Studies prepared by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) have shown the crippling effects of identity theft and identity fraud. Their Reports seem to indicate that identity fraud is the fastest growing crime in the United States and that the number of victims is increasing yearly by somewhat staggering amounts. Thus, the FTC and the Identity Theft Resource Center, a non-profit organization dedicated to educating the public about identity theft, recommend getting an identity theft protection plan in place immediately.

There is one identity theft protection company, Lifelock, that guarantees to protect your name and money. Besides the regular benefits that LifeLock offers such as regulating fraud alerts, eRecon internet scanning, stopping junk mail and free credit reports,it also has a $ 1 Million Service Guarantee available for its consumers.

The Guarantee is simple, but limited. The company pays up to one million dollars in order to deal with the failure or defect in the identity protection plan. This amount of money is given per member, per lifetime for all the incidents in total no matter the circumstances. There is something that is not included in LifeLock's guarantee. Lifelock's guarantee does not reimburse special, incidental, indirect or consequential damages like lost wages, profits, opportunities, etc. Lifelock's service guarantee is the backbone of their identity theft protection service and can be seen in the Terms and Conditions Agreement which you can read at Lifelock.com.

There are different circumatances when Lifelock's service guarantee is applicable. If you are a member and someone accesses your personal identifying information to commit fraud, the company will hire experts to help in the restoration of your reputation and credit and will pay for all losses and expenses. Clients of Lifelock must be upfront and truthful and communicate to them that their private information was used without any authorization to commit identity theft within 30 days of finding out.

Lifelock will be responsible for remediating any damage caused due to defect or failure of their service. In doing so, they will appoint and pay for the wages of lawyers and investigators etc. who can legally operate in the jurisdiction of the particular place where the problem occurred. If the compensation required is over the guaranteed amount, Lifelock will only be responsible for the first $1 million. If after an investigation by Life Lock to determine if your personal information was used without your authorization to commit an illegal crime, LifeLock will perform as described in the terms and conditions agreement. However, if LifeLock, notices intentionally misrepresented damages or an attempt to commit fraud in which the user was involved, he or she will be required to pay back upon demand everything the company has paid for the legal defense, including any other cost the company incurred.

If you want a better understanding of their guarantee it would be best to consult with a lawyer as this is not legal advice nor a recommendation for or against Lifelock's guarantee or service. An identity protection plan guarantees its service for a reason so I attempted to present my understanding of it for you. Hope it helps and please continue your search for an identity protection plan.