Would you like to know the difference between Allstate identity theft protection vs. Lifelock? With so much information being shared and stored online, identity theft protection must be emphasized.
Two leading companies in this sector include Allstate Identity Theft Protection and LifeLock. Both provide reliable services to guard one’s identity, yet they are equipped with different functions, advantages, and tariffs.
At the end of this article, you will have all the information required to make the right decision between the two services.
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Now, let’s get started.
What Is Allstate Identity Theft Protection?
Allstate Identity Theft Protection is known as Allstate Identity Protection, which used to be InfoArmor and belongs to Allstate insurance company.
This service is devoted to ID theft protection and resolution and offers an array of identity protection services emphasizing timely problem identification.
What Is LifeLock?
LifeLock is among the most popular brands associated with identity theft protection and is now part of Norton LifeLock.
LifeLock provides its customers with different tiers of identity protection services, including Norton products and solutions like antivirus and VPN.
Key Features Of Allstate Identity Theft Protection
Comprehensive Monitoring
Allstate closely tracks sensitive information types, including bank account numbers, Social Security numbers, credit cards, and many others.
It also searches the dark web for instances where your data is traded or marketed.
Financial Transaction Monitoring
Another point to note about Allstate is the financial transaction watch, which monitors your transactions and notifies you when it detects something fishy, thus protecting you against fraud.
Identity Restoration
Allstate’s identity restoration services are quite comprehensive. Once your identity has been stolen, their specialists help fix problems and regain your stolen identity for you.
This entails handling communication with creditors and other related parties.
Insurance Coverage
The Identity Theft Protection option offered by Allstate comes with a $1,000,000 insurance policy to cater for costs that may arise from identity theft.
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Key Features Of LifeLock
Identity and Credit Monitoring
It scans for any suspicious activity involving your information. This encompasses checking the credit reports of the major credit bureaus, tracking your social security number, and scanning the deep web for your data.
Cybersecurity Tools
Besides identity monitoring, LifeLock provides various cyber security features that are included in its premium plans. These are Norton Antivirus, a secure VPN, and a password manager that protects your digital life.
Identity Restoration
LifeLock offers very comprehensive identity restoration services. When your identity is compromised, their restoration specialists help you address these problems and coordinate with the credit reporting agencies.
Million Dollar Protection Package
LifeLock has incorporated the Million Dollar Protection Package in its plans, offering lawyers and experts, personal expense compensation, and stolen funds reimbursement of up to the amounts stated under each plan.
Pricing Comparison
Allstate Identity Theft Protection
Allstate offers several tiers of service:
Essentials Plan: Approximately $9.99 monthly, including surveillance and notifications.
Premier Plan: Around $19.99 monthly, with additional services such as financial transactions and social media monitoring.
LifeLock
LifeLock offers multiple plans with varying levels of protection:
Standard Plan: About $9.99 monthly covers only identity theft and credit monitoring.
Advantage Plan: Approximately $19.99 monthly adds more comprehensive Monitoring and alert features to the system.
Ultimate Plus Plan: It costs roughly $29.99 monthly and offers complete identity and credit monitoring plus Norton protection services.
Pros And Cons Of Allstate Identity Theft Protection
Pros
Comprehensive Monitoring: This also encompasses financial transaction tracking, which most ID theft protection firms do not usually offer.
Robust Identity Restoration: Adequate assistance in addressing identity theft-related concerns.
Insurance Coverage: Includes $1 million of identity theft insurance.
Cons
No Cybersecurity Tools: It does not have extra security and protection services such as an antivirus or a Virtual Private Network (VPN).
Higher Cost for Premier Services: The detailed plans are expensive compared to those mentioned above.
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Pros And Cons of LifeLock
Pros
Cybersecurity Tools: VPN, Nortons’s Antivirus, and other cybersecurity features are some pros users enjoy.
Comprehensive Monitoring: the identity and credit monitoring service they provide is quite extensive
Insurance Coverage: they provide their customers with a million-dollar protection package.
Cons
Higher Cost: As much as their service is beneficial, it comes at a high cost.
Data Breach History: In the past, it has been recorded that LifeLock has had data breach cases. As much as they would want to calm their users, there are still concerns over their data security.
Which Service Is Right For You?
The needs and budget must be considered when choosing which service to get between Allstate Identity Theft Protection and LifeLock.
Choose Allstate If You desire full coverage of financial transactions and efficient identity recovery without requiring other security solutions.
Choose LifeLock If You require a comprehensive bundle with identity theft and other features like antivirus and VPN protection.
Is There Anything Better Than LifeLock?
LifeLock is a reputable name in the identity theft protection industry, and it offers its users comprehensive protection and cybersecurity features.
However, some alternatives offer users comparable or superior services, depending on your needs. We have curated several competitors that can stand shoulder-to-shoulder with LifeLock and provide the same or better services. Here they are:
IdentityForce
Two common compliments given to IdentityForce are that it does a great job at Monitoring and is very customer-friendly.
It guides against all types of identity theft and provides enhanced Monitoring of your personal information, credit reports, and the dark web.
Another feature of IdentityForce is its comprehensive alerts and recovery services that emphasize customer assistance, making it a fine LifeLock competitor.
Identity Guard
Identity Guard uses IBM Watson, an artificial intelligence, to offer preventive identification theft services.
The use of AI, in this case, enhances the capacity of Monitoring and the time taken to alert people about specific threats.
Identity Guard comes with other plans depending on the price range and customer’s needs, and it has a plan that protects children’s identity, which is an added advantage compared to LifeLock.
Allstate Identity Protection
While LifeLock does not offer financial transaction Monitoring at all levels, Allstate Identity Protection, formerly InfoArmor, provides coverage in monitoring services.
Its ability to detect and resolve identity theft issues early and offer $1 million in identity theft insurance makes Allstate a fierce competitor.
PrivacyGuard
Additional services include:
- Identity and credit Monitoring.
- Monthly credit score tracking.
- Detailed credit reports for the members of PrivacyGuard.
They offer three different price levels, which enables users to choose one that would provide the desired level of protection; this may seem more advantageous than LifeLock.
Although LifeLock is still a well-known identity theft protection service, IdentityForce, Identity Guard, Allstate Identity Protection, and PrivacyGuard provide potentially more suitable features for your needs.
Every service offers exclusive benefits, like more advanced Monitoring using Artificial Intelligence, enhanced customer support, or detailed financial Monitoring.
It is reasonable to assess your personal needs and compare the options offered by these services to determine if there is anything better than LifeLock.
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What Is The Difference Between LifeLock And Identity Guard?
LifeLock and Identity Guard are reputable identity theft protection solutions providers with unique features and advantages.
- Monitoring And Detection
LifeLock also monitors personal information in other databases like credit reports, black markets, and public records.
It also provides protection software such as Norton antivirus and a Norton secure VPN, which allows for a holistic security approach.
Identity Guard does this; however, it incorporates IBM Watson artificial intelligence into the monitoring process.
They facilitate real-time information analysis, reducing the time required to identify potential threats.
Identity Guard, however, keeps track of similar information but is focused on utilizing cutting-edge technology to pinpoint threats more accurately.
- Alerts and Notifications
Both services provide timely alerts and notifications. Alerts involve credit reports that show suspicious activity on your account and any changes in your Social Security number.
Identify Guard also has an instant alert feature, but with the AI feature, it can give more precise alerts and respond faster responses to any identity theft.
- Restoration Services
LifeLock and Identity Guard help restore identity if one’s identity has been stolen.
For identification theft, LifeLock provides each client with a restoration specialist to guide you through regaining your identity, tackling paperwork, and interacting with your creditors.
Identity Guard also offers similar restoration services with the help of a dedicated team to help resolve any problems and to help reclaim your identity.
- Pricing
The LifeLock service plans start from the most fundamental level, offering simple identity tracking, and continue with cybersecurity suites, which come at around $9.99 per month.
Identity Guard has different plans available, and the basic plan costs around $8.99 per month for households; they offer family plans, which are cheaper than buying separate plans for individuals who need coverage.
LifeLock incorporates cybersecurity, while Identity Guard uses artificial intelligence to identify threats that might be accurate.
Your choice may be based on your preference on whether to use AI monitoring or the incorporation of cybersecurity appliances.
What Is The Downside Of LifeLock?
Over the years, LifeLock has received much attention for providing its users with an added security measure by protecting their identity information and notifying them of security threats.
However, as can be observed, LifeLock has several advantages, but there are several conspicuous disadvantages of this service that consumers ought to consider before they sign up.
First, LifeLock’s effectiveness has been questioned due to the need for more extensive monitoring services. It can observe credit reports and some types of personal information.
However, it does not guard against all sorts of identity theft, including tax fraud, social security fraud, or medical identity theft.
This limitation implies that the users might still be at risk of various identity-related crimes.
Secondly, the cost of utilizing LifeLock’s services can be discouraging. The service is costly compared to the other identity theft protection services offered in the market.
Some consumers may be unwilling to pay the high monthly fees given the small amount of protection they offer.
Furthermore, there are free options, including filing fraud alerts or freezing one’s credit with the three major bureaus, which provide similar levels of protection but at no recurring cost.
The other major drawback is the legal problems that LifeLock has faced. The company has been involved in several legal battles and fines over false advertising and lack of sufficient user data security.
For instance, in 2015, LifeLock entered into a settlement with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) whereby they were to pay $100 million since they did not protect consumer data as they had vowed to do so, thus damaging the company’s credibility.
Lastly, the customers have complained of poor customer service from LifeLock, and the company takes a long time to address these complaints.
Users have raised several issues, most of which are mainly problems in reaching support and inadequate help once they finally get an agent, particularly when trying to address potential identity theft scenarios.
Although LifeLock provides an element of identity security, its restrictions, expensive membership fees, legal issues, and poor customer care demonstrate drawbacks that users should consider when making their decisions.
Can You Fully Recover From Identity Theft?
The process of regaining one’s identity after identity theft may take a lot of time and a lot of work, but it is not impossible.
The first important measure is to immediately alert all relevant authorities, including the FTC and the police.
Subsequently, it is essential to report the matter to the banks; bank accounts should be frozen, fraudulent transactions should be disputed, and credit reports should be checked for suspicious activities.
Economic rehabilitation means correcting credit histories with credit bureaus and ensuring all accounts affected by fraud are closed.
Although the financial aspects can be fixed, the emotional consequences and healing time may be severe.
However, it is worth mentioning that most victims can rebuild their credit and manage their data again.
One can fully bounce back from identity theft consequences by following the provided steps, having institutions’ support, and enforcing protective measures.
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Final Thought
Now that we have established the difference between Allstate identity theft protection vs. Lifelock. Despite their differences, Allstate Identity Theft Protection and LifeLock are good identity theft protection companies.
Allstate offers automated financial transaction monitoring and precise identity theft recovery services, while LifeLock provides a more advanced service in addition to these crucial functions.
It is necessary to compare all the services intended to protect your identity and choose the one that fully suits your requirements, budget, and personal preferences.