Social media warning for home insurance customers

An expert has warned that insurance companies may take into account the social networking habits of customers when it comes to home insurance premiums .

With people sharing more information than ever before through websites such as Twitter and Facebook, there is a risk that criminals could use it to find out when homeowners are away.

Darren Black, head of home insurance at Confused.com, believes insurance providers may take this into account in the future and he predicts hikes of up to 10 per cent for people using these sites.

He said: We would always recommend that our customers have adequate security and insurance in place to protect them should the worst happen, however they need to be aware that home security doesn't just mean physical locks.

Recommendations to ensure security include not posting addresses or phone numbers on these websites, as well as switching off location-based services that pinpoint exactly where a user is at any given time.

Last year, Sainsbury's Home Insurance reported that half of party invitations posted on Facebook included addresses, increasing the risk of gatecrashers and damage.