Anthem Data Breach Class Action Settlement
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Anthem Inc. and other health benefit companies have agreed to pay $115 million to settle a class action lawsuit stemming from a data breach announced by Anthem in February 2015.Anthem will also establish a $115 million fund to provide payment for out-of-pocket losses Class Members suffered or credit monitoring services to protect Class Members from future harm.
You are a Class Member of the Anthem data breach settlement if you received a notice from Anthem about the data breach that was announced in February 2015, or your personal information was taken during the Anthem data breach and is included on Anthem’s Member Impact Database.
Up to $10,000 in out-of-pocket losses or up to $36 for Class Members who already have a credit monitoring service they plan to keep for at least one year.
The Anthem data breach class action settlement provides the following benefits to eligible Class Members:
- Free credit monitoring services (or up to $36 cash for Class Members who use a different credit monitoring service for at least a year)
- Free fraud resolution services
- Cash reimbursement for out-of-pocket expenses (up to $10,000)
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Does anyone know if,
AFTER receiving this postcard about the Anthem settlement,
you can then go and sign up for a credit monitoring service that you plan to keep for at least one year
(I have a plethora of those offers to choose from, most recently the Equifax offer),
and THEN put in a claim for the $36 in cash?
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@oppidum said in Anthem Data Breach Class Action Settlement:
Does anyone know if,
AFTER receiving this postcard about the Anthem settlement,
you can then go and sign up for a credit monitoring service that you plan to keep for at least one year
(I have a plethora of those offers to choose from, most recently the Equifax offer),
and THEN put in a claim for the $36 in cash?Free credit monitoring services (or up to $36 cash for Class Members who use a different credit monitoring service for at least a year)
The “or” indicates that you can use the free monitoring they provide or reimbursement for obtaining your own monitoring (up to $36). I could be wrong, but I doubt that they’ll pay you twice for the same thing since they have to pay for your “free” monitoring.
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@Oppidum To confirm that it is one or the other:
“What would you like to do? File a claim for credit monitoring services or alternative compensation”
"Claim Details
In order to obtain Credit Monitoring Services or Alternative Compensation from the Settlement, you must select ONE of the options below and submit this Claim Form on or before January 29, 2018.
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Option 1 (Credit Monitoring Services): I wish to receive Credit Monitoring Services.
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Option 2 (Alternative Compensation): I wish to receive alternative compensation up to the amount of $36.
Alternative Compensation claims are subject to verification and potential submission of documentation."
If you choose the alternative $36 compensation, you have to provide the following info:
- I have some form of credit monitoring or identity protection as of today;
- I signed up for credit monitoring or identity protection on this date: xx/xx/xxxx;
- The name of my credit monitoring or identity protection company is: _________; and
- I will keep my credit monitoring or identity protection services active until at least: xx/xx/xxxx
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My 10-yo daughter got the postcard… The credit monitoring is only 1 year, right? I hope her credit will be OK by the time she’s into college
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@tafandi said in Anthem Data Breach Class Action Settlement:
My 10-yo daughter got the postcard… The credit monitoring is only 1 year, right? I hope her credit will be OK by the time she’s into college
According to the FAQs, it’s “at least 2 years” of monitoring, but the laws holding these companies accountable need to be changed ASAP to provide lifetime coverage, IMHO. I don’t see how anyone could hold a child that young accountable, but then they may decide to go after said child’s legal guardian(s). See… there’s always a bright side to everything!
.From Question 11:
“Settlement Class Members are encouraged to submit a claim to receive at least two years of future Credit Monitoring Services. If you already have credit monitoring services, you may still sign up for this additional protection.”
"Credit Monitoring Services will be provided for an initial period of two years. Credit Monitoring Services may be automatically extended to Settlement Class Members for a period longer than two years if there are sufficient funds left in the Settlement Fund. More detail about how Credit Monitoring Services could be extended longer than two years is available in Question 19.
Credit Monitoring Services are being provided by Experian. The features
of these Credit Monitoring Services include: … Identity Monitoring of minors under the age of 18 (through their parents or legal guardian), including Social Security number trace, internet surveillance, identity restoration, and identity theft insurance"From Question 15:
“The deadline to file a Credit Monitoring Services or Alternative Compensation Claim is January 29, 2018 (this is the last day to file online and postmark deadline for mailed claims).”
“You may choose either Credit Monitoring Services or Alternative Compensation, not both.”
From Question 19:
"If some of the money from this Settlement is not claimed…
None of the money in the $115 million Settlement Fund will be paid back to Defendants if the Settlement becomes final. The Settlement Fund will be used to pay for Credit Monitoring Services, Fraud Resolution Services, Alternative Compensation payments, Out-Of-Pocket Costs payments, Settlement administration costs, Class Counsel’s fees and expenses, and Service Payments to the Settlement Class Representatives.
Any money left in the Settlement Fund after these expenditures will be used to extend the time period for the Credit Monitoring Services claims, i.e. credit monitoring beyond the initial, guaranteed two years, up to four years in total.
If there is not enough money to extend Credit Monitoring Services by at least one month, or, if funds are left over after Credit Monitoring Services have been extended for as many full months as possible, the remaining funds will be distributed in equal parts to non-profit organizations, or “Cy Pres Recipients.” The Cy Pres Recipients are: the Center for Education and Research in Information Assurance Security at Purdue University and the Electronic Frontier Foundation."
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Although this PCWorld article may be of interest to everyone, it also has some info specifically about minors whose data has been stolen: https://www.pcworld.com/article/2880611/5-things-all-anthem-customers-should-do-after-the-massive-data-breach.html
4. Monitor your children
“Kevin Duggan, CEO of Camouflage Software, says, “Anthem should be of interest because of who will likely bear the brunt of the damage: young children and the elderly.”
Children in particular don’t actively use credit or apply for loans, so they’re less likely to discover fraudulent activity. Duggan points out, “a five-year-old child today will not likely realize their credit has been destroyed by fraudulent activity until it comes time for them to use it to apply for student loans in about 13 years.”
This Experian site contains a lot of helpful explanations and information about how to manage and protect a minor’s credit history. The challenge is that there is nothing to monitor until or unless the child has a credit history, and according to Experian there are reasons that you would not want to preemptively establish and freeze a credit history in your child’s name.
In any case, you have everything to gain by checking regularly to make sure no credit history has been created using your child’s Social Security number."
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@fivetalents thanks a lot… that’s really helpful
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Check for this one came in the mail.
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The deadline to make a claim for out-of-pocket costs has been updated to 8/16/2019.
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@ctujackbauer what check?
1“Never argue with stupid people, they will drag you down to their level and then beat you with experience.”
― Mark Twain
2 Replies
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@couponclippen said in Anthem Data Breach Class Action Settlement:
@ctujackbauer what check?
Class action settlement check?
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@couponclippen said in Anthem Data Breach Class Action Settlement:
@ctujackbauer what check?
Just to add, it was $50 for the Anthem data breach class action. See more on the data breach homepage: http://www.databreach-settlement.com/
See the final approval and the final judgment order:
ECF No. 1042, Ex. A. Settlement Class Members who already have credit monitoring services may opt instead for an alternative cash payment of up to $50 per Settlement Class Member. Settlement
¶ 5.1. Again, based on the current claims rate, Settlement Class Members are likely to receive the
maximum $50 payment. ECF No. 1042, Ex. A. Finally, Settlement Class Members whose
personal information remains in Anthem’s data warehouse benefit from Anthem’s Settlement
obligation to almost triple its annual spending on data security for the next three years and adopt
certain cybersecurity controls and reforms. Settlement ¶ 2. Those reforms include changing
Anthem’s data retention policies, following specific remediation schedules, and performing annual
IT security risk assessments and settlement compliance review.Id. ¶¶ 4.7–4.8. For Settlement Class Members who already have credit monitoring, the
alternative cash payments can reach $50 per Settlement Class MemberBased on current figures, the fund is sufficient to make the maximum allowable payment of $50 to all
Case 5:15-md-02617-LHK Document 1046 Filed 08/15/18 Page 34 of 53
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@ctujackbauer didn’t think it had paid out yet based on case dates.
