ReliaShield Identity Theft Protection Review

ReliaShield is one of the best identity theft protection companies and can help safeguard your and your family’s identities with its range of tools and services. ReliaShield offers affordable pricing and family plans that cover children under 18 years of age.

Keep reading to learn about ReliaShield's features, pricing plans, accessibility and more.

Best for family plans

ReliaShield offers three ID theft protection plans for families — which include coverage for two adults and all children under 18 years old in the household — as well as individual plans. In addition, ReliaShield’s plans are generally more affordable than similar identity theft protection services from other providers.

ReliaShield identity theft protection pros and cons

Pros explained

Affordable pricing

ReliaShield offers affordable pricing for its individual and family plans. The company's entry-level family plan costs just $14.99 a month, making it a less expensive option for households wanting basic identity theft protection features. ReliaShield's entry-level individual plan costs $7.99 monthly — on the lower end of the spectrum for identity theft solutions. ReliaShield's mid-range and top-tier plans are also affordable for individuals and families compared to similar services from other identity theft protection companies.

Children are covered for free under the family plan

Through ReliaShield’s family plans, all children under the age of 18 within a household get free coverage. A family with two adults and three children can get ReliaShield's entry-level plan for $14.99 monthly, cheaper than paying for five separate individual plans.

$1 million stolen funds and expense reimbursement benefit

All plans include a $1 million stolen funds and expense reimbursement benefit. You’re covered for events related to fraud, theft, embezzlement, forgery and stolen funds from your accounts.

This type of identity theft insurance can cover the costs of restoring your identity after a fraud event, such as a data breach. You can use funds to cover the cost of fixing your credit report and any legal fees to repair your identity.

Offers unlimited restoration services

ReliaShield offers unlimited restoration services that can remove negative information from credit files and other databases, such as fraudulent accounts and inaccurate data.

ReliaShield's restoration experts can help you rebuild your credit, mitigate the effects of fraud, and help you report identity theft to credit bureaus and law enforcement.

Cons explained

No device protection

ReliaShield monitors your identity online and notifies you of suspicious or unauthorized activity on your financial accounts. However, the company only tracks your identity online and doesn't offer additional device protection such as virtual private networks (VPNs) or antivirus software. That means you must invest in separate security software or apps.

No credit reporting on the lowest plan tier

ReliaShield offers credit reporting only for users on its mid-range and premium tiers. The company's mid-range plan comes with single bureau credit monitoring, allowing you to monitor suspicious activity with only one credit bureau. The premium plan offers three-bureau credit monitoring. However, the entry-level tier doesn't provide any credit reporting at all.

No free trial

ReliaShield doesn't offer a free trial or demo, unlike some identity theft protection providers. That means you can't test out the company's features without signing up for at least its entry-level plan. Because there are no contracts on any of ReliaShield's rolling month-to-month plans, you can pay for one month, try out features and cancel your subscription if you don't like the service.

ReliaShield identity theft protection plans

ReliaShield offers individual and family plans in three tiers:

ReliaShield Essential

Essential, ReliaShield's entry-level plan, comes with the following features:

• Restoration services for all identity theft events, including financial fraud, tax fraud, criminal activity, medical ID theft, benefit fraud and title fraud

• Personal information monitoring

• Dark web monitoring

• Internet scanning to discover if someone has compromised your personal data

• Social Security number monitoring

• Change of address monitoring

• Court records monitoring

• Data breach updates

• 24/7 customer and recovery services

• Unlimited restoration services

• Access to a dedicated identity theft specialist who will work with you for an unlimited time to restore your identity after a fraud event

• $1 million identity theft

• Wallet protection

• Free credit report reminders

ReliaShield Prime

Prime is ReliaShield's mid-range plan. It comes with all the features available on Essential, plus:

• Non-credit loan monitoring
• Neighborhood predator monitoring
• Social media monitoring
• Credit monitoring with one credit bureau

ReliaShield Elite

The premium plan, Elite includes every feature from the other two plans, as well as:

• Credit monitoring with all three bureaus
• Monthly credit score tracker
• Bank account takeover notification
• Information on new bank account applications
• Information on credit card applications

ReliaShield identity theft protection pricing

ReliaShield's plans are generally cheaper than similar services from other identity theft protection companies. In addition, paying annually provides further savings than paying month-to-month.

ReliaShield identity theft protection financial stability

Although there is no financial stability information online for ReliaShield, its parent company Zander Insurance generated $37 million in revenue in 2022. ReliaShield has been in operation for six years, according to the Better Business Bureau (BBB) and is an accredited business with an A+ rating.

ReliaShield identity theft protection accessibility

ReliaShield has a blog and FAQ page where you can learn more about the company, and various fraud protection topics, such as "What is identity theft?" and "What is a data breach?" The company also has representatives available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. You can also reach out to ReliaShield via a contact form on its website.

Availability

ReliaShield only provides its services to customers in the United States. There is no information about whether the company will expand its offerings to potential customers overseas.

Contact information

You can contact ReliaShield by calling 888-201-1944, available 24 hours a day. You can also send the company a message via its website or write to ReliaShield, By ReliaQuote Insurance Services, LLC, 6213 Charlotte Pike, Nashville, TN 37209.

User experience

ReliaShield provides a smooth user experience. As its identity protection tool is web-based, you don't need to download any software onto your computer. Signing up for a new account is also simple:

• Visit the company website and choose a plan that suits your budget and requirements.

• Enter personal information like your name and email address to set up your account.

• Provide information about your financial accounts to start the identity theft protection process. You can add your Social Security number, credit card details, bank account details and other information.

After creating your account, you can log into your customized dashboard, view monitoring insights and customize notifications about your accounts. ReliaShield has a simple user interface that makes it easy to set up alerts and add or remove financial details for the company to scan.

ReliaShield identity theft protection customer satisfaction

There are few online customer reviews about ReliaShield, making it difficult to determine whether its users are satisfied with the company. On the BBB, ReliaShield has an average user score of 3 out of 5; however, this is based on only four reviews.

How we evaluated ReliaShield identity theft protection

We considered the following factors when reviewing ReliaShield:

• Service offerings
• Accessibility
• Pricing information
• Plan features
• Customer service options
• Customer reviews

Summary of Money's ReliaShield identity theft protection review

ReliaShield is an identity theft protection service for individuals and families. It offers three different pricing tiers, and children under 18 receive free coverage with any of the family plans. The company also provides competitive pricing, with monthly individual plans starting from just $7.99. Other benefits include $1 million in identity theft insurance and unlimited restoration services.

However, ReliaShield offers no additional device protection, no free trial and credit reporting isn't available on its entry-level plan.

Nonetheless, if you're buying for an entire family, ReliaShield may provide the strongest available option with their affordable, multi-person plans.