Posted On February 23, 2022 Consumer Privacy & Data Breaches
February 23, 2022 – Recently, Pekin Insurance announced a data breach resulting from an unauthorized party stealing an insurance agent’s login information, allowing the unauthorized party to access the company’s insurance agent portal. As a result of the breach, as many as 10,872 individuals’ personal identifying information was compromised. Those impacted by a data breach should be sure they understand what happened, what their rights are, and how they can pursue them. The data breach lawyers at Console & Associates, P.C. are actively investigating this security breach. As a part of the investigative process, our attorneys will be interviewing any victims of the breach to determine what harm was caused and whether they are eligible to bring a data breach class action lawsuit against Pekin Insurance.
According to a letter released by the company, on January 6, 2022, Pekin Insurance learned that someone stole an insurance agent’s login information used to access the company’s secure insurance agent website. In response to learning of this data security incident, Pekin Insurance terminated the stolen user credentials and then set out to determine what information the unauthorized party may have accessed.
Through a subsequent investigation, the company confirmed that the unauthorized party could have accessed the personal information of certain customers. While the compromised information may vary per person, it may include their name, address, driver’s license number and date of birth. The company reports that this information was accessible by the unauthorized party between December 4, 2021 and January 6, 2022.
On around February 18, 2022, Pekin Insurance began sending out data breach notification letters to all parties whose information was contained in the affected files. The Pekin Insurance data breach may have impacted as many as 10,872 individuals.
Pekin Insurance is an insurance company based out of Pekin, Illinois. The company was founded in 1921 by a group of farmers who wanted to provide affordable auto insurance coverage to customers. Over the years, Pekin Insurance grew and began offering additional insurance products such as life insurance, homeowner’s insurance, health insurance, and certain business insurance products. Pekin Insurance employs 900 people and relies on a network of 7,500 independent insurance agents.
When you allowed Pekin Insurance access to your personal data, you trusted the company to keep your sensitive information safe. However, news of the Pekin Insurance data breach raises some very serious questions about the company’s data security measures and whether the company could have done more to prevent this type of cyber-attack.
Regardless of the industry, all businesses have a legal obligation to protect consumer information in their possession. Although creating and maintaining a data security system is costly, this is a necessary expense given the frequency with which cyberattacks occur.
Consumers whose personal, identifying, financial or healthcare-related data was compromised in a data breach can pursue legal action against a company that misused or mishandled their information. However, the investigation into the Pekin Insurance breach is only in its beginning phases. For that reason, it is too early to tell if Pekin Insurance was legally responsible for the breach. However, our data breach attorneys are investigating the Pekin Insurance security breach to determine the potential legal remedies of those affected.
If you have questions about your ability to pursue a data breach class action lawsuit against Pekin Insurance, contact a data breach attorney as soon as possible.
If you receive a data breach notification from Pekin Insurance in the coming weeks, it means your personal data was among that which was compromised in the recent cyberattack. It also means a cybercriminal may have had access to—and may have stolen—your personal data. Given the risks involved, it is important you remain vigilant by taking the following steps:
At Console & Associates, P.C., our consumer privacy lawyers monitor all security and data breaches to help affected consumers pursue their legal remedies. We offer free consultations to victims of data breaches and can explain your rights in clear, understandable terms so you can make an informed decision about how to proceed with your case. If you’ve been affected by the Pekin Insurance data breach or any other data security incident, Console & Associates, P.C., will investigate your case at no charge and offer you thorough advice about how to most effectively proceed with your case. If you decide to bring a case, we only get paid if you do. If your claim is successful, any legal fees are either paid by the defendant or come out of the funds recovered from the defendant. If your claim doesn’t result in a recovery, you will pay nothing.
To schedule your free consultation, just call (866) 778-5500 today or fill out our secure contact form.