customer’s social security numbers. This blog post will give you some tips on how to minimize your risk while shopping for insurance, and warning signs showing your insurance company or agent is putting you at greater risk of having your personal information stolen.

The first thing you should know is everyone is at risk of having their personal information stolen. There is no way to completely eliminate the risk. You may have no credit cards, no bank accounts, and pay for everything in cash, but if you have a social security number, it’s in a government database. If you have a driver’s license, it’s in your state’s DMV database. These databases can be compromised. You may be insured with the same auto & home insurance companies for the last 30 years, before collecting social security numbers and using credit scoring was adopted as a normal practice, but your personal information is still at risk in your insurance company’s database.

One of the worst things you can do is think you are not at risk. Everyone should monitor their credit reports for unusual activity once a year. You can get a free report from each of the three major credit reporting agencies each year, by visiting the annualcreditreport.com website.

Insurance companies take securing your private information very seriously, but there will always be the possibility your information will be stolen. However, you can minimize your risk.

As I have said many times before, you really can save hundreds of dollars a year by getting price quotes from all the major auto & home insurance companies. I never pass on the opportunity to get a price quote from a company never quoting me before, and I have sometimes found much lower rates with good companies because of it.

However, if you are concerned with identity theft, do you want your information in 5 insurance company databases, or 30 company databases? More companies having your information creates more opportunities for it to be stolen. For example, if you have never received a Nationwide auto or home insurance quote, their recent security breach would not be a concern for you.

Yet in my opinion, shopping your insurance with many companies does not put you significantly more at risk of identity theft, and it does not deter me from trying to find the best coverage at the best price.

Look at it this way — every time you mail a check, or use your credit or debit card, you are putting yourself at risk. The most common types of identity theft are still check fraud or someone, like a waiter, stealing your credit card number while in temporary possession of your card.

Few people decide to reduce the number of times they use their credit/debit card, or write & mail a check, out of fear of identity theft. Are you less safe if you mail 10 checks at the post office, or mail only one check by leaving it for your mailman — or anyone else — to pick up at your mail box? As with checks or credit/debit cards, I think it makes more sense to focus on getting insurance quotes safely, than to restrict the number of companies quoting you, and limit your options.

By shopping your insurance each year with all the leading companies, you not only make sure you pay a reasonable rate, you can make sure you are not missing important coverage your present company is not providing you. It does not make sense to me to feel you are stuck with your current insurance company out of fear of more than one company having your personal information.

How to shop for auto & home insurance while limiting the use of your personal information

If you don’t mind now how much you pay for insurance, and you care more about having as few companies as possible with your personal information, than you care about saving money, use the auto & home insurance reviews on my website to research insurance companies each year.

Visit the websites of the companies interesting you, and contact the companies, or the local agents representing them, to review your coverage. Tell them you are not looking for a quote, but you want an opinion on your coverage. You can get your coverage reviewed without providing your specific personal information. If the agent or company feels confident they can improve your coverage or save you money, you may want to get a quote from them. Insurance companies and agents are trying to make a sale, so some will push you for a quote, but a good agent will understand your concern about your personal information, and will be glad you are interested more about having the right coverage than shopping only on price.

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What’s the best way to get auto & home insurance quotes and keep your personal information safe?

If you are like most people, and you want to save money on your auto & home insurance coverage, you think it is worth it to provide your personal information to get price quotes. What’s the safest way to provide your personal information?

I prefer to get auto & renters insurance quotes directly from company websites. Home, mobile home, rental property. or condo insurance quotes are best to get talking directly to the company or agent.

When getting quotes online, if there is a security issue, it is more likely to come from your computer, than the insurance company’s online system. Keep youe computer updated with the latest virus protection, and if you think your PC has spyware or malware, do not use it for providing personal information.

Here are a few tips:

1. Always look for “https” in the Web address on the company website, before providing personal information. Contact the company first, to discuss any concerns you have with the security of your personal information, if it is not disclosed in the privacy & security policy on the site.

2. Only request quotes from company websites, such as State Farm, Progressive, Travelers, 21st Century, etc. There are many sites collecting your information to sell to different insurance companies to contact you with quotes. These sites often sell your information over and over again, sometimes to other companies re-selling to any company wanting to buy it. When you use these sites, you can never be sure of what organizations will end up with your information, and it is an unnecessary risk for the supposed convenience of getting insurance quotes from multiple companies. Other sites may be owned by independent insurance agencies, and their security measures or security policies may not be adequate. There are good insurance agencies making the protection of your information a priority, but I think it is best to stick to company websites when getting quotes online.

3. Never provide sensitive information, like a driver’s license number or social security numbers, by e-mail. E-mail is not secure or encrypted, and can be intercepted, before the e-mail makes it to an insurance company’s secure system.

4. Before getting a quote over the phone with an agent or an insurance company, ask how they keep your information secure. If you call an insurance company, most likely they will enter your information directly into their computer system. However, many agencies write down your information and say they will call you back with a quote. You want to make sure the agency shreds your information, after they have entered it into their computer system.

5. Pay your potential agent an office visit. Look around the office. Do they have paper files? Is the file cabinet locked? Do the files contain full driver’s license numbers, social security numbers, and banking information, like a voided check for bank deductions? Ask the agency employees how this information is secured. Ideally, you want to work with a paperless office that shreds all hard copies, or has hard copies showing only partial social security numbers, drivers license numbers, bank information, or credit card information.

It’s not unusual for agencies quoting you to keep your information, and follow up with you 6 months or a year later, to see if you want a quote again. Make sure any paperwork they keep about you does not have your social security number or drivers license. Ask any company or agent to shred your personal information once you have received a quote.

Some insurance companies have more security safeguards than other companies, to protect your account or policy information. You can read this article about companies receiving high grades for online security.

How well does your auto or home insurance company protect your personal information? Tell me about it. Please leave a comment on my facebook page. Follow me on Twitter for important insurance consumer news and new blog entries at CarInsWatch.