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UK Auto Insurer Will Use Facebook Data To Set Premium (thestack.com)
An anonymous reader writes: Major UK insurer Admiral has announced that it will use data garnered from Facebook profiles to help set insurance premiums for first-time drivers. The company intends to examine Facebook data including likes and posts for safe driver indicators: writing in short, concrete sentences and making concrete plans with friends using specific times and dates, rather than just 'tonight', for example, can show that a person is conscientious and well-organized, as can the use of lists. These traits are associated with safer drivers, who are less likely to file a claim with the company. Yossi Borenstein, the principal data scientist for the project, noted that the indicators of safe drivers are constantly evolving. "Our algorithm for calculating what 'safe' looks like is constantly learning, as we match social data to actual claims data." The program has already caused a storm of controversy, with some privacy rights activist groups noting that the program violates Facebook's Platform Policy, Section 3.15, which clearly says,"Don't use data obtained from Facebook to make decisions about eligibility, including whether to approve or reject an application or how much interest to charge on a loan."
http://arstechnica.co.uk/tech-policy/2016/11/facebook-scuppers-algorithmic-car-insurance/
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-37847647
Facebook have already announced that they are blocking Admiral from this data.
This has already been shot down by Facebook
Facebook have blocked it already
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-37847647
Will insurance be free for those responsible and prudent enough to not use facebook?
When Facebook says you’re being too evil, that should be a wake up call. . .
I remember the good old days, when insurance companies used myspace to set insurance premiums.
Now get off my lawn!
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looking at driving record (moving violations) as well as claims (at fault, no fault) and geographic area for accidents and claims. Pretty easy and doesn't create a ton of Orwellian privacy issues.
Harrison's Postulate - "For every action there is an equal and opposite criticism"
Oh I just watched that episode of Black Mirror yesterday. http://www.avclub.com/tvclub/b...
Too bad facebook blocked it because it makes for a great business opportunity:
You pay me to run a bot that rewrites all your facebook posts to conform to whatever scoring system the insurance companies use to decide that you should get the cheapest possible rates.
If these companies are going to be stupid enough to take data that I have control over and use that to make business decisions that can benefit me, I'm sure as shit going to use that channel to exploit them for every penny I can. Those assholes will get what they deserve.
Prepare for a flood of Facebook posts that read something like: "Fastening my safety belt and driving below the speed limit on my way to the movies with my friends"
Bull crap! American companies better not start doing this too. I'm one of the few people who does not use Facebook, or any social media for that matter. If a company starts using Facebook data to determine things about me, they better ASSUME THE BEST or it is downright discrimination. So for auto insurance, I better get the best rate, as if I had everything they were looking for on my non-existing Facebook account.
Just like how they assume the best about you when you apply for a mortage and have no credit history because you don't use credit cards, and use a pre-paid phone, etc?
Good luck with that.
On the upside at least, if your someone who doesn't use facebook, you can hire someone to create a profile for you, and have them go around liking 'seatbelts'*1, non-alcoholic beer *2, MADD, Volvo Wagons *3, and making periodic posts saying you will be picking up the milk, bread, cheese, and organic lettuce, at the whole foods*4 at 321 Main Street, at 4:35 pm (*5), unless it is raining*6
*1 - safety!
*2 - non drinker
*3 - boring and safe
*4 - healthy!
*5 - organized and precise
*6 - because you don't make unnecessary trips if it is raining.
* (indicating your are very health conscious)
Step one: Make a Facebook profile (either your first or an additional one) and add a few friends.
Step two: Post lots of short updates matching their expected "safe driver" ruleset.
Step three: Point your insurer at that account and enjoy lower premiums.
I think this is an excellent idea from the insurers, and I encourage anyone I'm about to borrow money from to use the same process. Please.
Dewey, what part of this looks like authorities should be involved?
Just give them an IQ test and get it over with. That's basically the same thing in a high percentage of cases.
Won't work.
If they tried that in the Washington, D.C./Alexandria, VA area they'd end up with a negative number that would crash their cost calculating algorithm.
Strat
Progressivism (aka US 'Liberalism'): Ideas so good they need a police/surveillance-state to enforce.
A less charitable (but imho more realistic) view of Facebook's uncooperative attitude would be that Facebook objects to someone extracting value from their data without paying them first. And wants to make sure they're covered against legal fallout about the quality of the data they're providing. After all, they wouldn't want to be on the receiving end of a class action suit for not exercising due diligence in providing tamper-proof data.
As to Facebook's "rules", look at e.g. LinkedIn. I'm quite certain that headhunters take people's LinkedIn profile into consideration and use it to co-determine whether to contact someone and who to recommend them to at what salary level. So why not Facebook? One might say it's because Facebook is not explicitly aimed at job-marketing yourself, but that's but an extra service (agreement) away.
This sort of development would markedly increase the commercial value of Facebook's data.
I therefore believe it won't be long now before Facebook launches something comparable, as a paid service. Lets call it the "Facebook Automatic Reference Transmission Service", whereby Facebook (for a fee) asserts to third parties that person ABC has maintined a Facebook presence and that the user's posts satisfy criteria XYZ. Whereby XYZ would be configurable by the party doing the asking (and paying Facebook's fees).
And it's free for anyone wanting to take it because I'm, to be honest, too lazy to carry it out.
Facebook optimizer.
Like SEO, just for Facebook profiles. Want to pay less for your insurance? Be attractive to recruiters? Appear law abiding to law enforcement? Visit pimp my profile for the latest informations and our low, low prices!
We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
My daughter has only a year of two of having a credit card, no car loans ever, no cellphone bill (I pay it), no history of renting, yet her bank tells her that she has a credit score of 849.
The real "Libtards" are the Libertarians!
"My daughter has only a year of two of having a credit card"
So she has a credit history, and assuming she pays her bill on time and in full... a great credit history.
"yet her bank tells her that she has a credit score of 849."
Funny how that works. Have a great credit history get a great score.
You do know that the scoring doesn't give you extra points for having LOTS of stuff in your file, right?
writing in short, concrete sentences and making concrete plans with friends using specific times and dates, rather than just 'tonight',
That contradicts itself. Just saying "tonight" as a lot shorter than "at 8pm this evening at the third table on the left in the Smallville McDonalds, but if that is full, then at the fifth table on the right in the Smallville Starbucks".
I tend to use long sentences because I am a fairly precise person (I wrote semi-legal engineering specifications at one time) and I usually find that I include some "ifs", "buts" and caveats to cover different eventualities and to close off possible misinterpretations; there I go - I've just doubled my next year's car insurance premuim.
So, if oversharing your whereabouts results in being predictable and a lower risk for Auto premiums, it also unintentionally tells folks that you won't be home.
AKA
ROB ME TONIGHT. Homeowner insurance using the same profiles will wind up costing you much more!
Have gnu, will travel.
Yeah it's shocking that a year or two of good credit history with no negative factors would result in a good credit score.
Amazing!!!!
You do know that the scoring doesn't give you extra points for having LOTS of stuff in your file, right?
Actually, it does. Both longer history and greater variety of credit will increase at least most credit scores (they all calculate credit a bit differently, but FICO, for example, uses both length and variety). Without knowing the specific scoring system, it's hard to say more (for example, FICO only goes to 850, and she sure as shit didn't get a 849 after 2 years of 1 credit card).
"None can love freedom heartily, but good men; the rest love not freedom, but license." --John Milton
Nah, no one has put a stop to anything. Facebook just said what they needed to say to prevent their users from feeling uncomfortable having much of their life on the Internet for all to see. Anything that can get your data will sell it to anyone who wants it, whether it be apps or malware, or perhaps Facebook itself (or one of their employees). If they want to keep it hidden, it can always be sold via a shell company and bought as "information" with no reference to Facebook.
Don't waste your vote! Vote for whoever you want, unless you live in a swing state it won't matter anyways
My point was a simple credit history is not a bad thing as relates to the score.
You are, of course, correct, in observing that credit history length *is* important. Its also worth pointing that creditors do not simply look at your score and approve the loan... they look at your income/debt ratio, employment situation, assets & ability to repay. You credit "score" is just a piece and its not hard to get rejected for a loan despite having a great score for many reasons.
Yes. You are correct. I misspoke.
Variety matters... but there's not really a LOT of different debt instruments the average person has (crredit card + morgatge + some sort of other small secured loan e.g. HELOC or car loan) so 2-3 different types of credit account basically maxes your score.
And length matters too. Although bad stuff falls off after several years anyway. As do closed accounts. I know of people who ran into issues with credit because it had been years since they needed any. A widow who's various loans and mortgages had all closed and fallen off the report. And who had a spousal card with her husband to share the points rewards (so the one remaining active credit account wasn't in her name)... essentially had no credit history... despite having had plenty of credit in her name through her life. (She had been on the mortgage... she had been on car loans... etc)
good
Just like how they assume the best about you when you apply for a mortage and have no credit history because you don't use credit cards, and use a pre-paid phone, etc?
Good luck with that.
On the upside at least, if your someone who doesn't use facebook, you can hire someone to create a profile for you, and have them go around liking 'seatbelts'*1, non-alcoholic beer *2, MADD, Volvo Wagons *3, and making periodic posts saying you will be picking up the milk, bread, cheese, and organic lettuce, at the whole foods*4 at 321 Main Street, at 4:35 pm (*5), unless it is raining*6
You're just not thinking like an insurance company, let me help you:
*1 - Seatbelt == racing harness. Premium increase.
*2 - Likely hiding a drinking problem == Premium increase.
*3 - MADD == Doesn't indicate, Volvo's dont need to be modified with a roll cage for rallying == rally driver - Double premium increase.
*4 - Demonstrates you're willing to spend more for the same product == Premium increase and upsell.
*5 - Demonstrates you shirk work by leaving before 5:30 PM = Lazy and unreliable == Premium increase.
*6 - Lacks confidence driving in the rain == Premium increase.
Calling someone a "hater" only means you can not rationally rebut their argument.
Insurance isn't a loan. If they are determining eligibility based on this, then they are violating the policy, but if they're setting insurance rates based on it, then they don't seem to be breaking any rules.
Examine even your most deeply held beliefs. Nobody is always right.