Surveillance in one of those insurance investigative actions that does not require insureds to do anything wrong. It is an interpretative risk management activity insurers use to identify “inconsistency of report” between R&Ls reported, and observable activity.
Insurers greatly profit from surveillance by interpreting what is seen anyway they like. Therefore, those who tell me, “I’m not worried about surveillance because I don’t do anything wrong”, clearly are uninformed of how surveillance is actually used.
There are quite a few posts on Lindanee’s Blog regarding surveillance. The purpose of this post is to remind readers that we have Memorial Day, 4th of July, and Labor Day coming up – all big surveillance opportunities for insurers. My position has always been to recommend that all insureds NOT exceed reported R&Ls during the holidays. It is generally during these times that insureds “take the risk” of exceeding R&Ls, and of course, it is the worst possible time to do that.
I also believe in Murphy’s law, which dictates the worst possible thing will happen at the worst possible time. Just when you thought you were safe from insurance peeping at the lake, investigators actually had you surrounded.
Therefore, please abide by your reported medical R&Ls this summer and make sure you still have your benefits by Labor Day. Insurers will do whatever they need to do to close claims.
