Today it is not uncommon to hear someone say "I'll tweet you," "Facebook me," or "Add me on Google Plus," so perhaps it should come as no surprise that your insurance company wants to connect with you on those very same social medias.
A recent study conducted by Boston-based research and advisory firm, Celent, showed that within the next three years it will become common practice for insurers to use information found on such social medias as Twitter, Facebook, etc. to reveal risk, much like how auto insurers in some state look at credit history, (Report: Insurers to Make Greater Use of Policyholders' Social Data, Online Auto Insurance, Gregor McGavin, http://news.onlineautoinsurance.com/companies/social-media-and-car-insurance-95305).
This type of search has already begun somewhat in case of questionable claims. One such example "is when an individual claimed a ‘debilitating, work-related injury.' But when the investigator checked out the claimant's social media profile, there were photos of the individual performing activities like breakdancing," (Report: Insurers to Make Greater Use of Policyholders' Social Data). Mike Fitzgerald, a senior analyst with Celent's insurance group and co-author of the report believes that "the information that is posted by individuals on multiple sites reflects their preferences, lifestyles, and habits." Clearly with regards to the breakdancer with a bad back, insurers could potentially have the ability to eliminate false claims.
What would be the underlining use for the information gathered on policyholders? To determine "grounds of deniability, identify sources of income, collect ‘additional evident in litigation' and discover information the claimant has hidden from the insurer," (Report: Insurers to Make Greater Use of Policyholders' Social Data). Of course with this come some legal and ethical issues. Several employers already utilize social medias to determine a qualified applicant. Insurers have brainstormed to come up with a few ideas to encourage policyholders to allow access to their social profiles, "one methods is possibly offering discounts to policyholders who do so, including those who are checking car insurance quotes online in search the best deals," (Report: Insurers to Make Greater Use of Policyholders' Social Data).
Social medias however tend to attract a specific age demographic, with 77 percent being between the ages of 18-29, 55 percent between the ages of 30-49 and only 23 percent 50 and older. So with these statistics, it appears that insurers will potentially have an easier time collecting data on their younger policyholders.
With new technologies it is necessary for companies to adapt their companies as advances are made as to not get left behind. Celent believes this as "the use of data in other processes is a natural evolution for insurers' engagement with customers. Insurers already improve customer experience by leveraging third-party data and, over time, social date will be added into the mix," (Report: Insurers to Make Greater Use of Policyholders' Social Data). A social profile can tell you a lot about a person depending on how much one shares, it's no wonder that insurance companies wouldn't mind collecting that data on a larger scale to take a peek in their policyholders' lifestyles to see how they really live, and not rely solely what's put on paper.
