Insurer To Pay $250,000 To State For Lost Customer Info

HARTFORD (AP) — A California-based health insurance company has agreed to pay Connecticut $250,000 for losing a disk drive containing private information of 1.5 million customers, including nearly 450,000 state residents.

Attorney General Richard Blumenthal announced July 6 that along with the settlement, Health Net has agreed to provide services to customers including free credit monitoring.

The state sued Health Net in January after the company reported it lost a portable disk drive from its Shelton office in May 2009 but did not tell customers until November 2009.

Mr Blumenthal, who is currently seeking a US Senate seat, says the disk drive contained information on 446,000 Connecticut residents and customers in New York, New Jersey, and Arizona.

A Health Net spokeswoman responded that the company has found no evidence the data has been misused. The company also said it has worked with state regulators to enhance its security systems.