As Dorothy aptly noted in The Wizard of Oz, "This doesn't look like Kansas anymore, Toto." Twenty-four hours of video are uploaded to YouTube every minute. Each week, there are one billion tweets on Twitter. Social media has exploded in the last few years, and so too have the social networking tools for adjusters handling subrogation evaluations.
Before the Tornado
Once upon a time, not too long ago, subrogation involved a post-fire inspection by an insurance claims adjuster or a private fire investigator. In the 1990s, they photographed the loss site and obtained available fire department materials. The private fire investigator analyzed burn patterns and interviewed known witnesses at the scene. Many times these inspections and interviews took place significantly after a loss event due to a delay in reporting. During the following decade (2000), basic Internet searches were added about potential defendants and witness, as well as products that may have been involved in the fire.
The Twister Hits
Meanwhile, a foreboding change was occurring in Kansas when social media exploded online. Social media is defined as interactive mobile and Web-based communication technology. Kaplan, Andreas M.; Michael Haenlein (2010) "Users of the World Unite. The Challenges and Opportunities of Social Media." Business Horizons (2009). It is consumer-generated media that blends a variety of social input with technology and usually involves little-to-no cost, significantly less training, and often leads to instantaneous coverage from individuals present at catastrophic events or other loss sites. Examples of social media include pictures, podcasts, microblogging, social blogs, Internet forums, web blogs, videos, etc. Smart phones make immediate access to social media even easier. Almost every adjuster has access to the Internet through his or her phone to seek out potential witnesses while standing at the loss scene.
Social media sites such as YouTube, Twitter and Facebook are particularly well-suited for claims adjusters to review subrogation materials.
A View from the Cornfield/Subrogation Battlefield
Claims professionals should consider using YouTube, Twitter, Flickr, Facebook, blogs and Spokeo for locating videos pre- and post-loss, witness identity and possible statements, as well as articles about what happened and detailed background information on parties and witnesses.
YouTube allows individuals to search, watch, and share originally created videos. It also allows people to connect and acts as a distribution platform for original content creators. YouTube can be a fantastic research tool for adjusters to search for videos of losses, including fires, explosions and other catastrophic events. For example, in the San Bruno, Calif., gas explosion incident, a multitude of videos showing the scene immediately after the event were uploaded by bystanders. Those videos provided a variety of angles and perspectives and a key visual explanation as to how the fire started and progressed. Because YouTube permits viewers to see live evidence before investigators arrive and evidence is destroyed or not preserved, it provides excellent visual information to understand the scope of the event, damages and the severity of loss. It can also identify witnesses and capture potential statements recorded on videos.
YouTube content and other videos can be downloaded using free software at www.ant.com/video-downloader, and saved for future use. One click saves any Internet video to a computer as a Windows Media File.
Twitter. A real-time information network that permits individuals to find tweets, Twitter contains short, public streams of information in 140 characters or less. A tweet can be viewed like a headline, and the details pane includes photos, videos, links and other accessible social media content.
Many catastrophic losses or traditional incidents have dozens of tweets, and information or statements from public investigators, public affairs officials, fire departments, witnesses, and even parties to the incident, can be found. Tweets are only searchable for about one and a half weeks, but may be available on Twitter's feed, and can include links to people, photos and news. Oftentimes individuals' photos provide critical information about fires (that is, how they started or spread) or other catastrophic losses early, as the event progresses. These can then be used with experts to challenge or impeach later experts who claim the fire did not start in the area as suggested.
Further, Twitter contains witness details, such as biography/background related to information drafted by the witness that can be sourced. A history of individual tweets can be found, as well as photos and links to websites, including Facebook.
Flickr. Roughly 10 million people participate in the site, and there are over five billion searchable photos. Flickr is a website allowing individuals to store, sort, search and share photos online. In the Malibu wildfire loss on October 21, 2007, a fire was alleged to have happened when a high voltage overload transmission line failed and ignited.
In this wildfire loss, significant destruction occurred where the fire was believed to have started. Photos after the loss did not show the transmission lines and secondary power lines in the area of origin. Flickr was used to find pre-loss photos which established numerous power poles and their specifically-detailed components in the origin area. In fact, the purchased image was such a high quality that it was zoomed in on an iPad at depositions to be used with witnesses.
Facebook. A social networking service and website that launched in February 2004, Facebook now has more than 750 million active users as of July 2011, and at least 250 million users access their account through mobile devices.
Facebook can provide useful witness information concerning individuals. Publically available information often lists birth date, current employment and education information, religion/politics, relationship status, favorites, links to affiliated websites, likes, and wall posts, which can include commentary video and photos. The witness information found in Facebook provides more in-depth information as compared to Twitter.
Spokeo. Finding critical information about witnesses in a cost-effective manner is vital once a loss has occurred. One website of interest is Spokeo, which permits an individual to conduct a free search by entering the first and last name or other search criteria. Basic witness information includes address/phone, age, marital status, price paid for home, a Google photo of home, persons living in the household and known family members. For a $3 monthly fee, additional information may be obtained, such as email address, exact age, race/religion, political party, estimated income, social profiles, photos, videos, hobbies, lifestyles, and so on.
The Search for a Brain, Heart, Courage
Social media enhances subrogation evaluations by providing access to photos, videos, witness statements and other materials that were previously difficult or impossible to find in the past. However, care needs to be taken when accessing public information, so as not to invade the privacy of a claimant/witness. Further, keeping the recovered information on a smart phone may not be secure. If the phone is not provided by your employer, then there could be argument that the contents may be discoverable.
Social media information immediately available increases claims adjuster efficiency and thoroughness in investigating losses. Checking YouTube, Twitter, Facebook and other social media sites may result in finding a yellow brick road to successful subrogation recovery.
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