Insurance companies aren’t stupid. They realize the value of a dollar and set specific perameters that must be met before surveillance is conducted. Considering that the average surveillance costs between $1,000-$2,500 per 3-day observation and investigation, it is not likely insurers will be throwing their money out the door for no reason.
Nearly all insurance companies do not conduct surveillance on low value claims. Internally, “chasing the biggest bang for the buck” is still a good idea, so low monthly value claims aren’t worth the cost of surveillance. Risk management can take place another way, for example, repeated medical reviews. This seems to suggest that an $800/month claim is less likely to be surveilled than a $6,000/month claim. That’s actually true. What I’m saying here is that insurance companies will generally be willing to pay for surveillance of wealthier claims determined by financial reserve figures.
Secondly, surveillance is only conducted for 3 days, usually Thursday, Friday and Saturday. That’s it. Insureds who call me in a panic that their insurer has been watching and following them for a month, are probably letting their paranoia get the best of them. If you’ve been asked for an Independent Medical Evaluation (“IME”), surveillance is likely to be conducted on the day before, the day of, and the day after the exam.
In the past, surveillance was so easy to spot – cars sat across the street with blackened windows, and videocameras hanging out the windows. Today, you probably won’t spot a surveillance team since they can digitally record you from 5 football fields away. Of course, you also won’t be aware of the online tracking investigation that is also likely to take place. Things are NOT what they used to be.
Surveillance is a “risk management” tool that actually contributes to profit considerably. But, insurance companies use their financial sense and only order it selectively. In the meantime, it does no good to continually panic and fear insurance surveillance behind every bush. It’s not happening. As a general rule, surveillance is conducted because there are inconsistencies in reported R&Ls. For example, you say you can’t do something, but there is evidence you really can.
For those receiving disability benefits, surveillance is always a possibility. In reality, it doesn’t happen all that often.
