Most people don’t really take the time to think about the potential implications of the things that they post into social media websites. Insurance companies, however, are very aware that they can learn a thing or two from your Facebook page, and from what you tweet about on Twitter. This could have an affect on your insurance.
Social media is something that many of us have become incredibly comfortable with. People use Twitter to tell people where they went for lunch, and what they ate. Often, this includes a link to a photo, so people can see what your lunch looked like. Some people connect programs like Foursquare to their Twitter account so they can show people exactly where they are at, all day long.
People use Facebook for a wide variety of things. People post photos of their vacation, of their children, and of their brand new cars. They click “like” on brands, bands, televisions shows, movies, and a bunch of other things that they enjoy. You may not realize it, but together, all this information tells a lot about you.
Insurance companies are very aware of the information that they can learn a lot about you just from what you posted on Facebook and Twitter. Many insurance companies have gotten into the practice of looking up their customers on Facebook. They may also decide to check out the Tweets of people who have filled out applications for an insurance policy.
Right now, insurers are not using social media in their calculations that assess risk. There are regulations in place that prevent insurers from directly using information they obtained from social media to set rates. Someday, though, there is potential that they will be allowed to. Right now, the most they can do is use what you put on social media as a guide that tells the insurer what kinds of questions they should ask you.
What does your Facebook page, or Twitter account, tell your insurance company? More than you might expect! If you post links that show where you ate lunch, and photos of the food you decided to eat, you are saying a lot about your what your health is like. How often have you visited a fast food restaurant in the past few weeks?
This could, potentially, lead an insurance agent to ask you certain kinds of questions when you apply for health insurance. You might be asked a few more questions about your weight, or your blood pressure, than typically are asked.
Let’s say that you clicked “like” on the Facebook page of a magazine about skydiving. The insurer could assume that you are someone who goes skydiving. This could lead the insurer to have some extra questions for you before you are approved for a life insurance policy.
Maybe you clicked that link because your friend writes for, or takes photos for, that magazine. You might not really be someone who goes skydiving, after all. Your insurer won’t know that, however. This could lead to many incorrect assumptions about the risk that you represent to the insurer.
Image by Morgan Sherwood on Flickr