Identity Theft Protection Plan Opens Doors for Group Benefits

I recently spoke with David Bruerd, CITRMS and Group Benefits

Specialist, regarding identity theft protection and was surprised by what he was accomplishing with the Identify Theft Awareness Group (ITAG). ITAG is an identity theft awareness group who facilitates employee workshops and provides solutions for employers to help prevent employees from having their identity stolen.

David is showing insurance agents how to incorporate this group benefit into a marketing plan. Although we haven't researched this topic with other agents yet, we know that David has been very successful for a number of years and has a good reputation amongst his peers. But before I get into details of his marketing and results...

Here's a little background information on identify theft that we dug up...

Effective June 1, 2005, a new provision in the Fair Access to Credit Transactions Act (FACTA) states that any employer whose action or inaction results in the loss of employee information can be fined by the federal or state government, and sued in civil court.

The penalties can add up, since an employee can recover actual damages sustained if their identity is stolen due to an employers inaction, or statutory damages up to $1,000. In addition, employees can bring class action lawsuits against employers for actual and punitive damages.

According to the Better Business Bureau, 9.3 million Americans were victims of identity theft in 2004. The fastest growing crime in the US for the past three years (according to the Federal Trade Commision, or FTC) was identity theft, and in 2004 crimes tallied over $52.6 billion in fraud or almost $200 for each man, woman and child in the U.S.

The Identity Theft Resource Center (ITRC) reported that out of pocket expenses related to identity theft have risen to $1,495, plus $16,000 in average lost wages.

The statitistics are rising significantly, year after year, and the outlook is that in five years, the majority of Americans will have been victimized by some type of identity theft.

"The ITRC found that the average victim loses about 600 work hours on average recovering from ID theft. This means they are taking time off work they don’t have, and employers can’t afford to lose them. I don’t know ANY employers that provide 15 weeks of ‘Paid Time Off’ for personal issues like ID Theft. That’s why once the employer see’s the well documented stats we get a 90% appointment rate and get in to meet with their staff." David Bruerd, CITRMS and Group Benefits Specialist

90% Appointment Ratio

According to David, he is getting a 90% appointment ratio with businesses that he is contacting after sending an information package on identify theft as an employee benefit. David Bruerd further states that he is getting up to a 90% response rate to this information package. Here is a basic synopsys of his marketing system.

Step 1- A four page letter and a one page cover letter, sent in a 9x12 envelope, is mailed to a list of businesses (contact person being either human resources, safety directors, or risk managers).

Step 2- 7 days later, he follows up with a phone call. His phone call consists of a simple script and within a few minutes he gets them to agree on an appointment where they'll discuss this unique employee benefit.

Step3- At the meeting, they discuss identify theft as an employee benefit, and how it will help the employer save money, increase retention, and spread goodwill amongst their employees. He closes with an agreement to conduct a 45-minute educational workshop for their employees.

Because of the surge in awareness of this identify theft problem, David states that businesses, associations and other groups are proactively seeking him out and calling him to schedule a speaking engagement and/or a workshop.

One of David's many new clients is Nike (they called him). You can use it as a door opener to many businesses you had no chance of getting into before. You can back-end it to your current list of clients. You can back-end your insurance and financial products to these new businesses. It's definitely something you should look into because businesses are highly motivated to add a unique employee benefit to their portfolio. Since identity theft is fast becoming a major problem for employers, you will have an advantage in your marketing efforts because now there is a solution.

Even if you currently offer a similar product, David's product has significant advantages and the commissions are higher. If you are interested in speaking with David about how you can use this product in your marketing to generate leads, fill out this form.

My Very Best To You,

Brian Maroevich
Author, Million Dollar Prospecting Letters

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