WREX follows up on a breach they exposed in January 2010:
An insurance company faces a fine and other stipulations for improperly throwing away people’s private insurance documents in Loves Park.MetLife has been ordered to provide credit fraud protection for everyone affected by the mistake and has to pay a $75,000 fine to the State of Illinois Director of Insurance.
Read more on WREX.
Back in March 2010, the Illinois Dept. of Insurance had stated that it wouldn’t be fining MetLife at that time. I had commented on their decision, as the records included a lot of sensitive information, including medical history. I am glad to see that the Dept. of Insurance has taken action to protect consumers, although I wonder why it took so long for them to require MetLife to order credit monitoring.
I’m not sure if this is the first case where a state Dept. of Insurance has fined an insurance company and ordered them to provide free credit monitoring. It may be, but even if it’s not, it’s a positive step in terms of sending a message about paper records and data protection.