Your social media posts may not only alert criminals to the fact that your home is vacant, but could also come back to bite you when filing an insurance claim! We’ve all done it; posting that selfie of us on vacation having fun, and we do it without thinking that there might be consequences. In a perfect world, there should be none, but the reality is different, and we need to exercise caution when posting our vacation pics. The safest thing to do is to wait until we’re home to post our pictures, not so much because someone may be following our posts and waiting to pounce when our house is empty, but more specifically because it could violate any “reasonable care” clause in an insurance policy, thus increasing the cost of your home insurance in Salt Lake City.
The reasonable care clause of an insurance policy requires that homeowners do everything within their power to ensure their home and belongings are secure and that their homes are “burglar-resistant.” Advertising the fact that you are away and that your house is vacant can be considered as a breach of that clause. Although insurance companies do not monitor social media posts of their clients on an ongoing basis, they have been known to refer to them in specific cases, especially in those where a number of expensive claims are filed.
Insurance companies first began using Social Media applications to investigate fraud, and many of them have specific departments dedicated to such. This is especially helpful in cases of workers compensation or accident injury cases. For instance, if someone were to file a false claim for compensation due to an injury and then posted a video of them running a 10K race, well! The same applies if a person files a burglary claim while advertising the fact that their home is empty by posting pictures or messages on social media.
Social Media has become a standard tool for insurance companies. Your information is gathered on a minute to minute basis when you’re online. Have you browsed for a new car and the seen car advertisements pop up in your email or on other sites that you visit? All of those “fun” quizzes you take and share the results of; insurance underwriters examine every aspect of your online profile to assist them in determining your risk. Although you can’t be denied a policy due to social media activity, the cost of your home or property insurance in Salt Lake City could increase because of it!
