Come clean on Facebook and save yourself insurance headaches. Sharing it all on Facebook can positively or negatively impact everything about your life.
Because how you use social media, the appropriateness of the content, and how you portray yourself become public record. It may also have an impact on how much you pay for insurance.
If you’ve recently applied for a life insurance policy, it may have an impact on your future. Assume you stated on your application that you do not drink or smoke. It might make a lot of sense to remove or make private all of your party photos from your Facebook and Twitter profiles.
When it comes to determining the facts of your reputation and behavior, hiring managers and, increasingly, insurance companies are analyzing social media sites. So, once again, come clean on Facebook to avoid insurance headaches.
According to the Insurance Journal, claim investigators are already scouring the Internet for potential fraud involving accidents, lawsuits, claims, and coverage applications.
So, are social media sites officially used in the underwriting process? While state regulators have yet to formally approve the practice, you can bet that the industry will soon use social media research to establish baselines for rating approval and premium setting.
As with all privacy and personal data, monitoring your social networking sites will become increasingly important in order to keep them professional and reflect the best aspects of your life. Pay close attention to your friend list and groups that may cause negative feedback about your reputation.
It is almost certain that insurers will soon use sophisticated network analysis programs and artificial intelligence tools to collect social networking data, and while this practice may cause issues under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, it is better to be safe than sorry.
According to Price Waterhouse Coopers in a recent report, “AI’s initial impact primarily relates to improving efficiencies and automating existing customer-facing, underwriting, and claims processes.” “Its impact will grow over time; it will identify, assess, and underwrite emerging risks, as well as identify new revenue sources.”
AI and analytics are already flagging claims for inspection, establishing priorities for dealing with policy issues, and identifying a variety of other factors for action. The experts use predictive analysis and artificial intelligence to detect fraud throughout the insurance claims process.
Their analytics are also used to streamline processes across the settlement work they do, using a toolbox of modeling, code rules, text mining, and database search functionality. While their top adjustors handle the most complex claim scenarios, analytics will also play a role in managing the full spectrum of claims management tasks.
Insurance Nexus collaborated on a white paper with AIG and Zurich to better understand how those companies intend to use AI and machine learning in the future.
AIG established a “Science Team” in 2012 to focus on data and modeling, and Zurich launched a beta trial of sophisticated global predictive analytics practices in 2015.
The practices will be scrutinized more frequently as they affect privacy rights and concerns. However, limiting your social networking involvement will be far less expensive and time-consuming in the long run. Edit yourself, and you’ll be protected against policies that may uncover details about your reputation.
It always pays to be honest, and being honest can help you avoid problems during the insurance underwriting process, so be honest on Facebook and save yourself insurance headaches.