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> Insurance rates are being increased based on these profiles Let's be honest here, rich people get better insurance rates. Not because of some nefarious schem

> Insurance rates are being increased based on these profiles Let's be honest here, rich people get better insurance rates. Not because of some nefarious scheme to impoverish the poor, but because they claim less (which is the primary driver of insurance cost). Additionally, many (if not all) insurance companies use things like your home address as a factor in pricing, which again benefits people living in rich(er) areas. Firstly, I don't think that your web data would be particularly predictive for insurance, without substantial modelling/dimensionality reduction and secondly, such modelling/DR is gonna be a very difficult sell to regulators, who typically demand a fully explained model for premium calculation. Secondly, much of this is illegal in the EU, you should probably elect representatives who'll ban this for you.

jqpabc123 5y ago
Firstly, I don't think that your web data would be particularly predictive for insurance... No? They use a multitude of sources (Facebook for example) and factors such as "Do you buy premium beer" to judge how much of a sucker you are and adjust their price according. There have been cases in the US with rates varying significantly among individuals who live in the same neighborhood with similar size houses and coverages. Again, the rate they initially offer and any subsequent increases depends on how much of a sucker they think you are.
- disgruntledphd2 5y ago
  Who? I'm willing to bet substantial money that none of the major US based insurers use Facebook data in any real sense. This is one of those things that sounds plausible to people not in insurance, but I'd you look at the regulatory structure makes little sense. What they do use is prior claim history and public records (credit, driver license etc). That's most likely where the differences you've seen come from.

jqpabc123 5y ago

Firstly, I don't think that your web data would be particularly predictive for insurance... No? They use a multitude of sources (Facebook for example) and factors such as "Do you buy premium beer" to judge how much of a sucker you are and adjust their price according. There have been cases in the US with rates varying significantly among individuals who live in the same neighborhood with similar size houses and coverages. Again, the rate they initially offer and any subsequent increases depends on how much of a sucker they think you are.

disgruntledphd2 5y ago
Who? I'm willing to bet substantial money that none of the major US based insurers use Facebook data in any real sense. This is one of those things that sounds plausible to people not in insurance, but I'd you look at the regulatory structure makes little sense. What they do use is prior claim history and public records (credit, driver license etc). That's most likely where the differences you've seen come from.