How Social Media Can Affect Your Insurance Claim
Michael Babboni
Insurance Coverage
Personal Injury
If you have been injured in an accident and are in the midst of filing your insurance claim for compensation, then it is important to be aware of what you are posting on social media. Posting the wrong thing online can be extremely detrimental to the success of your claim.Social Media Monitoring for Insurance Investigations
Following an accident, you should file a police report and then file an insurance claim with the insurance company. However, many people won't tell you that you should also go online and make your social media accounts private or at the very least, make sure what you post does not reveal any details regarding the accident you are filing the claim for.
Social media monitoring is becoming more and more prevalent in the insurance industry. Currently, there are more than 2 billion users on Facebook alone who are documenting the events in their daily life and often revealing small and somewhat minute details pertaining to the accident that could mean denial of their claim.
Insurance investigators are finding a gold mine when it comes to the claimant's social media accounts. For example, they can see what your vehicle may have looked like prior to the accident, or you could unknowingly admit some kind of fault for the accident.
Is Using Information on Social Media Accounts Legal?
Social media is also a good place for insurance adjusters to find potential witnesses to the accident to fill in any details they may be missing. And guess what? If your account is public, then the information they come across on these public websites is completely admissible. This includes Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Tumblr, and any other social media platform you may frequent.
Additionally, even if you do have your account set on private, that does not mean that the insurance adjuster will give up. Some have resorted to sending friend requests or reaching out to your friends and family to find the information they need.
Are There Any Benefits to These Investigations?
Social media investigations, however, do not always spell disaster for you if you are filing a claim. Social media doesn’t tell the entire story. For a social media investigation to be viable, there needs to be a good and sufficient amount of evidence.
Sometimes, the investigation can also help; this is especially true if the other person in the accident lied about what happened and they ended up posting the real story on social media. In this case, the investigation will work in favor of the claimant rather than against.
Bottom Line
The bottom line when filing a claim after an accident is to tell the truth, provide as much detail as you can, and avoid posting anything about the accident or injuries on your social media accounts.
If you are still unsure of how to proceed or have questions regarding social media investigations, then you should seek the counsel of a professional and experienced personal injury attorney who can walk you through the process and answer any questions you may have moving forward.