Insurance Claim: Can Google Location Become the Enemy of Your Insurance Money?
You may be shocked to know that now insurance companies are checking Google Location History before approving the claim. Recently a case has come to light where the insurance company rejected the patient's claim. What reason did the company give for rejecting the claim? Let's know.
Tech News: Google has become an important part of people's lives; now not only people but also insurance companies have started depending on Google services. Imagine that you got admitted to a hospital for treatment of your illness, and you also submitted all your documents for insurance, but despite this, what if the company rejects your claim? Now companies have started rejecting people's claims because the patient's Google location was not of the hospital. Before rejecting or approving the claim, companies have now started checking whether the patient's Google location was really of the hospital or not.
Many people may find this illegal; a person named Vallabh Motka also experienced the same thing when his claim was rejected because the patient's location was not matching with the patient's Google timeline. The patient's location on Google Timeline was not that of the hospital, due to which the claim got rejected.
Can insurance companies legally use our personal digital data, such as our Google Timeline, to verify health insurance-related claims? ET Wealth Online spoke to several experts to find out the truth in this matter.
What is the whole matter?
According to the Economic Times report, Vallabh Motka had bought a medical insurance policy of Rs 6.5 lakh from Go Digit General Insurance, which was to expire on 21 February 2025. He was admitted to the hospital on 11 September 2024 due to viral pneumonia and was discharged from the hospital on 14 September. The hospital bill was Rs 48251, but Go Digit refused to pay the claim because the patient's Google timeline was not showing the location of the hospital.
Google Timeline Versus Insurance Claim
If explained in simple language, the company has given the reason for rejecting the claim that the location of the hospital was not there on the patient's Google timeline. Due to the absence of location, the company feels that the patient was not in the hospital at all. After the claim was rejected by the company, the policyholder filed a complaint in the consumer forum, where the forum directed the company to pay the claimed amount of Rs 48,251.
What does Go Digit say?
According to the company spokesperson, Google Timeline data was acquired only after consent. However, despite presenting all the facts, the forum rejected GO Digit's claim based on the doctor's certificate provided by Motka.
