Are Insurance Companies Allowed to Spy on People?
If you have a personal injury claim against an insurance company there is a decent chance that the insurer will hire a private investigator to conduct surveillance on you. It is legal for private investigators to watch you in public and take photographs and videos of you. Private investigators are not allowed to trespass on private property.
Another way that insurance companies gather information about people advancing claims is to conduct Internet surveillance. Insurance companies are now frequently reviewing what people post on Facebook, Twitter and other Internet sites. Many people are surprised to learn that their “privacy” settings seem to provide little protection against this kind of surveillance.
Surveillance feels like a terrible invasion of privacy for many injured people. However, it seldom impacts a claim in a significant way. The only time surveillance evidence is really useful to an insurer is if it demonstrates the injured person to be untruthful. For example, a video of an injured person jogging would be damaging to their case only if the person claimed her or she absolutely could not jog. If that same person had said that jogging is painful but he or she does it occasionally the surveillance is of little use to the insurance company.
About the Authors
Troy Lehman joined Oatley Vigmond in 2006 and became a partner in 2010. As a personal injury lawyer, his greatest satisfaction comes from helping people through to the other side of a difficult time in their lives. “We’re here to help and relieve stress,” Troy says. “When I walk into a first meeting with a client, people are often scared and anxious. And for me, the best thing that can happen at the end of the meeting is that they say, ‘I feel so much better.’