Earlier this month, the U.S. Justice Department busted the largest identity theft ring in the United States’ relatively short history of identity crimes.

Eleven people were charged, 40 million credit and debit card account numbers had been stolen, tens of millions of dollars were in question and Americans were left wondering how to protect their most precious possessions: their identities.

One suggestion is to look into identity theft insurance. Some insurance companies offer it along with standard homeowner’s or renter’s insurance, and some have separate identity insurance policies. Many others don’t offer it at all.

“It’s a good idea to contact your insurance agent and find out what kind of coverage is available,” said Claire Wilkinson, vice president of global issues for the Insurance Information Institute. “There’s been a growing trend in insurance coverage for people who want to protect themselves (from identity theft).”

Identity theft coverage usually provides the insured with reimbursement for expenses accrued in the identity theft and credit restoration process, including expenses for phone bills, lost wages, notary and attorney fees and sometimes for the services of a specialist who can assist with the process, Wilkinson said.

Policies don’t usually cover the money lost by an identity thief directly removing it from an account, however.

On average, identity theft insurance policies cost $25-50 per year for $15,000-25,000 worth of coverage, Wilkinson said.

In the latest report on identity theft issued by the Federal Trade Commission shows 8.3 million Americans were identity theft victims in 2005, and 37 percent of those cases were from thieves monitoring victims’ bank and credit card accounts. In 2007, credit card fraud was, by far, the most common identity theft situation, according to the FTC.

“Victims are frequently left unable to use existing credit or to obtain new loans,” Wilkinson said. “They are harassed by debt collectors, subjects of criminal investigations and sometimes even arrested.”

Lebanon attorney Robert Duff of the Indiana Consumer Law Group helps identity theft victims get back on track after having their credit tarnished or ruined.

“The primary problem I see with people with identity theft is not actually getting stuck with debt that somebody else has incurred,” Duff said. “That’s not the primary headache that identity theft victims experience. It wounds their credit and makes it very difficult for them to clear up their credit and attain credit on their own because they have a bunch of negative accounts listed.”

Duff helps his clients get false reports removed from their credit report, a document looked at every time the client applies for a loan, credit card or certain services.

“Unfortunately it’s usually a lengthy process,” Duff said. “I’ve had several clients come to me and say they’ve been battling this for many years.”

Before involving a lawyer, identity theft victims can file a dispute with credit reporting agencies — Experian, Equifax and Transunion — and file a police report and fraud affidavit, available from the FTC, said Duff, who used to be a defense attorney representing a credit reporting agency.

“Unfortunately, credit reporting agencies have not really put the dispute process as a priority,” he said. “Often they do little or no investigation into it. Even if you do a proper dispute, a lot of times it stays on your credit report.”