Big data is boosting home insurance premiums, and sometimes it is wrong

The use of big data is putting up home insurance premiums but often the information being used is wrong, according to consumers lobby group Consumentenbond.

Big data company Infofolio collects publicly-available information about residential property – such as type of home, construction year and building costs – and develops information about the likely home contents and the rebuilding costs on behalf of insurance companies, the Consumentenbond says.

This information has led insurance companies to up the premiums for some households by tens of percentage points. In one case, a home owner’s premiums rose 30% in one go because Infofolio said it would cost an additional €150,000 to rebuild the property.

The consumers lobby group says it has had a ‘notable’ number of complaints about rising insurance costs. In some cases Infofolio, which does not visit the property or communicate with home owners, has overestimated the size of the property or got its location wrong, the organisation said.

The body is urging home owners to check their home insurance policies carefully and alert their insurer if costs are rising well above the annual inflation increase.