Florida accident and injury lawyer, Guy S. DiMartino, DC, JD explains why the insurance company will ask for your social security number when you make a claim?
Nowadays with the threat of identity theft, folks are concerned about giving their social security numbers out. If youre involved in any type of accident and youre making an insurance claim, the insurance company will ask for information including your date of birth, social security number, and address. I do not believe that there is a nefarious reason for the insurance companies request, Im sure the adjuster is just filling in a screen in her database. If it is your insurance company, they already have this information on your insurance application so I do not see a problem with giving them the information. If it is the other drivers insurance company, they will say something like, we need this information for Medicare reporting requirements or other types of reporting requirements. This may be true, and you can probably get away telling the insurance adjuster that you are uncomfortable providing them with the information.
What will the insurance do when it gets your personal information?
The insurance company will most likely run your personal information through its databases. One database may search public records and they will know how many vehicles you have registered, property that you own, and criminal issues. Another database will include a search of your insurance claims history. The insurance company will know if you made any auto claims, homeowners claims or workers compensation claims in the past. These database searches can be run with just your name and date or birth or just your name and address, but it is much more accurate if the social security number is also provided in the data field.
The information that is stored on each one of us in the public record is great and there will be much more available in the future with the federal governments mandate that healthcare providers and hospitals go to electronic medical records. This is why it is very important that you disclose prior accidents and claims when making an insurance claim. Because if you dont disclose the information, the insurance adjuster will find this information out anyway and then come to the conclusion that you were trying to hide something or lying.
If you have any questions about making a Florida insurance claim, you can always call me directly on my cell at 352-267-9168 or fill out the internet consultation form on the right.