The next time you post something on Facebook or Twitter, you may want to ask yourself what your insurance company would think about it.
Investigators from insurance companies are checking up on your habits — by surfing your social media accounts.
http://liarcatchers.com/insurance_fraud.html
Kurt Nordland was collecting workers compensation benefits — but when some photos of him on the beach enjoying a beer with friends got posted on his Facebook account, the company canceled his policy.
“I was extremely surprised they could just go on your Facebook and pull these pictures out,” he said.
Depending on your privacy settings, they might be able to see every tweet, Facebook photo or status line. If insurance investigators think you’re dabbling in risky business, they might up your premium – or cancel your coverage.
“If they find anything that’s embarrassing — or anything they can use to paint you in a bad light — that’s when it shows up in the case,” said attorney Gary Massey.
Industry group, the Insurance Information Institute, says some companies definitely monitor people’s social media pages — mostly to find potential fraud.
“Insurance fraud costs the insurance industry — and consumers — about $30 million each year,” said the Institute’s Jeanne Salvatore.
Private investigator Steve Davis has been hired by insurance companies to root out suspicious claims. The first place he now checks is social media accounts, and he says he’s struck gold!
“If you’re going to claim that you have a severe injury and you post pictures of you doing something crazy, then shame on you!” he said. “You shouldn’t have those pictures on there, and shame on you for committing insurance fraud!”
As for to Kurt, he said he was upfront and honest about what the pictures revealed — and he eventually won his case against his insurance company.
The bottom line: the insurance industry says it will continue to watch what you post, and what’s posted about you — and if you’ve got nothing to hide, you’ve got nothing to worry about.
