Cost vs. value: how to evaluate an employee benefit
4 min
In this article, we’ll go over how identity theft can not only impact your employees’ finances, but their physical and mental wellness as well. We’ll also go over why an identity protection benefit is increasingly essential for protecting their wellness.
As an HR professional, one of your main objectives is to enhance the wellness of your employees—and there are several ways to accomplish that goal. Of all the paths to employee wellness, the benefits package your organization offers is one of the most effective ways to build a lasting and solid foundation of wellness.
Healthcare benefits, paid time off, retirement plans—all of these play a critical role in enhancing the lives of your employees. And to continue enhancing your employees’ wellness, offering a benefits package that addresses the constantly changing environment that we all live in can be very helpful.
While the financial impacts of identity theft are the most obvious, the impacts of identity theft can stretch far beyond financial fallout. They can affect almost every aspect of an employee’s life—their finances, their mental health, and even their physical health.
But there’s a way to protect your employees from these devastating effects—offering an identity protection benefit.
The financial impact of identity theft
Many of the financial burdens caused by identity theft are clear. Thieves can use a victim’s credit profile to rack up enormous debt, open new lines of credit, or gain access to their existing accounts. But this is just one aspect of the financial fallout that can occur as a result of identity theft.
First, identity theft victims could often miss a significant amount of work. While some cases can be resolved in a matter of days or weeks with the right support, it can take victims hundreds of hours to fully resolve a complex case.
That can translate into missed work or even a reduction in take-home pay. In fact, 15 percent of Identity Theft Resource Center victims reported lost time at work, and 17 percent reported losing an employment opportunity, compounding the effect of identity theft on their finances.
Second, identity theft victims are oftentimes denied access to critical financing. This can interfere with a victim’s ability to purchase a home, begin their education, purchase a car, or even receive the funds they need to pay for vital medical care.
And this isn’t an isolated scenario—over 50 percent of general consumers reported being turned down for credit or loans in 2025 due to the damage to their credit from identity theft, preventing them from receiving critical financial resources.
Third, combating identity theft can cost a small fortune. In addition to exorbitant court costs and attorney fees, many victims also incur medical records request fees, CPA fees, childcare fees, and more. Here are just some of the financial impacts identity theft victims experienced:
20 percent of Identity Theft Resource Center (ITRC) victims lost $100,000 or more, and more than 10 percent losing a million or more
42 percent of ITRC victims were unable to pay bills like electricity and rent
32 percent of general consumers reported going into debt because of identity theft
How identity theft impacts a victim’s health
Identity theft victims often have to jump through several hoops to resolve the incident—calling different agencies, filling out paperwork, filing police reports. The stress of dealing with the identity theft itself and the steps needed to resolve it can have significant impacts on a victim’s health. According to ITRC’s findings, the vast majority of identity theft victims suffered real physical effects that resulted from identity theft. ITRC victims reported suffering from the following physical issues:
65 percent suffered from sleep problems
49 percent of general consumers reported persistent aches, pains, headaches, or cramps
73 percent reported feeling stressed
The impact of identity theft on mental well-being
In addition to the physical and financial burdens identity theft victims must overcome, many victims see a significant impact on their mental health as well. The stress of the incident, which can include losing significant funds or spending thousands to resolve the issue, is just the beginning. The lingering feelings of being violated, not trusting others, and anxiety can seep into several aspects of a victim’s life and can long-lasting effects.
The ITRC has found that identity theft has several impacts on a victim’s mental health, including:
Feelings of vulnerability (73 percent)
Feeling depressed (59 percent)
Experiencing panic or anxiety attacks (39 percent)
Loss of interest in activities or hobbies (34 percent)
Delivering a benefit that delivers mental, physical, and financial protection
Employee wellness is support that empowers employees to live a healthier life—mentally, physically, financially. A benefit doesn’t necessarily have to impact them every day but protect them and insulate them from several types of risk and harm. Does your employee wellness program do that? If not, there may still be room to build. The good news is that implementing an identity protection benefit is as easy as ever.
A great place to start is by speaking with your broker about identity protection benefits designed specifically for employers. They’ll work with you to select a provider that’s right for your business.
For more information on how Allstate Identity Protection can help enhance your employees’ wellness, visit our Business Hub.