Americans to get up to $5k from $4.76m data breach settlement – but you only have weeks left to fill out a claim form

AMERICANS have the opportunity to receive thousands of dollars after a data breach settlement, but there are only a couple of weeks left to fill out a claim form.

An insurance company company settled in a $4 million lawsuit after personal information was compromised in a data incident .

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Group 1001 Insurance is an insurance and annuity company with nearly 1,400 employees serving over 950,000 customers.

On or around February 9, 2023, the company was involved in a data breach incident that potentially exposed the confidential, personal information of approximately 475,000 of its customers, according to the settlement .

Consumers argue that Group 1001 could have prevented the data breach by implementing stronger cybersecurity measures.

The insurance company hasn’t admitted any wrongdoing but agreed to pay $4.76 million to resolve the data breach class action lawsuit.

To receive a payment from the settlement, those affected must submit a claim form to be postmarked on or before October 10, 2024.

Those eligible can submit a claim online or request a claim form by calling (833) 522-7100.

CLASS ACTION BENEFITS

Those who were impacted by the data breach have a couple of options, according to the class action settlement.

Those affected may receive up to $5,000 for any out-of-pocket losses and/or lost time, including bank fees, communication charges, travel expenses, credit costs, and up to four hours of lost time at a rate of $20 per hour.

Or they can opt for a pro-rata cash payment. The lawsuit proposal states that payments will be at least $5, but the specific amount will differ depending on the number of valid claims filed.

Lastly, eligible members can claim identity theft protection services, including $1 million in identity theft insurance.

Those eligible must also provide “bills, receipts, invoices, account statements, credit reports,” and other documentation of data breach-related losses, according to the settlement terms.

WHAT ARE YOUR OPTIONS?

Those affected can choose to exclude themselves from the settlement by “opting out,” meaning they would not receive any payments .

Those who disagree with the settlement can write to the court or ask to speak to the court at the final approval hearing about the settlement’s fairness.

The final approval hearing for the settlement is scheduled for October 3, 2024.

What's a class-action settlement?

Class action lawsuits offer groups of people, or 'classes,' a way to band together in court.

These suits are often brought by one or a few people who allege a company or other entity has wronged a large group of people.

When a suit becomes a class action, it extends to all “class members,” or people who may have similar complaints to those who filed the suit.

Companies often settle class actions – offering payment to class members who typically waive their right to pursue further legal action by accepting money.

These payout agreements frequently include statements by the defendant denying wrongdoing. Companies tend to settle class actions to avoid the costs of further litigation.

Pollution, discrimination, or false advertising are a few examples of what can land a class action on a company’s doorstep.

Class members who do nothing will receive no payment from the settlement. They also give up any right to bring any other lawsuit against the releasees for the same claim.

According to the Harvard Business Review , data breaches spiked last year as many companies started using cloud configuration.

More than 60% of the world’s corporate data is estimated to be stored in the cloud.

In 2023, over 80% of data breaches involved data stored in the cloud.

Companies unintentionally misuse the cloud, allowing “excessively permissive cloud access, having unrestricted ports, and use unsecured backups.”

Meanwhile, Americans could qualify for cash distributions from another recent data breach settlement involving a restaurant services company .

And Buzzfeed has agreed to pay readers $9 million after a class action lawsuit alleging the company violated privacy laws.