Feeling like someone is following you? Receiving strange friend requests on social media? You may be right. After a car accident or other injury accident resulting in a claim, it’s possible – and legal – for insurance adjusters to use many tactics to investigate your claim, including hiring a private investigator and going through your social media profiles and posts. It’s important to understand what methods of investigation insurance adjusters may use so that you can protect your claim.
Common Ways Insurance Companies Spy on You
Insurance companies may try to drum up evidence to prove your claim is not valid or to devalue your claim to prevent fraud. Keep in mind that insurance companies are in business to mitigate claims and pay out as little as possible. It’s not uncommon for insurance companies to investigate perfectly valid claims. When they do, adjusters can use publicly available information in their claim investigation like the following:
Spying on You on Social Media
Insurance adjusters can use your social media posts against you in a claim. For instance, if you suffered a back injury but are posting pictures of you and friends out dancing at a club, the insurance company can claim your injury is not as severe as you say it is.
It's not just your social media profiles insurance adjusters will monitor. They may also look at your family and friends’ profiles, comments you make on other people’s posts, check-ins and locations mentioned.
The best advice for using social media after an accident is to set all of your accounts to private and not post anything during the duration of your claim. Ask your friends to avoid tagging you. Always remember that anything you post or others post about you on the Internet is considered public record. Don’t let the insurance companies compromise your claim by using social media posts as evidence against you.
Using Public Records
Aside from social media, insurance investigators may look for newspaper articles about you, photos of you or personal and business websites to see if any information you provided them doesn’t match up or could be used against your claim. Make sure you never publicly comment on your accident, including posting comments in articles online.
It is also legal and possible that insurance companies will look at public records, including financial, insurance claim, real estate and criminal records, in the course of the investigation of your claim. Make sure to disclose anything you fear could come up in an investigation to your personal injury attorney. Talk to your attorney about it so they are prepared for this to come up during the course of the negotiation.
Following You Around
It is legal for insurance companies to follow you around in public places. They cannot tap your phone or search your home but they can take photos of you while out in public. They may be looking for evidence that your injuries are not as severe as you claim or that you are not following medical advice. Avoid doing any type of physical activity while you are out in public and make sure to always follow medical advice.
Brandon J. Broderick, Attorney at Law, Can Help You With Your Claim
An insurance company investigating your accident claim can feel intimidating. At Brandon J. Broderick, Attorney at Law, we have decades of experience dealing with accident investigations and the tactics insurance companies frequently use to devalue your claim. When you hire a personal injury lawyer from our team, we will pursue the maximum compensation for your damages to ensure you are fairly compensated for your claim.
Our experienced personal injury attorneys will help you understand the unique factors in your case, build your case and work to maximize the compensation amount for your losses. When you hire a New Jersey personal injury lawyer from our team at Brandon J. Broderick, you pay nothing upfront. We work on contingent fees that are only collected if we win your case. If we don’t win, you don’t pay.