Heritage Life Insurance Company heritagelife.com Heritage Life Insurance data breach: what happened and what to do
Heritage Life Insurance Company told regulators that ransomware at an IT services vendor exposed Social Security numbers. The breach date is listed as March 12, 2022, and the Maine Attorney General's filing counts 58,144 people affected in total.
View all 13,177 breaches- Breach date
- 12 Mar 2022
- Made public
- 14 Jul 2022
- Affected
- 58,144
- Data exposed
- Social security numbers
- Last updated
Reviewed by Anthon Wansland
Head of Product & Co-Founder
Serus is a privacy company with paid tools to find and remove your personal data. This page is free and based on official sources.
What happened
Heritage Life Insurance Company reported a data breach to state attorneys general in 2022. The Maine Attorney General's listing gives the breach date as March 12, 2022 and the cause as ransomware at an IT services vendor. Written notices to people went out in July 2022.
Sources checked: maine.gov, atg.wa.gov, consumer.ftc.gov
Last verified against the official page:
How many people
The Maine filing counts 58,144 people affected in total. Washington's notification shows a smaller number, 1,277, because it counts only that state's residents. Don't add the two together: the Maine total already includes everyone.
What was exposed
The filing lists Social Security numbers. A Social Security number is enough for someone to try to open credit or file a false tax return in your name, and it doesn't change, so the risk lasts for years.
What the company offered
Heritage Life offered 12 months of identity theft protection and credit monitoring through Epiq, according to the Maine filing.
Why a vendor breach still matters to you
You may never have heard of the IT services vendor involved. Insurers hand records to outside providers, and when one of them is hit, the insurer reports the breach under its own name. That's why the notice came from Heritage Life even though the ransomware attack hit a vendor. The advice is the same either way: act on what was exposed.
What to do if you were in it
- 1
Read your notice letter
It explains what was in your record and how to enroll in the identity protection offered. Check the deadline in the letter.
- 2
Freeze your credit
The FTC says a credit freeze is free and blocks most new accounts opened in your name. Place it at Equifax, Experian and TransUnion separately.
- 3
Watch your accounts and credit reports
Get your free reports at annualcreditreport.com and review statements for anything you didn't do.
- 4
Expect scams that mention your insurance
If someone calls or texts about your policy, hang up and use the number on your policy documents.
- 5
Check whether your email or phone is in this and other breaches
Run a free Serus scan. Serus monitors breach databases and the dark web and alerts you, but it can't remove data from a breach.
Official filings
- Washington Attorney General , filed 8 Jul 2022 : 1,277 people
Timeline
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The breach happened
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Reported to the Washington Attorney General
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The company made it public
Frequently asked
Was I affected by the Heritage Life breach?
People affected were sent a written notice. If you didn't get one, contact Heritage Life to ask whether your information was involved.
What was exposed?
The Maine Attorney General's filing lists Social Security numbers.
Should I freeze my credit?
With a Social Security number exposed, a freeze is the step the FTC recommends. It's free and you can lift it when you apply for credit.
Sources
Something wrong or out of date? Tell us and we'll re-check it.
