Identity protection becoming hot benefit

Employers rush to add theft shield to perks menu after Equifax.

More employees are likely to see a timely new offering when they choose their benefits in a month or so — identity-theft protection.

About 35 percent of companies offered it in 2015, global advisory firm Willis Towers Watson has reported, and 70 percent have said it could be on their benefits menu by 2018.

The huge data breach at Equifax is accelerating that timetable. Interest in adding the service as part of a voluntary benefits plan already was on the rise over the past few years, courtesy of the massive Anthem data breach in 2015, among others. But that’s nothing compared with this latest credit bureau disaster.

“Over the last two weeks or so ... oh my word,” said Amy Hollis, national leader-voluntary benefits at Willis Towers Watson. “The entire paradigm of how employers are viewing identity theft has just shifted.”

Now, some employers that planned to offer it next year are trying to shift it to this year, she said, making it one of the fastest-growing plan options. This development will be a boon to identity-theft protection companies such as InfoArmor, ID Watchdog, LifeLock and CyberScout.

“I see the fever pitch at which these programs are being adopted in benefits plans, and it’s only becoming more fevered since the Equifax breach,” said Adam Levin, chairman and founder of Cyber-