ID Theft Assist to Become Part of M Financial Group’s Product Portfolio

BOONTON, N.J., Aug. 12 /PRNewswire/ — Worldwide Benefit Services, LLC (WBS) is pleased to announce that ID Theft Assist (ITA), its industry-leading identity recovery and restoration product, has been added to M Financial Group’s corporate benefits product portfolio. Through this new relationship, M Financial’s 125 Member Firms have preferred access to ITA, strengthening the breadth of their solutions and enhancing the value they deliver to clients.

Launched in January 2004, ITA, together with its operational partners, provides peace of mind for more than 15 million individuals across the country. ITA was recently one of only two ID theft services products to gain positive reviews from the Consumer Federation of America. ITA’s 24/7 emergency assistance center is headquartered in the offices of Europ Assist USA in Bethesda, MD. Europ Assist USA began operations in the United States in 1982 and has been open every day since.

R. David Watros, M Financial’s Vice President, M Corporate Benefits, said: “M Financial Group continually searches for product solutions that meet client needs and enhance the competitiveness of our Member Firms. ID Theft Assist – a relevant, value-added service that benefits both employers and employees – achieves both of these objectives and represents another excellent addition to the M Corporate Benefits product portfolio. We look forward to working with the WBS team and realizing the potential of this relationship.”

Nearly 10 million Americans were victims of identity theft last year, a 22 percent jump from 2007, according to Javelin Strategy & Research, a financial services company that attributes the increase, in part, to the struggling economy. The addition of the ITA program represents an opportunity for M Member Firms to provide peace of mind to the individual and corporate clients they serve, while helping employers improve productivity that is often lost when an employee is the victim of identity theft.

“Studies show that an ID theft can account for 60-100 hours of recovery work for an individual. That’s time away from the office, or in many cases, an employee doing the recovery work on company time from his or her desk,” said Steve Harris, a principal with WBS. “With the continued rise of identity theft, it makes perfect sense for an employer to have this type of benefit in place to protect both the employee and the company.”

In addition to servicing financial ID recovery, ITA has protocols and experienced professionals in place to assist victims of medical, criminal, and employment ID theft.

About M Financial Group:

With 125 Member Firms in 36 states, M Financial Group is one of the nation’s leading financial services design and distribution companies. Since 1978, M Financial’s network of independent insurance, investment, and executive benefit firms has served the needs of ultra-affluent individuals, corporate executives, successful entrepreneurs, and Fortune 1000 companies. For more information about M Financial Group, please visit http://www.mfin.com.

About Worldwide Benefit Services:

Worldwide Benefit Services, LLC (WBS) was established in 1999 by three experienced insurance executives as a company that specializes in creating and wholesaling non-insurance service products. After building the company by placing travel assistance programs with insurance carriers, in 2004, WBS created ID Theft Assist, a comprehensive restoration service for identity theft victims. Working both directly and with contracted WBS agents, WBS has gathered the compelling interest and the business in a variety of markets. For more information on WBS’s portfolio of service-based plans, please visit http://www.worldwidebenefitservices.com.

    Contact:

    Chris Ward
    Worldwide Benefit Services, LLC
    973-316-1355
    cward@worldwidebenefitservices.com

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SOURCE Worldwide Benefit Services, LLC