Social media usage has become common among people of all ages. It is a habit for many to go back and forth between different online platforms to stay up-to-date on news or post random updates about their personal life. Unfortunately, insurance companies take advantage of how much the public uses social media. What may seem like an innocent post can easily be used against you after an on-the-job accident.
If you are suffering from a work injury, you need to understand how online activity can put your workers’ comp benefits and financial recovery at risk.
What you post vs. what insurance investigators see
Insurance companies do not want to pay out large settlements. They routinely hire investigators to monitor your public profiles looking for a reason to deny your claim. While you see a normal update shared with friends, an insurance adjuster looks at that same content through a completely different lens.
Here are common examples of how insurance companies can twist your everyday posts to freeze your benefits:
- A simple family photo: You post a picture sitting at a backyard barbecue, but the insurer claims that if you are well enough to attend a social gathering, your work injury must not be as severe as you claim.
- An old check-in or memory: You share a throwback photo from a past vacation, but because the date looks recent, the insurance company accuses you of traveling or doing heavy physical activity while on medical leave.
- Supportive comments from friends: A coworker comments “glad to see you are up and moving,” and the adjuster uses those exact words as proof that you have fully recovered and can immediately return to hard manual labor.
Even a completely innocent status update can be taken out of context to make it look like you are faking or exaggerating your physical pain.
Be vigilant of how insurers can interpret your posts
Insurance companies track your physical location and look for any inconsistencies between your daily medical restrictions and your online activity. A good way to protect your workers’ comp claim is to adjust your privacy settings, avoid posting anything about your health or accident and never accept new friend requests from people you do not know.
If you worry that something you already shared online might jeopardize your workers’ comp benefits, don’t let the insurance company use your own words to pull the rug out from under you. You have worked hard for your livelihood. Take control of your digital footprint today to protect the benefits you earned for tomorrow.