Social Networking Sites Could Affect Insurance Premiums

According to price comparison service Confused.com, people who use social media websites such as Twitter and Facebook might have to pay a higher home insurance premium someday. Social networking services could alert criminals when users are not at home. Some social networking services even show the specific location of an individual.

Darren Black, the head of home insurance at Confused.com, said: "I wouldn't be surprised if, as social media grow in popularity and more location-based applications come to fore, insurance providers consider these in their pricing of an individual's risk. We could see rises of up to 10pc for people who use these sites.

Black continued, explaining "Criminals are becoming increasingly sophisticated in their information gathering, even using Google Earth and Streetview to plan their burglaries with military precision. Insurance providers are starting to take this into account when they are assessing claims and we may in future see insurers declining claims if they believe the customer was negligent."


For users of social networking websites, Confused.com offers the following advice:

1. Never post your home address or other personal information such as your home phone number on social networking sites
2. Don't follow people you don't know on social networks and use block others from seeing your profile if you don't know them
3. Turn off location-based services on Twitter and Facebook unless you absolutely need to use them