In the past, social media has been used by insurance companies to determine if their clients want to get some free money from them. But, now, it seems that your Facebook can lower the cost of your car insurance.
Insurers are obsessed with determining risk. And you have to understand them, since they’re looking to make money, just like any other business. That’s why a car insurance provider based in Cardiff, Wales, has come up with the idea that a person’s Facebook data can help determine if that person is a good or bad credit risk.
How it works
Admiral, as the company is called, has launched this new insurance service, dubbed “firstcarquote”, claiming that it wants to help new drivers get cheaper car insurance. As we all know, new drivers usually get much higher insurance premiums, as they are considered greater risks to insurers. But, with this new service, Admiral will analyze your Facebook data, assess your personality and determine what kind of driver you are.
The Welsh insurer quoted research from Great Britain’s Health and Safety Executive. The research says that some personalities are more likely to be involved in accidents than others. According to Admiral, this link between your personality and the way you drive will allow them to give you a fair quote. Even if you have no driver history whatsoever.
The discount
If Admiral determines that you are a safe driver, you can get a discount. It will be between 5% and 15%, which sounds really good. But you still have to ask yourself what happens if they determine that you’re a bad driver.
What about the Facebook data?
From the start, Admiral explained that firstcarquote will use your Facebook data to calculate driver safety and determine the discount. It will only have access to the data during the quote process and will not share it with any third parties or partners. The company has selected Amazon Web Services to store and protect its clients’ info.
Admiral won’t look at all your posts. It definitely won’t go digging for older posts that might prove you’re a wild party animal. The Welsh insurer will only check what you posted in the past six months. And you are also able to decide what you share with them. However, according to Admiral, the amount of information they receive is important. If you don’t give the company all the data it needs, it won’t be able to offer you the maximum discount.
The assessment will remain private. But you will be able to share it with your friends, if you really want to remain active on social media.
A new world
Social media has taken over the world at a rapid pace. Almost everyone who lives in a country with access to the internet is now either on Facebook, Twitter, Google Plus or any other such service. In fact, people now spend more time online then they do with their friends or family. So it makes sense that an insurer would want to take a look at your profile in order to get to know you better.
But what happens if you create a fake profile just to get that 15% discount? What happens if you’re a really good driver but you also like being a troll and post all sorts of inappropriate stuff on Facebook? What happens if, God forbid, you have no Facebook? These are all questions for the future. And, since nowadays the future seems closer than ever, we might just get the answers to them sooner than expected. For now, you should just be happy that Facebook can lower the cost of your car insurance.
