Like many other businesses, PA insurance companies make increasing use of the Internet. Due to this medium’s connection to savvy, technologically astute consumers, it is an ideal method for promoting and selling insurance products. However, even as greater advantage is being taken of electronic insurance transactions, it is important to keep a bit of old, yet still excellent advice – “Let the buyer beware.”

Possible Danger

In some respects, the ‘Net may be no more dangerous than getting information from other sources, but the need for PA insurance consumers to take care when using such information remains. One major issue is that published information is typically granted a high level of credibility (this includes the information you’re currently reading). It is important to be certain of any information before acting on it. Ten different sources of information can give you ten different answers. Therefore, the safest way to use information is to seek and sort through multiple, credible sources rather than merely place full trust in a single source.

Items to Keep in Mind

The Internet is an incredible tool. However it also provides many opportunities for acquiring information that may be useless or even harmful. Any user should remember the following:

• it is often impossible to verify who has posted the information and whether the source has any expertise in the subject matter material that appears on the Internet may be presented as facts when they are actually opinions or advertisements
• the information may be accurate for one set of circumstances, but it doesn’t tell you how the information applies to other situations; at the very least, it should contain a disclaimer
• no credible party may have taken responsibility for keeping the information accurate and current
• the party that posted the information may possibly have a criminal intent Internet publishers often forget that their audience is global and the information may only apply to a specific group or geographic location