Melina Efthimiadis and her husband had a homeowner's insurance policy with Nationwide and recently decided to add a personal umbrella liability to it.
The couple from North Carolina were shocked when Nationwide Insurance rejected their request and then totally cancelled their entire policy. The reason? A picture of their dog on her Facebook page.
News station, ABC11 reports that as part of the application process, Melina and her husband were to provide information about their dogs - most importantly, their breeds and how many they have of each breed. The couple complied and were shocked when they were informed that their entire policy had been cancelled.
Someone at Nationwide had searched Melina's Facebook page and decided that one of their dogs, Zeus was part Rotweiler - a breed of dog listed as potentially dangerous rendering them ineligible for insurance.
Zeus and his buddies. This is the photo of Zeus that was on Facebook when Nationwide investigated the couple's coverage request.
Melina Efthimiadis
Zeus is a lab/hound mix
Melina Efthimiadis
Nationwide sent the pictures that they had taken from her Facebook page as proof that she had 'lied' to them about his breed. When Melina advised them that he was, in fact, not a Rotweiler, but a lab/houd mix, they requested veterinary proof. Lucky for Melina, she's a vet.
Even though Nationwide offered to reinstate their coverage, Melina and her husband decided to insure with another company.
According to a representative at Nationwide, the proper steps were not followed in Melina's case:
"Nationwide's policy is to contact the member and agent to gather more information if there is uncertainty about a dog breed selection on an insurance application. Unfortunately, that policy was not followed in this instance. We have taken steps to rectify the situation to ensure a better experience for future Nationwide applicants."
What do you think? Should insurance companies be allowed to surf our social media? Is anything we post really private anymore?
Let us know in the comments below!